Olympus has faltered

It was the screams of late-teenage girls which ratcheted up the alarm bells most on a recent meal at new Sydney Greek dining hotspot Olympus in Surry Hills – part of the $500 million reinvention of the old Surry Hills Mall nee Redfern Plaza.

Billed as a lifestyle precinct which basically translates as apartments with some shops underneath, the new development is the latest go-to precinct for Sydney’s ever fickle “we love you for six months” diners.

These same fickle diners were the screamers on our most recent visit where a local influencer or person of no discernible talent had turned up to eat. Then again, self-promotion is equated with boundless talent in our wonderful technological age.

And herein might lie the problem with Olympus in its early days. Besides a wonderful fit out including a large bougainvillea tree living as the centrepiece of a grand open dining room lying under a retractable ocular glass ceiling, it did seem to have attracted a lot of instagramming non-drinkers for a Thursday night.

I’m no restaurateur but a venue seating 200 people filled with water-drinking influencer wannabes ordering a couple of dishes to stare at through their smartphone lens interspersed with doom-scrolling other restaurants, isn’t long for this world. Maybe once the influencers drop-off and someone orders a wine, Olympus might become a Sydney institution but for now… nope.

The good news is co-owners Jonathan Barthelmess and Sam Christie are the polar opposite of the now near-defunct Public Hospitality Group which was mostly responsible for the demise of Alpha – a great Greek Sydney restaurant and a personal favourite.

More pertinently, Barthelmess and Christie are responsible for the excellent The Apollo in Potts Point and much of the menu from there is reinvented under chef Ozge Kalvo at Olympus.

The other good news is we did order wine and, cracking relatively well-priced wines at that. from a decent list featuring a mix of European and Antipodean wines with a heavy nod to the restaurant’s Hellenic roots.

A Domaine des Hates Chablis and Pyramid Valley Manata Pinot Noir were the actual highlights of a meal that never reached great heights unfortunately. Granted, I was hungry, wanted food from the grill and may have ordered poorly but something was amiss.

Part of the problem might be the room which because of its vast size does give a slight restaurant in a shopping centre vibe – rather like Singapore although the Greek restaurant in the Lion City’s Marina Bay Sands Shoppes, Estiatoros Milos, is an absolute cracker.

As for the cuisine at Olympus, it was fair. An opener of olives, village bread and some Barrel-aged Feta was mildly comforting washed down with the house specialty Plotino Margarita featuring the Greek liqueur Mastiha.

What followed wasn’t great. Two overcooked entrees of Kalamari tis Skaras (grilled calamari) and Sardelles (grilled sardines) meant we had to really chew down the calamari and crunch through sardines with both having lingered a little too long on the grill. Sauces of oil, lemon, capers and a little chilli didn’t quite lift the flavours either but all was nearly saved by the aforementioned Chablis.

As for the main event, I’m extremely partial to roast lamb in a Greek restaurant but the milk-fed lamb shoulder was extremely fatty and quite overcooked. Dare I say it, “mutton done up as lamb” as my grandmother/Yaya used to say. The accompanying beetroot salad lacked any real zing as it lacked the necessary slightly sweet acidity to cut through the unctuous mouthfeel of the lamb.

The hand cut chips were good though, as was the Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir.

With much of the lamb left behind, it was a pass on the dessert front and maybe a regret we didn’t try some souvlaki or spanakopita as they’re usual comfort food favourites. A regret deepened by the hit and miss meal we had just experienced although the service was good from a floor staff that strongly hinted they hoped for punters less interested in themselves and more in the food.

To finish, a ridiculous Gerad Butler movie analogy as he has starred in a relatively good film very loosely based on Greek history and many other generic action bombs… this was more Olympus Has Fallen than 300.