Hellenic Republic

From the polished, well-drilled service to the glistening Greek grub, the Republic is slick. It takes a tight operation like this to turn out a couple of hundred well-fed and watered patrons a night. Hellenic Republic manages a casual control over its chatty, all-walks crowd who are slotted in close in the bright, white dining room. Most diners will have taken their waiter's lead and signed on as a table for the sharing menu. It's a Homeric spread that takes in around three-quarters of the menu. There's taramasalata and wedges of soft pita, the satisfying salty-sweet combo of saganaki topped with whole jammy figs, then seafood. Offerings might include crumbed, garlicky scallops in the shell or fillets of crisp-skinned, succulent salmon. But wait there's more. There's meat from the ironbark grill (or smoky calamari if you prefer), and your salad prayers may be answered with a spectacular mix of lentils, almonds and currants with cumin yoghurt - flown in from Greece. This is uncomplicated and undeniably fun dining.