The Press Club

Ph: (03) 9677 9677; 72 Flinders St, Melbourne 3000 www.thepressclub.com.au

modern greek, $
Open mon-wed noon-11pm Thu-fri noon-1am sat 5pm-1am sun 5-11pm; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef George Calombaris (7-11-07) Owner George Calombaris, George Sykiotis, Joe Calleja & Tony Lachimea (7-11-07)

Other published opinions

The Age Cheap Eats 2008 "George Calombaris has set foodie hearts aflame with his nouveau-Greco fine diner, and the bar menu is a perfect intro to what all the fuss is about"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 16/20, Two Hats "Best New Restaurant Noisy, bustling, crowded - chef George Calombaris hasn't discarded all the trappings of a great taverna with the modern Greek experiment that s Press Club"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "It should be enough that George Calombaris has come up with a new style of food; that he's fused modern, occasionally avant-garde, gastronomy with Greek flavours and food-sharing concepts to create a series of dishes that are fun yet satisfying"

The Age John Lethlean, 22-2-2007 "Beyond its dark, masculine yet modern interior of timber and marble, making the most of the granite edifice that is the former Herald and Weekly Times building, the Press Club is on a mission to give Melbourne Greeks something to be proud of; to show that Greek food is more than grilled fish, Greek salad, whitewash, fish-nets and retsina. Greek Melburnians have played a particularly significant role in the development of the city's restaurant culture, but a lot of them have pushed their Greek roots to the background. Now, in situ, I can think of nothing more delightful than the old taverna formula, but you've got to admit it: Greek food in Melbourne, which last time I checked was not a Greek island, made the progress of a stuffed and mounted tortoise before the advent of Mini and now, more significantly, TPC."

Age Epicure Restaurants, John Lethlean, 21-11-06 Score: 16/20 "There is something warm and cosseting about this elegant new platform for George Calombaris, hewn from the solid stone of the former Herald and Weekly Times Flinders Street edifice. It's in the attitude - or rather lack of it - of the waiters; the generous portions, full flavours and careful cooking of the food and the value-added way it's presented on timber boards at the table a la Vue de monde; the way another house-made pistachio sourdough roll just arrives without some grand gesture as to whether "sir" would like more bread."

Herald Sun Dining Out, Stephen Downes, 21-11-06 Score: 14/20 "You will eat weighty but technically correct and often adventurous Greek leaning tucker at the Press Club. Your bill will be significant, and you will be served with ineffable charm. The wine list here is expensive and extensive. It showcases an expanding line of top-end Greek drops, and a page of ouzo precedes the lot. Wines by the glass are limited."

Herald Sun Eat, Bob Hart, 18-11-06 " an opulent, chocolatetoned interior has overridden the ink splatters and there is not a soul in the place wearing dark blue overalls and a hat made from a folded newspaper.Instead, as you enter at street level and swing left (to the right is a spacious bar), you pass an open kitchen where chef George Calombaris produces food with which, after just six weeks, he has captured a devoted audience."