So, it was great to be invited along one Friday evening by Around the Clock Foodie, or at least half of ATCF, and be able to hang out with the stupendous company of Weekend Food Escapes, plus one, and meet the colourful and infamous (because he’s the top Zomato food reviewer in Sydney) Random DinDins.
Our destination: Platia. Located in the Top Ryde City Shopping Centre, it’s a bit of a strange contrast in that it’s got such a nice, homey feel to it, and a family-run operation, that it feels like it should be your neighbourhood Greek place, or in a Greek area of the city, or in Greece! On the other hand, it’s lovely to sit in the open courtyard and the mall makes the place feel appropriately modern and contemporary.
We were fed and watered extremely well, with a wonderful array of starters and mains. This souvlaki above was a favourite. A basic dish but everything was so tasty. As was this incredible prawn dish.
It was a great evening and Platia were very generous to us. Nicer people you could not meet. Greek cheese is a bit marvelous too.
And this slightly unusual rendition of feta.
My favourite, I’d have to say, was the octopus, which at times, in other restaurants I have found too, er, visceral an experience, but the grilled flavour was just so good.
All the standards are on offer here too… Slow-cooked lamb.
Moussaka, a particular favourite of mine, but I think it gets lost a bit when there are so many other dishes.
Dips.
Stuffed mushrooms…
A few new menu items were on offer such as this chicken dish.
Then the dancing broke out. My goodness (and the two musicians who played throughout the evening were great!)
The plates were rather interesting: made of plaster and made me to be broken.
You’d have thought that the ouzo shots were the reason for the dancing but in fact were offered kindly as a farewell gesture.
Though before this we also polished off this amazing dessert plate.
Thanks to Platia and my fellow diners for a memorable meal. If you’re in Ryde, or up for a Ryde (heh, heh), ride on up there. OK. I’ll stop now.