Nieo’s Grille, Earlwood

[invite] Vanessa:  Since having my bambino six months ago, I am always grateful for any outing within a 20-minute radius from my home.  Mainly as I live in constant anticipation of dealing with a crying baby in the car. So when an opportunity to check out Nieo’s Grille came up mid-week, the 18-minute drive was a no-brainer!  On many occasions I have driven past Nieo’s and assumed it was an upmarket takeaway chicken shop, I was pleasantly surprised to walk in and see that there is sizeable dining space that has been very tastefully fitted out.

I should add here that you can indeed order chicken, salads and other items as take-away – but I was definitely impressed to see that there was so much more on offer.

That night Bianca and I substituted Alex for Mr M and Baby Vincent ..starting him young! As we settled in, we were given a bit of a rundown about the restaurant’s origins including the decision for the name.  A combination of letters of the names of the two owners, Nick and Theo, was the genesis of the name Nieo’s.  We were also told that the menu’s strong Greek influence is further cemented by the owner’s mother making the salads herself each day.

For a Wednesday night, the place was busy with a steady flow of patrons coming and going both for dine-in and takeaway.  Whilst the menu is pretty extensive with lots of varied options, we tried to stay as close as possible to traditional Greek food.

We started off with a serve of the Feta Tiganiti ($12). This consisted of two pieces of feta wrapped in fried filo pastry served with honey, walnuts, pomegranate and icing sugar. We all commented on how creamy the feta is and with the right balance of flavour between salty and sweet this is a solid option for a starter.

We accompanied this with the mixed dip plate ($14.50) consisting of a trio of different dips with pita bread. The taramasalata was a stand out for me – bold, creamy and just the right amount of salt makes for a delicious tarama.

We opted to share our mains, although they are all designed as individual serves and the portions are generous. First up the lamb and baked vegetables. This was off the specials menu that evening and was served alongside a medley of vegetables. This was met with mixed reviews, I personally didn’t mind it ,however, Mr M was perturbed that the lamb tasted as though it had been boiled rather than roasted, giving it quite a gelatinous texture and taste.  Vegetables were well cooked and seasoned and paired nicely alongside it.

I personally love a Rotisserie Chicken, Bianca was less excited about it but I was pleased with our choice of the flat Greek style charcoal chicken meal ($19.90). As you can see from the picture this was a very decent serve of chicken alongside chips, salad and with lemon and chilli sauces on the side.  Definitely, a good go-to staple that I would return for.

Now although we were at a tipping point and had an infant that was on the verge of a fully fledged meltdown, we didn’t let that stop us from ordering dessert..oh no we did not!

We were happy about that decision too as the Loukoumades with honey and cinnamon made it worthwhile. With a crispy exterior and soft doughy interior, the loukoumades are a definite go-to as a dessert option.  They are so moreish it’s hard to stop at one..or even two!

We also shared the sticky date pudding which was moist and a good serve for one. It could probably do with more of the sauce to really soak up the flavour.

We were all happy to have experienced the food at Nieo’s Grille and also to discover that it is so much more than a fancy takeaway chicken shop. The prices are very reasonable, the portions are large so in essence when you leave your stomach will be full and your wallet won’t be light! Whether it is dine-in or takeaway there is something for everyone’s taste on the menu.

Enjoy!

Vanessa

Photos by Bianca

*For Foods Sake dined as guests of Nieo’s Grille -all opinions are our own.