As the anticipated Howard Smith Wharves development inched closer to completion, Brisbane scored a brand-new entrant in our booming Greek food scene. Restaurateur and chef Jonathan Barthelmess – the renowned culinary brain behind Sydney institutions The Apollo and Cho Cho San – brought his heralded Greek cuisine north for Greca, settling in snugly in its heritage-listed precinct home in December 2018. Inspired by the simplicity of traditional Greek cuisine and the Mediterranean lifestyle, Greca embraces Queensland’s climate with a menu of share-style dishes and a timeless indoor-outdoor trattoria aesthetic. Diners can expect some of The Apollo’s original dishes remixed with the best local produce, including sizzling saganaki cheese, spanakopita, fried calamari with prawns and mussels, kritharaki pasta topped with braised oxtail, grilled octopus, charcoal chicken and baked lamb shoulder. Greca’s bar brings the fun with a selection of spritzes, negronis, cocktail jugs and ‘taverna twists’. Greek beers, ouzo, tap wines by glass or carafe and bottled wines are also available.