Afloat has reopened for its latest season, bringing a taste of the Greek Islands to the Yarra with a new food and drinks offering.
Afloat has swapped one holiday destination for another, reopening on the Yarra River as Yamas Greece for its latest seasonal transformation.
The floating Melbourne restaurant and bar has taken inspiration from the Greek Islands for its new incarnation, with a menu centred around meze, seafood, gyros and grilled meats, alongside Greek wines and a new line-up of summer cocktails.
It’s a familiar concept for Afloat, which completely reinvents the venue each season around a different destination. Previous iterations have taken cues from places including the Amalfi Coast, the French Riviera, Mexico and Brazil, while this year’s version heads to Greece.
The food is the biggest change for diners, with Executive Chef Paul Dunlop drawing on Greek tavernas, beach clubs and street food for the new menu.
Expect plenty of dishes designed for sharing, including saganaki with Cretan honey, dolmades, beetroot and feta, grilled swordfish and lamb chops. Gyros come with a choice of lamb kofta, yoghurt-marinated chicken or crispy herb falafel.
For a group meal, there’s also an 800g slow-roasted lamb shoulder with potatoes, peppers, giant beans and pita, while loukoumades provide the obligatory sweet finish.
The drinks list takes the Greek theme in a slightly more playful direction.
Greek varieties including Assyrtiko, Moschofilero and Agiorgitiko feature on the wine list, while the cocktail menu includes a watermelon spritz, a Baklava Negroni and, perhaps most intriguingly, an Ouzo Frozen Coke made with Ouzo 12, Coca-Cola and mastic.
The venue itself has had the full Afloat treatment too, with the interiors reworked around whitewashed textures, blue shutters, striped umbrellas, terracotta and olive trees. Melbourne artist Bobby Clark has also created a large custom mural for the space.
So, if a Greek holiday isn’t quite on the cards, Yamas Greece is the next best thing, at least for an afternoon of food and drinks on the Yarra.
Afloat Yamas Greece is now open at 2 Flinders Walk, Melbourne, for bookings head to Afloat Melbourne.
