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Peter Conistis's new venture, Alpha, heralds a welcome return to traditional Greek classic fare.

There are versions of classic dishes you'd call righteous. And then there are the evil ones. There's nothing in between. In Abruzzo this year, my buddy's nonagenarian nonna served her famous lasagne as one course in the family's annual Ferragosto 15-course celebration. Not your conventional baked pie, just satiny sheets of fresh pasta layered loosely between pork and veal mince. No besciamella but a small amount of mozzarella and pecorino instead, a light sugo di pomodoro applied sparingly, a whisper of clove and nutmeg. Bliss.

In contrast, two weeks before, there was that vegetarian "cassoulet" cooked by well-meaning, former friends. Just white beans, herbs, vegetable stock. No lamb, duck, no pork sausage. What can I say? Pure evil.

Peter Conistis's moussaka ranks alongside nonna's lasagne, in the righteous category. When Conistis was squeezed into a tiny kitchen at Eleni's in Darlo, I always asked for it. A stack of aubergine, smoked salmon roe taramosalata, flash-seared warm scallops, torn strips of roast red capsicum and diced tomato on top, a glint of salmon pearls, orange blossom water and dots of fruit green olive oil. That moussaka and Conistis's equally righteous rabbit and black olive pie are being reprised as "vintage" items on the dinner menu at Alpha, his new gig on Castlereagh Street. The old Hellenic Club has a new name and swank new appointments: a soaring colonnaded dining room, wooden floors and a colour scheme as blindingly white as any villa in the Cyclades. Designer Paul Papadopoulos has divided the space into a relaxed estiatoria with quirky daybed-style banquettes and a marble mezze bar. A chiselled wall feature and fishing -net lights reference some old Aegean cliches, more with affection than irony.

Tonight we start at the mezze bar. The Midnight Cowboy is enjoying a perky Nymph (watermelon liqueur, Cointreau, cranberry juice, sparkling rosé, lime: $16) and already he's winking at anyone who catches his eye. The Nymph is as pink, but not as dry, as my sparkling rosé from north-western Greece producer Kir Yianni ($12). Both are good consorts to local olives ($6) and smokey house-made taramosalata ($10).

By the time we're seated Alpha is as noisy as any Plaka taverna. Our dolmades ($10) are surprising: a perilla (sesame) leaf wrapped around lightly vinegared almond rice adds more interest than a brined vine leaf and a light preserved lemon avgolemono underneath is sexier than fresh tomato sauce. Wood-fired grilled king prawns ($10) deliver the special flavour bonus that comes from a prawn head. The lush, complex moussaka of scallops has kept the magic ($24). It's nice to see a new generation enjoying it.

Next, two octopodes, properly seasoned, cooked to that sweet spot between too chewy and too soft, served with pureed spinach, firm white beans and a red-wine vinaigrette ($21). Then a whole baby snapper grilled over bay leaves, with an oregano dressing ($32): grill-smokey, delicately flavoured and slightly overcooked - a risk assumed by all restaurants admirably serving whole fish.

Alpha's wine list showcases the xinomavro grape from the Naoussa region. It makes red wines of power, with acid and structure, so they're destined to be drunk with lamb at barbecues. Try pairing the tender, garlicky slow-roasted shoulder of lamb, lemon and oregano ($39) with the 2010 Thymiopolous Young Vines Xinomavro Naoussa ($62).