Jim's Greek Taverna

Ph: 9419 3827; 32 Johnston St, Collingwood 3066

Greek, $$
Open 7 days 6pm-midnight, Closed Some public holidays; Licensed, BYO no; AE DC MC V EFT
Chef Chris Katopodis (5-12-08) Owner Kostas Tziostzis & Leo Panagopoulos (5-12-08)

Mietta's Review
Over the years Greek food has become less exotic to most Australian diners, we know dolmades, we know and love saganaki, so the menu at Jim's Greek Taverna is a familiar one where dishes are well made. Greek-Australians love it for the authenticity of the service, the accents are real, and the arrogance permeates. Waiters order for you, so be assertive, or the evening could get expensive. It can be lots of fun, cramped in at tables set too close together, or out the back on the warmer nights, Greek music, loud staff, you can just get carried away by it all, but don't go breaking the plates.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 12/20 "Jim's has that rustic, family-friendly taverna thing down pat: a cavernous back pavilion packed with informal groups and bouzouki tunes romping over the hubbub. The whole place runs with chaotic charm, with harried waiters barking out the verbal menu: 'Dips to start?' signals an entree of pickled veg, fleshy olives and soft, warm bread to scoop up house-made dips such as salty taramasalata, baba ghanoush and tzatziki laced with dill"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 12/20 "At Jim's, you could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting you're in downtown Collingwood and not some old-style taverna in Greece. There's the familiar white walls and maritime motif paper tablecloths, the glass counter displaying raw meat and seafood, the noisy, boisterous crowd and the trademark harried, shouting waiters darting around the tables"

The Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 13/20 "The word institution' is bandied about pretty liberally these days, but in the case of Jim's Greek Tavern it's truly justified. Jim's is staffed almost exclusively by middle-aged men with just the right amount of attitude, good humour and facial hair, and they've been serving up hearty Greek cuisine for more than 30 years now."

The Age Good Food Guide 2005 "AFTER practising its anarchic formula for more than a quarter of a century, Jim's Greek Tavern is perhaps not Melbourne's best Greek restaurant but is almost certainly its favourite. The abundance of cliches combined into a single package are beloved by huge noisy tables of families and boozy twentysomethings taking advantage of the BYO beer policy."

The Age, Agenda,6/6/04,John Lethlean,'This is the essence of no-nonsense eating: a barn of dining room lined with cypress trees; no menu; disposable "linen"; BYO vino; the most perfunctory service. But no-nonsense dining puts the onus back onto the kitchen. Honesty, quality, freshness, purity: everything fundamental is on show when the culinary is stripped bare.'

The Age, A2, 27/3/04, John Weldon,'for about $50 a head, they'll proceed to bring you the same until you yell 'stop' ...i ts wholesome, just-like-mama-used-to-make food is unbeatable.'

Age Good Food Guide 2003 14/20

The Age, Sunday Life, Eat Streets, 18/8/02

Herald Sun, Food & Drink, Food to go, 14.2.99