Friday night dinner. Yiayia rolling pastries. Pappou turning skewers of lamb and octopus over the charcoal grill. Laughter. Conversation. Life lessons.<\/p>\n
For twin boys growing up in the Adelaide suburbs, the weekly family ritual clearly made an impression.<\/p>\n
So much so that, while already busy running a software company together, Savvas and Sotiri Vassiliou decided they wanted to share this Greek-Cypriot style of hospitality with the wider\u00a0community.<\/p>\n
Three years ago they leased the space below their business and opened a restaurant, Ammos, in North Adelaide. Then, towards the end of last year, they opened another.<\/p>\n
Somma (Ammos spelt backwards) is midway along The Parade, at the start of the retail strip just up from Norwood Oval.<\/p>\n
What was an Asian bistro has been transformed into a long, narrow dining room that reflects the newcomer\u2019s ancient-meets-modern thinking.<\/p>\n
Plain white walls are offset by textured finishes and stonework.<\/p>\n
Illuminated niches hold earthenware jugs and vases sourced from the family\u2019s village in Cyprus.<\/p>\n
But the kitchen is nowhere to be seen, with food descending from upstairs by a hi-tech version of a dumb waiter.<\/p>\n
Still, vastly experienced chef Grant Schooling ensures any logistical hurdles don\u2019t impact what comes to the table.<\/p>\n
He has visited the Vassiliou home, learnt some of their secrets and added a few of his own twists.<\/p>\n
However, while the flavours mostly ring true, Somma is missing one essential ingredient: a sense of hospitality.<\/p>\n
Our visit is also on a Friday night but this is no family dinner.<\/p>\n
It is peak time and while turning tables is a necessary evil, it can be handled with a gentle touch.<\/p>\n
When the ticking clock is front-of-mind and pushing through customers becomes a priority, it can colour the experience. More smiles and less radio headsets could make all the difference.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s left then to a plate of grilled kefalograviera cheese (aka saganaki) to do the talking with its naughty gooey middle and sizzled exterior.<\/p>\n
All the natural saltiness is offset with a puddle of warmed honey dotted with thyme leaves. <\/p>\n
Yiayia\u2019s recipe for \u201ckoupes\u201d results in small, football-shaped croquettes with a casing of bulgur wheat around a crumbly pork filling aromatic with cinnamon and other spices.<\/p>\n
Poached and then grilled octopus has been allowed to keep its natural spring and even a little chewiness, rather than cooked to pulpy oblivion as this column has moaned about on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n
The tentacle is cut into discs down to the thinner section with its charred tip, that is one of the best bits, tossed on a bed of taramasalata and finished with the lemon, parsley and oregano dressing known as ladolemono. Perfect.<\/p>\n
The same green emulsion is splashed across a whole plate-sized New Zealand snapper that has been grilled with great finesse, the fillet from gills to tail peeling easily from the spine and rib bones without ever becoming dry.<\/p>\n
Fried potatoes on the side could be crisper but are finished with a tangy lemon dressing.<\/p>\n
Pastitsio is what would happen if spag bol and lasagne had a fling on a Greek island.<\/p>\n
A beef mince and red wine ragu bubbles away for more than three hours, before being combined with soft pasta tubes and a bechamel that has been sharpened with feta and kefalotyri cheese. It\u2019s like coming home to a roaring fire.<\/p>\n
Desserts, unfortunately, don\u2019t live up to the rest of the package.<\/p>\n
A baklava \u201ctrifle\u201d has the nut-laden pastries smashed at the bottom of a bowl, then buried beneath overly thick layers of custard and chantilly cream.<\/p>\n
Galaktoboureko, a vanilla-slice-like treat that is a joy at its best, has a filo lid that is like soggy layers of paper. Not freshly made, it would seem.<\/p>\n
Leaving a fair bit uneaten, then, isn\u2019t so bad, when a manager wearing one of those headsets appears at our table a few spoonfuls in with the bill and a clear message. Our table is needed. The next group is waiting at the front. We have five minutes. <\/p>\n
Fair enough. Our hour-and-three-quarters slot had expired. A little bit of warning and a friendlier approach, however, could have made a difference to our final impression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friday night dinner. Yiayia rolling pastries. Pappou turning skewers of lamb and octopus over the charcoal grill. 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