Fine dining Greek restaurant Estiatorio Milos debuts in Marina Bay Sands

THE latest of many imported F&B brands flocking to Singapore, Greek restaurant Estiatorio Milos wants local diners to know that Hellenic cuisine is not just mezze, moussaka or the cornerstone of a generic Mediterranean diet.

Founder Costas Spiliadis was born in Greece’s port city of Patras, and has spent the past 45 years pushing the “freshness and authenticity” mantra of his native cuisine through his restaurants in cities such as Montreal, New York, London, Los Cabos and Dubai. Now he is opening his first Asian outpost on Jul 25 in a joint venture with Marina Bay Sands, taking up the space vacated by Db Bistro and Oyster Bar.

The 77-year-old found his life’s mission when he was a university student in Montreal in the late 1970s. There, he was horrified that the only Greek food he could find was “souvlaki, gyros and moussaka”. For the young man who grew up being fed by a mother entrenched in native culture and food, he had “not a moment of epiphany but rather frustration seeing the food of my country completely misrepresented outside of Greece”.

When he graduated, he opened his first Estiatorio Milos – literally translated as Restaurant Milos – in 1979. He has not looked back since. He earned a reputation for the authenticity of his food, with ingredients painstakingly sourced from the island of Kythira and the rest of Greece.

Whether or not Milos can replicate that kind of authenticity so far away from the source in Singapore remains to be seen, but “over the years, I have learned how to preserve authenticity while adapting to different cultures, using ingredients I find around the world to make Greek food a universal experience”, he says in an e-mail interview. “Singapore, and the region, is a new and relatively unknown frontier that I’m excited and eager to get to know.”

Designed by Alain Carle Architecte – who were also behind the restaurants in Las Vegas and New York – the Singapore outlet features plenty of Pentelikon marble and European oak, accented with Greek artefacts, and works by his photographer-artist daughter. But what will catch the eye of diners most is the display of whole fish, seafood and vegetables flanked by a raw bar filled with caviar, bottarga, sashimi-quality fish and oysters.

“The seafood market concept reflects my intention to serve whole fish by the kilo,” explains Spiliadis. The idea is to replicate his memories of home when “fish was caught in the morning, vegetables were gently cooked with Greek olive oil, and flaky Aegean sea salt brought briny flavours to the table”. 

The heart of Greek food lies in its provenance, says Spiliadis, particularly its olive oil, and wild caught fish from its deep sea waters. He adds that the restaurant has built up a solid network of suppliers from farmers to fishermen, who supply to the outlets worldwide.

Even so, “one of the challenges of opening in Singapore is maintaining our supply chain and sourcing consistently despite the distance”, he notes. “We use authentic ingredients such as honey and salt from Kythira island, and olive oil extracted from Koroneiki olives. Our wild-caught fish and seafood are airflown from Greece and the Mediterranean daily. These are the building blocks of our dishes, which means the quality and origin cannot be compromised.”

SEE ALSO

Robot salads and designer Korean fare at Hyundai’s Na Oh restaurant

Signature dishes include its Milos Special – a tower of “paper thin, lightly fried zucchini and eggplant coated with creamy tzatziki”. There is also whole fish baked in sea salt, grilled octopus from Lemnos paired with Santorini fava, and grilled Atlantic lobster served with Greek fried potatoes. Its much lauded tomato salad is said to comprise Greek tomatoes left to ripen unrefrigerated to preserve their natural flavours.

For Singaporean diners prone to lumping Greek food into an all-purpose mix of Lebanese, Turkish and other Levantine cooking, Estiatorio Milos is set to raise the bar with upscale decor and fine dining pricing. While the menu has not yet been finalised, the restaurant expects the average spend to be S$80 for lunch and S$140 for dinner for food alone. Meanwhile, the gastro-blog Hot Dinners classifies Milos as one of the most expensive restaurants in London.

Price aside, it will offer insight into a cuisine that has not quite penetrated the local dining scene as much as Japanese, French, Italian or Spanish.

“We’re aware that the knowledge about Greek food in this part of the world is not widespread, so we see this as an opportunity to share our culinary heritage,” says Spiliadis.

Estiatorio Milos is located at B1-48, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands