Blu Kouzina

Blu Kouzina is the family business of Effie and Dennis Tsakiris and one of the oldest Greek restaurant names in Singapore. The Dempsey Hill flagship mixes Greek tavern furniture with exposed brick and colonial windows. Most ingredients are flown in from Greece, and everything is cooked in cold-pressed olive oil from the family's estate in Messinia.

Order a three- or four-dip platter with grilled pita to start, then spanakopita, dolmades or saganaki with figs. Lamb dominates the mains: kleftiko shank baked with garlic and lemon, grilled paidakia chops and lamb moussaka. Souvlaki me pita and beef kalamaki cover the grill. The menu says all meats, pita and cheese are halal-certified, though the restaurant serves alcohol, and the wine list is entirely Greek.

Its garden setting and space for children make it a regular for family lunches. It opens daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm and 5:30pm to 9:30pm; book through Chope. There are two other branches: one on Palawan Beach at The Palawan, Sentosa, and one on East Coast Road in Siglap.