Located at The Hellenic Club of Canberra in Phillip, ACT, you’ll find ‘Mazi Hellenic,’ promising delicious authentic Greek food and a cosy dining experience.
The joint venture is run by Spiro Tsiros, who will oversee the front of house, and Spiro’s Bulgarian head chef, Petar Mlekanov, who will be in charge of making all the delicious Greek Mediterranean food which will be on offer.
The pair also previously worked alongside each other at The Lighthouse, in Belconnen, ACT – one of Spiro’s former businesses of seven years, where Spiro employed Petar on a sponsored visa and he quickly transitioned from a junior member of the kitchen to head chef shortly after.
In an exclusive interview with The Greek Herald, Spiro revealed what people can expect when they visit ‘Mazi Hellenic.’
“People can expect a Greek menu with a social dining sort of aspect. We’re trying to focus on getting people to eat together,” Spiro told The Greek Herald.
”It’ll be like when you go to Greece and you never order a meal, you just order a whole heap of different things to share, and everything will be as tasty as it can be, hopefully with a flavour profile that fits most Greek palettes.
“It [the food] will leave you thinking, ‘geez, that was nice, we’ll have to go back again’.”
On the menu
Spiro said when people visit ‘Mazi Hellenic,’ they will be treated to a variety of delicious Greek dishes, including chicken, lamb, calamari, chargrilled octopus on fava, and many traditional favourites including moussaka, pastitsio, and many more.
“We’ll have a heavy focus on specials too, to try and understand where the palette lies with the customers,” the restaurant co-owner said.
“There will also be a salad special, something from the grill, a seafood special and something from the oven on a weekly basis.”
Spiro added that in the new year, people will also be able to order an authentic Greek gyro.
“A return back home”
As someone who’s been in the hospitality industry since 2005, Spiro has taken over several Canberra businesses during his time including Café Mizuna, Café Momo’s, Tampered Coffee, The Lighthouse, and most recently, Gryphons Caffe Bar.
Now, he embarks on his latest chapter with ‘Mazi Hellenic’ and it is quite special to him.
“The Hellenic Club of Canberra has been part of my life since I was six years old, when I started Greek dancing,” Spiro said.
“I also used to spend Friday nights with my old man there, with me and my friend’s playing billiards and all the arcade games, while the old men played cards, backgammon, and drunk great coffee at the kafenio etc. So, to be a part of the club again now almost feels like a return back home.”
Opening ‘Mazi Hellenic’
Spiro revealed how it feels to finally have ’Mazi Hellenic’ open, especially following a quick turnaround of front of house and kitchen renovations within five weeks.
“It’s been a series of very quick, but I must say, what appears to be very good decisions by the Club in terms of their renovations, and now we just have to run to catch up,” Spiro said.
“Starting a new business is very exciting, it’s like moving into new house and buying a new car. Everything’s brand new and exciting.
“I’m just looking forward to doing what I love doing, which is running a restaurant and looking after people, rather than all the administrative work that goes into getting it open.”
