For more than 45 years, Melbourne restaurant Stalactites has been dishing up traditional Greek food under a now-legendary ceiling of plaster shaped to look like the stalactites from which the venue takes its name. It was opened in Melbourne’s Greek precinct in 1978 by Konstantinos Tsoutouras, who migrated from the Laconia region in 1968, and was a taste of home for the many Greeks who moved to Australia in the post-war decades. Famously, for many years, the restaurant was open 24 hours a day – and though these days it’s not open around the clock, its late-night trading still makes it a staple for late-night dining in the CBD.
Over the years, Stalactites has been passed down the generations – now it’s led by Tsoutouras’s granddaughter Nicole Konstandakopoulos, who grew up helping out in the restaurant. While the menu has evolved over time, it’s still all about recognisable Greek classics: chicken or lamb giros, souvlaki, spanakopita, and mixed grill. Plus, this house-made tzatziki, which is best served piled atop warm pita.
“We make our tzatziki all in-house at Stalactites,” Konstandakopoulos tells Broadsheet. “This includes hanging the yoghurt overnight to strain the water out of it so it’s nice and thick. We make over 1.5 tonnes of tzatziki a week, but have adapted the recipe to a small, manageable quantity that you can make very quickly.”
Stalactites’s tzatziki
Makes 1 serving
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 small Lebanese cucumber
300g thick Greek yoghurt, strained
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Pinch black pepper
Sea salt, to taste
Method
Wash and cut cucumber in half. Do not peel. Remove seeds, if any, and grate the cucumber. Place in a sieve to drain liquid into a bowl. Squeeze out any excess liquid by placing cucumber in a tea towel and wringing it.
In a separate bowl, combine strained yoghurt, crushed garlic and vinegar. Add the strained cucumbers to the yoghurt with the oil and pepper and add salt to taste. Stir until combined. Adjust salt and add extra garlic to taste if required.
Store in the fridge.
