Hellenic hero

Elounda gives good Greek

by GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT

Tucked behind that depressing box store village known as Marché Central, away from the culinary vestiges of Montreal’s once thriving Greek enclave on Parc avenue in Mile-End, Elounda is one of those rare treasures: a seafood-specialized Greek restaurant that serves all the classics with finesse and a refined touch. The kind of place that makes for a special night out, with prices at the upper end of moderate and food that may not be haute but is executed with such deftness that Greek standards like calamari and lamb chops taste new again.

Elounda’s closest neighbour is an Arahova franchise, but it’s not like there’s any competition here— we’re talking apples and oranges (or gyro and moussaka?). Elounda feels inviting and down to earth— a step above casual, but not quite in the rarefied Milos zone. Comparisons to Milos seem inevitable since one of Elounda’s owners, Gary Makris, was a waiter then maitre d’, and chef Tassos Konidis was at Milos for 20 years before moving here. And so there is the fish laid out on ice by the open kitchen, the displays of vegetables and the Elounda special appetizer, which bears a striking resemblance to the Milos special appetizer of fried zucchini, eggplant and saganaki with tzatziki.

One main difference is, of course, price point: Elounda is much easier on the wallet, and the vibe is more family than look-at-me. The service is both warm and efficient (gracious and with good advice on menu choices), and on a recent visit with four friends, the food wowed us from beginning to end. To start, my dining pals and I ordered a selection of hot appetizers.

The aforementioned Elounda special’s thin slices of lightly battered and fried eggplant and zucchini and saganaki came piled around a central blob of luscious tzatziki ($16.95). The beauty of this dish is its surprising lightness, the delicate flavours of the vegetables playing off the rich, creamy and garlicky dip and the salty chunks of cheese. The fried calamari ($13.95) was equally feathery, the thin rings of squid meltingly responsive to the tooth, the batter perfectly crisp and not too thick, another example of the chef ’s subtle frying prowess.

Our Tunisian octopus ($19.95) was another hit, exceptionally tender with just the right hint of chewiness, and the odd crispy, char-grilled bite, the lot anointed with a tangy vinaigrette, flat leaf parsley, red onion, endive and yellow and orange bell peppers. The bright red, juicy, flavourful tomatoes in the refreshingly crisp Greek salad ($13.95), had us dreaming of summer, appearing as they did alongside crunchy green peppers, marinated hot peppers, red onions, lovely chunks of feta and briny olives— a perfect antidote to our fried starters.

As seafood is the star here, we couldn’t leave without dipping into the ocean a little more. Pausing briefly to marvel at the idea of the Elounda marvel ($118.95 gets you Gulf of Mexico jumbo shrimp, fried calamari, PEI cultivated mussels, Maine scallops, New Brunswick oysters Rockefeller, Nova Scotia deep sea lobster and other seasonal treats), we settled on the far more restrained choice of just one species, split four ways: the whole American red snapper ($27.95), which comes grilled with olive oil, lemon and capers. It arrived perfectly moist, with lovely, fall-apart flesh.

There was more pure eating pleasure to be had with the simplest order of lamb chops ($26.95). Cooked medium rare, the meat was supple, delicately flavoured and prettily fanned out on its white plate. This was not the oregano-doused, gristly, gamey, charcoal-tasting stuff of lesser Greek eateries, it was something much more elegant and close to sublime. A side order of horta ($6.95), which translates as greens, came out more multicoloured, with lightly buttered Swiss chard, corn, broccoli and cauliflower.

To close: some baklava ($4.95) and karidopita (Greek walnut cake, $4.25), both homemade and excellent in their honeyed, buttery nuttiness, and both providing a satisfyingly sweet ending.