Xanthi, Westfield Sydney, CBD

I have been wanting to come here for quite some time now and I finally did! My uni friends and I had just finished our Studio presentations and were in the mood to celebrate finishing our last 60% assessment and since it was my birthday the day before, we had decided to go out to have dinner.

When we had entered at around 5:30, it was quite empty and no one was their to greet us. But service did come around and we were quickly seated and water was offered.

 

The stained glass jars holding the candles were beautiful! There was a lot to offer when we were browsing through their menu but we weren't too hungry as it was quite early so we ordered mostly from the Ouzomezedakia menu (small sharing plates).

 

Souzoukakia, $13.00

These spicy pork, beef and rice meatballs were cooked in a rich tomato, cumin and seeded mustard sauce and sat on top of tzatziki. It was packed full of flavour and the meted kasseri cheese on top made it even more delicious! There was so much sauce and the flavour was so strong that we ordered a plate of bread ($3.00). There were sourdough slices that had a nice chewy crust, and pita bread that was amazingly soft and warm from the grill. With the bread, this dish was spot on.

XFC - Xanthi Fried Chicken, $12.00

My friends and I had a laugh when we saw these on the menu and we just had to order it. The chicken wings are first poached in a spiced raki stock and then deep fried for a crunchy exterior. They sat on top of a creamy garlic sauce - this was where the bread came in handy again. Xanthi has such wonderful sauces so I would definitely recommend ordering some bread to go with everything.

Hot Smoked Eggplant Dip, $11.00

This also came with pita bread so we had a huge excess of bread but no matter, all the more to mop up the sauces with! This smoked eggplant dip blended with coriander, cumin, lemon juice, yoghurt and kasseri was fantastic with the toasted pita bread. I couldn't taste the coriander though which is a plus for me because I'm not the biggest fan of that herb, and even though it didn't taste like eggplant, it was still delicious!

Pork Belly Baklava, $21.00

I had heard about this a long time ago and was very keen to try this dish! And it was everything I hoped for and more. I love baklava and was very curious about a savoury one containing pork! This one has twice cooked pork belly with a date and pistachio filling and is served with a date mastic sauce. I thought the date sauce would be very sweet but it actually wasn't! It provided just that extra bit of sweetness that went wonderfully with the juicy pork. When all the elements were eaten together, it was like heaven in my mouth. This dish is definitely a must order at Xanthi (:

Overall, the service was very laid back (maybe a bit TOO chilled out...) but the food was lovely enough for me to want to come back to try other delicious dishes from their menu. And I will definitely drink some ouzu next time ;)

Xanthi Bar & Restaurant
Level 6 Dining Precinct, Westfield Sydney
100 Market St
Sydney NSW 2000
9232 8535

Opening Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 11am - 10pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - 11pm