The DCM nightclub on Oxford Street has recently been replaced by a Mediterranean restaurant called The Mediterranean. Opened by the owner of Tandoori Palace from across the road, this restaurant boasts a decent menu of some Greek classics. Arriving at The Mediterranean requires climbing a flight of stairs which could in itself work up a thirst for a glass of wine.

The atmosphere is different to your traditional fine dining restaurant whereby this setting has Greek resembling statues, and the decorator seems to have a fetish for long hanging lights. There is a feature wall when you arrive with brick tiles and a relief. Towards the end of the bar there is a beautiful painting (or wallpaper) of the Greek island coast, which unfortunately is dimmed out due to the lighting. Previously a dance floor and now capable of holding close to seating over a 150 people, the restaurant has been opened for just over 8 weeks.

The menu list your Greek specials of dips, souvlaki, moussaka and also a great variety for seafood dishes. We had ordered the mixed platter ($10), which unfortunately only turned up with 2 dips – Tzatziki and Taramosalata (fish roe) but however they missed the eggplant dip (Melitzanosalata). Being a non-seafood diner, the tzatziki was actually pretty good. Nice warm pita bread topped with dried herbs works really well with it. I did however crave for other dips but we moved on to the entree of meatballs (Souzoukakia – $15.90) where the serving is actually quite generous with 4 large pieces – enough for one per person to try. We had also ordered some Ouzo Prawns ($17.90) which look well cooked in the a rich tomato, garlic and chilli based sauce.

Our mains had one let down, the Lamb Fourno ($26) which did have quite a few rib bones in the dish, and while some of the meat was tender it left little to desire with slightly over salted potatoes. However, the meat Moussaka ($20) was value for money. I haven’t had very many Moussaka’s in my life, but this tasted great. Nice layer of mashed potatoes on top, with a layer of tomato paste and mince sitting on a bed of eggplant baked with crispy sides that held its shape well when presented. A piece of this was sufficient to fill me up without much of the Lamb Fourno.

After having tasted the above it left very little room for dessert, but I was given an explanation of a deep fried donut topped with honey and cinnamon that sounded great, but I had to prepared myself for a walk down the stairs – and dessert would have made that harder.

The Mediterranean’s kitchen is run by a Greek chef and so the quality of food isn’t bad for a restaurant down Oxford St which unfortunately does have a lot of competition to keep them going. The restaurant has an abundant amount of room to host group dinners and functions which they advertise on their website. $50 per person allows you to try a mixed variety of what The Mediterranean has to offer. Their wine list is pretty decent for a restaurant of this price range too. We had a great Sauvignon Blanc that worked well with our food, but if I wasn’t driving I would have selected a second glass of red for my mains.

Being only opened for 2 months, the service will need time to improve itself. The waitress did have a hard time understanding our order, as well as the names of the dishes. Her knowledge of the wine list required us to repeat it a few times, but again that just needs encouragement and education. On a Tuesday night (which is when I went) don’t expect a full house, but on a Friday or Saturday I’ve been told that live entertainment is on offer with belly dancing and singing to bring in a crowd.

Dine at The Mediterranean and then head down to the nightlife of Oxford Street, you won’t regret filling up your stomach before those tequila shots.