Yiamas

New-wave Greek with fire and flair at the centre.

Don’t even think about skipping the bread basket. Consisting of pockets of pita, triangles of crispbread and ornate simitia bread rings encrusted with sesame seeds, this trio of wonders isn’t just good eating, it’s essential for the Greek ritual of papara: using bread to mop up the leftover juices on your plate.

At this modern, whitewashed cottage-turned-taverna, much of the menu deserves the papara treatment. There’s the super-smooth hummus, served warm and crunched up with fried chickpeas and braised lamb. The Corfu-style tomato and vinegar sauce that lifts charred Fremantle octopus is another of Yiamas’s liquid assets, as is the on-theme drinks menu packed with Hellenic cocktails, Island wines (Cretan vidiano!) and Greek spirits.

The Corfu-style tomato and vinegar sauce that lifts charred Fremantle octopus is another of Yiamas’s liquid assets, as is the on-theme drinks menu packed with Hellenic cocktails, Island wines (Cretan vidiano!) and Greek spirits.

Enthusiastic staff are just as excited about the booze as you are and will gladly talk you through it. Not that all of Yiamas’ menu needs decoding. Local snapper and goat saddle carefully grilled on the open kitchen’s charcoal hearth is classic Greek cookery done right, while fluffy dolmades filled with sour cherries and bulghur, with avgolemono sauce for dipping, proves that you can teach an ancient cuisine new tricks.