Alpha Ouzeri

Big portions — so perfect for Americans visiting this town. Authentic Greek flavors and meat quality is good. I liked the pork souvlaki and sausages (special of the day). The pork is juicy and grilled to perfection

Delicious, honest food with authentic flavours and quality that’s obviously higher than most so-​called Greek restaurants around Melbourne. Value for money is quite high as a result.
Highlights are the Dako — a Cretan dish similar to bruschetta — and Bouyourdi which combines mushroom, tomato, onion and the salty Greek cheese, Kasseri. Grilled meats are seasoned well, tender and not over-​cooked.
BYO (wine only) is an added bonus too. The wine list has some good drops, but the beer selection is the usual (boring) suspects… lager, lager and more lager. I recommend you try an ouzo instead — sans Coke of course!

Alpha Ouzeri could be yet another eating establishment that could be put in the 4 star category. They have a huge variety of authentic dips to start that are delicious, with my favourite being the beetroot dip. And their pita bread is the perfect dipping fodder. Their mixed grills are a behemoth and really tasty too. This place is crack for meat eaters in that respect.
But despite the good food, our experience was soured by a waiter whose over the top charming behaviour failed to hit the mark and came off as annoying as being hit over the head by a badger with a rusty spoon.
Seriously, there is nothing more annoying when you are trying to catch up with an old friend than someone you’ve never met eavesdropping and chiming into your conversation with some inane crap because he is bored.
I understand it can be boring during a quiet period in a restaurant, but there are ways to go about interacting with your customers.
The food is really good and I’m sure this is one of those one-​off occurrences but nevertheless it stuck in my mind for a long time.

Located on Brunswick Street, Alpha Ouzeri is one of two proper Greek restaurants. All other Greek-​related food are in ‘kebab’ like shops. In Greek, Alpha Ouzeri means the best entrees of all times, and this is the aim of the kitchen.
Entrees ($ 12) weren’t necessarily the best entrees of all times, but they were good. We ordered saganaki and a mixed dip platter (you get to pick 4) of garlic, feta, beetroot, and tzatziki. If I had known how big the portions would be, I probably would not have ordered entrees. The mains ($ 23) were massive! And great for meat eaters. I ordered an arni souvlaki, which had marinated chargrilled lamb fillets in skewers with potatoes, salad, and pita bread. All of it really good.
If you’re interested in a variety of meat, try their mix grill for two ($ 55), which includes a selection of meats for two people (lemon lamb, cutlets, pancetta, rissoles, sausage, and chicken and lamb souvlaki). For the price you’re paying, you leave feeling stuffed. Maybe you’re even off meat for a bit. Probably not.
Although the food was good, the only bad experience was the service. The service wasn’t bad per se, but pushy and in your face. We just wanted to relax and have time to look at the menu, and then order accordingly. The server just wouldn’t leave us alone. He was friendly to the point of agitation.