Let’s talk about the tree. The glorious bougainvillea that dominates the dining room at Olympus. At the latest restaurant from the team behind the Apollo and Cho Cho San, this enormous 50-year-old tree is the heart of the circular, cloistered main dining room.

“It’s the life of our restaurant, it’s our pride and joy,” says owner Jonathan Barthelmess. “We put it in two months ago, and it was looking pretty bare then, and now it’s just thriving – I reckon about 50 per cent of it is new growth.”

Barthelmess expects the bougainvillea, with its pink-highlighter-coloured flowers, to bloom in just under two months’ time. When it does, he’ll finally have the full, high-definition realisation of the image of Olympus that he’s been dreaming about.

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“I wanted to recreate a taverna in the mountains,” says Barthelmess. “The Apollo is an international Greek restaurant that could fit into any major city – with Olympus, I wanted to do an Athens-style garden taverna with a different style of dining.”

Barthelmess’s priority when designing the menu, together with head chef Özge Kalvo (Baba’s Place, Ester) was creating a wide-ranging taverna-style menu. There are 47 dishes on the à la carte section of the menu alone (of which 21 are share-style meze). Then, there are three different set menus, each with their own price point.

“I wanted a classic menu with an abundance of dishes,” Barthelmess says. “It’s light, it’s fresh – you could eat here five times a week if you wanted, and you’d still get something different.” For your first visit here, Barthelmess recommends a set menu, where you’ll find classics such as taramasalata, chicken souvlaki and spanakopita.

Olympus gives you the best and most annoying problem it’s possible to have in a restaurant: more exciting dishes than it’s possible to consume in one sitting. Will you go for the milk-fed lamb with a rice pilafi, some seasonal vegetables, and a handful of spanakopitas? Get a large woodfired whole trout for the table and back it up with some sides? Or just go all-in on the meze menu and make a beeline for classics like taramasalata, dolmades and as much bread and cheese as you can get your hands on? It’s thrilling, but daunting. For your first time, Barthelmess suggests going for a set menu. That’ll give you the lay of the land, so you can confidently go off-road on your next visit (we think there’ll be a next visit).

Barthelmess’s favourites include the htapodi ksidato seafood meze (octopus in vinegar and sea fennel), the rice-stuffed zucchini, and the wood-fired quail. Although there are a few desserts to choose from, Barthelmess can’t look past the frozen yoghurt as a meal-finisher.

“The spoon fruits really hit home for me,” he says. “In a taverna, after all the grilled meats, you usually get some yoghurt and spoon fruits with some ouzo, so this is a play on that.”

Speaking of ouzo, it’s the star of what will surely be the go-to cocktail at Olympus – the Ouzo Colada (although the watermelon slushie, with Aperol and vodka, will be hot on its heels). Barthelmess recruited renowned bartender Matt Whiley (Re, Little Cooler), who’s worked on every one of his restaurants, to design the cocktail list, and this time around, he’s taken the theme of taverna fun to heart. There’s also a wine list that’s about one-third Greek.

“There’s so much Greek wine available now,” says Barthelmess. “When we opened the Apollo, I remember we had every single Greek wine in the country – like, 40 – and now there’s hundreds.”

Both menus are packed with the sorts of dishes and drinks that beg to be eaten outside – that’s where the glass “oculus” ceiling that wreaths nearly the entire room steps in: the retractable ceiling opens and shuts like the eye it’s shaped after. So regardless of whatever Sydney’s temperamental weather is doing that day or night, dining always feels alfresco. That glass roof, combined with luxurious modern Hellenic interiors by long-time collaborator George Livissianis, is striking. It seamlessly fits into its surroundings, adjoined to the soon-to-open Eve Hotel, in the middle of the new Wunderlich Lane precinct.

Olympus might have been inspired by a mountain taverna but dining here feels more like eating in the middle of Ancient Greek Odeon. No wonder it’s named after the home of the Greek gods. Ambrosia and nectar should be on the menu. It’s only day one, and this is already one of the most elegant dining rooms in Sydney – and the bougainvillea hasn’t even bloomed yet.

Olympus
Wunderlich Lane, 2 Baptist Street, Redfern
(02) 8354 0649

Hours
Mon to Tue 5pm–12am
Wed to Sun 12pm–12am

olympusdining.com.au
@olympusdining