A Revived Salona Joins Melbourne’s New Greek Wave

Stavros Konis’s grandfather opened the first iteration of Salona in 1969. It was a time when, according to Stavros, they were serving lamb’s head and offal to the Greek gamblers who he says frequented illegal card houses that dotted Swan Street, Richmond. In 2004, Stavros took the reins, continuing the family legacy and serving many of the original recipes.

Over the past 10 months, Stavros, his wife Alexandra Konis and brother Alex Konis – both co-owners – have worked to expand the restaurant by taking over the neighbouring heritage building, formerly a travel agent. Salona managed to continue trading during the renovation, but the expanded space, which opened at the end of June and brought capacity up to 110, has sparked a bit of a revival for the restaurant.

The expansion plans began years ago, but permit issues delayed progress. During this time, Konis collaborated with prolific restaurateur Con Christopoulos (The European, Angel Music Bar) on pop-up-turned-restaurant Kafeneion, giving his team a place to work and offering Stavros a chance to refine his approach.

“It was like I was playing basketball with Michael Jordan,” Stavros tells Broadsheet. “I was learning off the master.”

Lessons from Christopoulos have shaped the new Salona, from its more intuitive layout to its deeper expression of heritage in the food. While the Konises previously embraced a modernised approach to Greek cuisine, they’re now revisiting the past with nods to taverna classics and homestyle dishes that both call back to the restaurant’s early days and reflect the evolution of Melbourne’s Greek food scene.

Among the new offerings is frigadelia, spiced lamb liver wrapped in caul fat. “It’s a typical thing that you find in an ouzo bar,” Stavros says, and a dish he remembers from his childhood. “My grandma would force-feed me this to get my iron.”

There’s also prawn youvetsi, an orzo dish made with Australian wild king prawns, as well as talagani, a haloumi-like cheese from the Peloponnese made by local producer Petro Papathomas, that’s grilled and served with caramelised onion, peppers and a pomegranate glaze.

“We only use Australian products, except for Greek olive oil and [some] Greek cheeses,” Stavros says. “All the fish is always wild-caught, and everything’s very local.” He also supports Greek Australian producers with a focus on wine and spirits, serving anison (an ouzo-style liquor) and mastiha from Macedon Distillery.

A key feature in the new space is the bar, a reworked version of the original bar fixture from Christopoulos’s Self Preservation (previously the site of the Kafeneion pop-up, now Bossa Nova Sushi). The restaurant also includes a covered outdoor seating area inspired by Christopoulos’s City Wine Shop, and two private dining areas.

“We’ve got a space now that I think my grandfather would be really proud [of],” Stavros says.

Salona
260A Swan Street, Richmond
03 9429 1460

Hours:
Mon to Sat midday–11pm

salona.com.au
@salona_restaurant