The Press - Club Sunday Lunch

The Sunday lunch at the Press Club in the former Herald building on the corner of Flinders and Exhibition St is certainly something different.
It is 14 dishes presented as four courses:
Soup:
A thick rather filling inoffensive lentil soup called Fakes which had a slightly lemony tang
Mezedes:
Marinated octopus, marinated olives, pickled carrots, Greek salad (Horiaktiki) and Dakos - Fava bean paste, Spanish onion and capers on a thick slice of ciabatta like bread without the top crust a standout Meze
Mains:
Psari Spetsiotiko (Red Emperor with tomato base and vegetables)
Bakaliaro croquettes (Lamb and octopus)
Kolokithia Gemista (baby Zucchini stuffed with chickpeas, parsley and onion)
Pastitsio (Greek lasagna) and
Tiropita (cheese pita)
Everyone of these was excellent though, for my taste the cheese pita was too bland and first place was a toss up between the fish and the lasagna
Desserts: Brought to the table in a paper bag as though delivered from the local cake shop and opened and placed on a plate by the waitress.
Karythopita a walnut cake
Sokolatenio Yalaktoboureko a super rich very thick slab of soft chocolate between two thin sheets of pastry and
Loukoumathes - warm Greek thin honeyed pastry 'donuts'
Beer wine and soft drink available. Inclued in the $55 fixed price is quite pleasant Panna bottled water It's environmentally very unfriendly to drink imported bottled water which, incidently, is rarely as good as Melbourne's own
We arrived early (11.30) and had the room to ourselves for half an hour. It was exceptionally pleasant with a background of Greek musak and a happy lot of chefs to be seen in the open kitchen
George Calombaris is one of the most creative chefs in Melbourne and it is no accident that he is a darling of the food press. He produces Greek food that has all the hallmarks of its origins but has a sublety that distinguishes it from his competitors.
A great addition to the Melbourne food scene
I had not looked at my previous review 'till now and find my views pretty consistant but it's worth a better mark
Score: 16.25/20