Demitri’s Feast
She says
Demitri’s Feast in Richmond has been serving up brunch with a Greek twist for a while now, but recently its operations have expanded. Demitri is now serving up a Greek grill for dinner every Thursday to Saturday.
We got to Demitri’s Feast around 7pm last Saturday and were very lucky to find that there was space for the 7 of us in the rear courtyard. We were particularly lucky given that the cafe is quite small, probably only seating around a dozen inside and maybe 20 outside. The courtyard had a great atmosphere and was surprisingly warm. Given the lack of roof I probably wouldn’t want to be sitting out there for dinner in winter though. Come to think of it I wouldn’t want to be sitting out there for lunch in winter either. That seems really impractical. Maybe there is a retractable roof or something and I just didn’t notice it, or maybe it’s invisible.
The menu was simple, a couple salads, a couple sides and a range of fresh seafood and meat sitting in the front counter ready to be thrown on a grill. The options were very seafood heavy (with only 2 meats) which wasn’t great for the strangely anti-seafood Gerard, I liked it though.
I really enjoyed the dinner. There was good service, a great atmosphere, lots of food and lots of laughs. Perfect.
He says
With the recent austerity measures and subsequent protests in Greece, the Greeks have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Luckily, Demtri is trying to change that with dinner service starting at Dimitri’s Feast on Swan Street Richmond. Known for its Greek inspired take on brunch, dinner service now runs Thursday to Sunday.
Walking into a restaurant and asking for a table for seven on a Saturday night is a tall order at most restaurants, but it’s almost impossible at a place as cozy as Demitri’s Feast. Luckily the stars aligned, and we were seated in the courtyard at the back. Don’t be deterred if you walk past and it looks full, there are more seats at the back.
I was so shocked that we had a table that I hadn’t noticed that the rotating menu was predominately fish focused. You’ll be very happy if you’re into your seafood, but there is also certainly enough on the menu for everyone else.
We ate
The menu, written on a blackboard that gets carted around from table to table, changes depending on the seafood and meats available. The 7 of us shared a selection of sides, mains and desserts.
We started out with the dips and bread (tzatziki, eggplant and taramasalata – $4 each, or $12 for all three).
We ordered 2 serves of the blue eye fillets ($12 each). The fillets were juicy, fresh and simply cooked. Some of the best fish I’ve had in a while. The fillets had a really fishy taste, in a good way though, somehow that sounds like a bad thing.
We also ordered a whole flounder ($20). The flounder was good, but probably not as good as the blue eye fillets. Maybe I’m just biased because I find fillets so much less work than whole fish with all their bones. They’re all so little and hard to find, it’s like they’re taunting you.
Meat-wise we ordered 10 of the marinated lamb cutlets ($5 each). The lamb was great. Again, it was simple but the meat was fresh and well cooked.
We also tried some of the chicken skewers ($7 each). These were just as fresh and well cooked as everything else. I feel like I’m repeating myself but the comments just apply equally to everything.
We shared a tomato and olive salad ($10.50). See my comments above in relation to every other dish.
The last side we tried was the patates ($6.50).
After dinner Gerard and I had some baklava which wasn’t the best I’ve had, but was still pretty, pretty satisfying.
All up
Simple, super fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. Throw in some good company and you’ll struggle to find a better dinner in Richmond.
