Jimmy Grants

Okay, I’m not a fan of George C, however I must give him and the team a credit for this one. I’ve tried his other creations like St. Katherine and Press Club, they are a flop in comparison to his big name in the food industry.
Mr. Papadopolous is spot on, this simple looking Lamb wrap reflects a migrant success story, I can get and appreciate that.
The menu, although simplistic in comparison to his other ventures elevated the food into an enjoyable «foodie» status, most Souvlakis from other Fast Food stores don’t usually interest me.
Genuine, clean cut and smart looking food easy to enjoy.
Yes, $ 11 might seems steep for a wrap and a little serving of chips that’s presented well plus drinks, around $ 20 with an alcohol drink.
Great presentation of the store, easy to enjoy.
Well done!

Can’t go wrong with a souva here. I wouldn’t recommend running a 5k after eating one, but it’ll fill you up and get you through lunchtime. Very nice folks behind the counter.

Jimmy Grants was a little hard to find (like many restaurants in Melbourne)…it’s on a side street and the restaurant’s sign is just a blue (Greek) cross. It’s a delicious restaurant with a cool atmosphere. Seating is limited and first-come-first-serve…there’s several small, short tables with little stools, a bar, and some farmhouse-​style tables in the back that you will probably wind up sharing with others. The menu had lots of good options. The fries (chips?) with feta cheese on them were amazeballs. I would suggest any of the pitas… I think all four of us at the table got a different pita, and we were all talking about how delicious they were! I think we kept them a bit late… not sure when they closed, but we were the last ones in the restaurant (I know, it’s bad… my excuse is, it was our last night in Australia and it was hard to wrap things up with our friends!) They made it a little obvious that they wanted us to leave, can’t say I blame them, but at least their signals included giving us some free rice pudding dessert!

Jimmy Grants is awesome and we will go nowhere else for souvlaki in the city!
The food is excellent; the meat is never fatty, the fries are never greasy and the grain salad is perfection.
We normally order for takeout as the one downfall of this place is the lack of seating. They also don’t take orders over the phone, which can be frustrating, but the wait is not long, even on a busy night.
It’s great to have a takeaway option that feels a bit more special than the usual suspects.

The question is not whether you should get some chips to go with your souva but whether you should, perhaps, just forego the souvlaki entirely and get two plates of chips instead. Crunchy, soft, cheesy (thank you crumbled feta) and with a great lingering oregano herbiness, I let my souvlaki get a little cold while focusing on these guys.
Five stars for the chips, i’m sure everything else is fine too.

Almost worth an extra star just for being open on Christmas Eve. Thanks guys! Was popular even though Smith St was completely dead — particularly families coming in and grabbing a quick meal or takeaway.
Souvas are out quick and hot. Pita breads delicious and out quick too. Coleslaw with dill through it nice to freshen up the whole affair. Wash it down with a few ciders and land just on $ 40 or so.
Cheap, quick, cheerful — pretty cool for a quick stopover or a light start to a boozy evening. Will be back!

I was visiting my family here who are quite the foodies. I love this place. The food is anything unlike what I’m offered here in new york. womp womp… Wish there was a greek restaurant that can come close!

Thank you Time Out for recommending this eatery. Super trendy area with this little hidden gem on a side street! The hummus and pita were lovely. The mains were super tasty. Great beer and wine choices. Families, singles, couples and friends all enjoying their food. Happy and yummy place!

There is not much else to say about Jimmy Grants, what everyone is raving about is true. I love the simplicity of their souvas. There is no overloading of anything, everything is in the balance, including the fries inside. Such a delight in your mouth.

I’m usually the last person to go to chain stores, especially for lunch though there will always be a special place in my stomach for Jimmy Grant’s great food. Being vegetarian I was really happy to discover that their falafel tastes so good and the Hellenic slaw they use in it is so tasty. I also really like the nice warm bread they use to wrap it. To mix it up once in a while I also get the grain salad which tastes amazing and is super filling. The feta and herb chips are something magical! Feta makes everything great.
Jimmy Grants off Smith st (the 1^st one!) is not too big but the staff are friendly and pump out the orders so you are never waiting too long and it’s great having the food prepared fresh for every order. I usually get take away but on the times I have stayed there I find the atmosphere buzzing and always a good tune on the speakers. Staff are friendly and get the job done efficiently. This is still my favorite store of the various pop-​ups and stores now around Melbourne.

Lots of reviews are raving about the meat at Jimmy Grants (and I’m sure they are absolutely correct), but I visited Jimmy Grants as a quasi-​vegetarian and opted for their version of the falafel wrap, and it was Amaze. Traditional, crunchy falafel and slaw, but mixed in was some mysteriously delicious sauce that I couldn’t quite figure out. But it just worked. The salads are also yummy, especially the grain salad, and they have a pretty eclectic beer selection. Plus the place itself is just too coo.

Jimmy Grants is the latest opening from the Made Establishment group (Gazi, Mama Baba, St Katherine’s, Hellenic Republic), bringing casual Greek food to Smith Street (well just off Smith Street). It is becoming clear that George Calombaris and compatriots are out to give Greek food a shot of adrenalin and offer an alternative for those growing tired of the taco and burger trends.
Where the recently opened Gazi fits the concept of casual restaurant, Jimmy Grants aims to drag up the quality of neighbourhood fast food by giving as much focus to takeaways as to eating in. The Fitzroy opening is one of three planned, with stores in the CBD and Ormond planned for the future, and delivery ‘coming soon’.
Named after the cockney-​esque rhyming slang name for the Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern immigrants to Melbourne, Jimmy Grants sticks to its Greek roots and offers a short and to-​the-​point menu covering souvas, rotisserie meats, salads, sides and desserts.
The souvas (souvlakis, all under $ 10) offer a taste of Greek street food; a warm and fluffy wholemeal pita stuffed with meat, prawns or falafel, along with various accompaniments. The ‘bonegilla’ (named after the Bonegilla camp near Wodonga in north east Victoria, which temporarily housed refugees and, later, assisted immigrants from Europe after World War II and aimed to teach them to speak English and about the way of life in Australia) contains spit-​roasted lamb shoulder and chicken, a mustard mayo (there could have been a little more of it), with chips for crunch, as well as onions and parsley to freshen it up. The souvas are tasty and moreish, the perfect accompaniment to a beer or wine; which works out well as the place holds an alcohol licence.
Free range chicken or slow roasted lamb shoulder from the rotisserie can be purchased with a side of tzatziki ($ 15 – 16), and you can add a choice of iceberg salad or 2 pitas ($ 5). The spit-​roasted chicken is moist and tender, although some chunks can err on the side of being too salty, but this is easily balanced out by the thick tzatziki.
The salads range from a simple iceberg salad with oregano, lemon and olive oil to a honey and balsamic ‘hellenic’ slaw; but the real winner is the grain salad, well-​known to anyone who has visited Hellenic Republic before. The combination of pulses, nuts and grains with a punch of lively parsley and unctuous Greek yoghurt is an easy highlight of a visit here, and a steal at $ 8.
The rest of the menu is made up of dips (taramosalata, tzatziki and hummus), pitas, their take on the Melbourne dim sim (the ‘jimmy dimmy’), and chips with garlic oil, feta, oregano. Desserts range from Greek doughnuts with walnuts and honey, to a Greek yoghurt, honey and white chocolate ‘choc top’.
Jimmy Grants aims to deliver quick and easy Greek food with minimal fuss, and expense, and it delivers. This is not about a reinvention of a cuisine or the Melbourne dining scene, but serving simple, tasty food to eat in or takeaway. The staff are warm, welcoming and clearly having fun, which is infectious and a world away from most people working in your standard neighbourhood takeaway.

Quick and cheerful service, buzzy vibe and the smell alone will entice you through the doors. The grain salad is a guilt free way to join your souva-​loving friends without spoiling your diet but resisting the tarama with pita is futile. Everything is delicious.

So I am not going to lie people in the world of souvas and kebabs I am kinda a big thing. If it has lamb or chicken in it and is wrapped in pita bread chances are you have my undivided attention. So my life on Unilocal would not be complete without a review on Jimmy Grants. Jimmy Grants is George Columbaris’ souva enterprise and it is amazing. Nestled around the corner off Smith Streets adjacent to Safeway it is a hustling tiny place servicing amazing greek snacks and food.
The menu is not huge and comprises of dim sims, dips and bread, souvas and meat and salad platters. For this review I had the dim sims and a Lamb Souva (mr Bonegilla) The dims sims were beautiful, light and with a ginger twist to them served with soy sauce and olive oil. They are some of the best dim sims I have had in melbourne and I would bypass many a chinese restaurant to have these. My souva was again as always here amazing, the lamb was tender, the chips in the souva crispy and well seasoned and the bread cooked in house and fresh.
The staff I have always found to be friendly but definitely under the pump as by 6:30pm on a Tuesday night the line was out the door. Tables are limited but it does turn over pretty fast so it is not a problem to wait 5 and grab a spot at one of the bars inside. As for drinks and desserts they have a good ranges of mineral waters and beers available and they do have the amazing Burch and Purchese sweets for dessert. I have to say my visit is not usually complete without grabbing a B&P explosive rapsberry wagon wheel to have on the drive home.
So delicious meat, fast service and wagon wheels? Yes in the Lauren world this is 5 star :)

Funnily enough I’ve never actually been in here to eat, but I love the food! My favourite +1 regularly stops in to grab take away portions of the ridiculously tasty chicken, grain salad and dips with pita. It’s his version of the «Parisian Housewife» — buying quality food to plate up at home and pretend he cooked himself.
The tzatziki is loaded up with dill and I suspect roasted garlic. The taramasalata is addictive. A word of advice: don’t be left alone in the house with a tub of that stuff.

I think it’s a stretch to consider this place a souva joint. It’s way too fancy. I sure didn’t see any Angelina Jolie tribute dream boards on the wall (I’m looking at you, Souvlaki King).
Before you eat here, there are two things you should know;
1. It’s very good.
2. It’s quite pricey (considering how small the portions are).
I have tried:
Mr Papadopolous — roast lamb, caramelised onions, mustard, chips and parsley.
The Bonegilla — same as above with chicken added.
Homer — falafel, Greek yoghurt and Hellenic slaw (shredded cabbage, honey and mayonnaise.)
Mr Papadopolous is my favourite.

Two nonna maria’s please! (chicken with chips, parsley and aioli) I’ve never had chicken so moist, tender, and tasty. Sometimes the line is a hot mess and you don’t know whether you’re ordering for takeaway or to dine in. Hopefully this situation is fixed soon. Other than that, no complaints. $ 7.50 can truly buy happiness.

I’ve never really been a souva girl. Not even to celebrate my downfall at 3am after a boozy outing. The garlicky hot-​mess of a wrap doesn’t really appeal to me. Least of all if sharing close quarters with someone that thinks it’s a good idea.
The fare at Jimmy Grants is a different story all together.
The meat is so delicious — not unlike what they serve at Hellenic Republic. If you’ve eaten there before, think that quality of meat and chips tucked into a fresh wrap. If you can’t decide between lamb and chicken — opt for both. Delicious.
The icing on the cake? They use mustard dressing instead of garlic. Eat up and pash on.

The pricing of the souvas are a little bit expensive considering you’ll need at least two to fill you up, and they’re almost the same price as typical souva elsewhere.
Having said that, they’re absolutely delicious, the lamb and chicken were succulent, and the mustard lamb aioli presented a nice substitute to the typical garlic sauce; however it seems the entire menus of souvas were lacking in tomato, which I felt could’ve made the meat souvas even better and an interesting omission in the vegetarian souva.
Having said that, Jimmy Grants presents a great souva shop that also separates itself from the standard ‘souvlaki’ joints around Melbourne, and with the bread also being made in house, and the inclusion of chips in the souvlakis, it’s definitely worth a visit or three!
The dimmies are also legit, so make sure you order them as well!

As expected this place was packed when we went and for good reason. You have to order your food in one line and then your drink at the bar, which makes it a little bit more crowded with people lining up. There’s also limited space for seating, but luckily we scored a table.
The souvas were scrumptious. The bread was just the right thickness and the filling was a party in your mouth. I tried the nonna maria souva (the chicken one) and loved the aioli. A perfect amount of garlic. The Hellenic Slaw was a nice dish to match. Not mind-​blowing, but a good healthy dose of vegetable goodness. I’d probably recommend to get 2 souvas, as we were still hungry after one each.