Milieu - A Greek Drama

A moment's indulgence, if you don't mind Gentle Reader, to ponder why a hitherto forgettable French tabac-style venue might suddenly morph via some strange topological transformation into a Greek Taverna. This is the story of Milieu, where Chef Manaka has returned to his roots by turning his cafe into a taverna in 2018. One wonders if his time as Chef to the Japanese mission in Athens created secret passions and desires in some glorious Elysian way. Or if he felt the pull of the Dionysian mysteries, calling him to Bacchanalia Extremus. The answers to these questions are mostly unfathomable, and worthy of Zeno. 

Greek food was an exotic indulgence for a generation of Australians including Your Humble Correspondent. You see, Australia was home to a swarm of Greek immigrants post-WW II and Melbourne at one time luxuriated in the title of the second-largest Greek city on the planet. A town was not worthy of incorporation if it did not boast a Cafe Parthenon or a fish-and-chip shop run by a Greek family. There were Hellenic soccer clubs when the rest of us played Rugby, and we all reveled in Zorba dancing on warm nights (apparently, this was possibly only Your Humble Servant ...).

Then, sadly, our mothers thought to take on the challenge of replicating Greek food in the home, emboldened no doubt by Margaret Fulton cookbooks and the relative simplicity of it all. Moussaka, Souvlaki, and the very occasional spanikopita. Feta spread its incendiary way in refrigerators all across the country, and "stuffed" olives popped up in salads with alarming frequency. Needless to say, our fathers were none too happy in a meat-and-three-veg huffy way (and most often, hungry).

Which is apropos of nothing really except that Your Humble Correspondent has a very occasional hankering for a Greek meal, and decided to visit Milieu in Higashi-Azabu with The Dandy on a recent warm Saturday evening. They had thoughtfully translated the menu into English for us, so that the Greek Salad had become Greek Salad and Moussaka had been rendered as, well, Moussaka.

The fare is actually very good, and the wine equally so. Greek grape varietals are experiencing somewhat of a boom, and are remarkably affordable. Affordable enough, in fact, to indulge in more than one bottle. Once we had established that we all - surprisingly - spoke Japanese, the service was warm and friendly. The decor is searingly dull, and could benefit from a touch of colour and the occasional plastic flower. Which takes nothing away from the exotic almost frivolous notion of Greek food in Tokyo, and the slight feeling of dalliance one experiences forking into a moist moussaka.

Visit Milieu with interesting and decorous friends, and in these warmer times sit outside on the balcony to sip your ouzo. And if you're up for it, a little Zorba ... 

Milieu: 2-23-12 Higashiazabu, Minato-ku, t: 03-3568-7850
Rating: Food: 7/10; Anetos-ness: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Ambiance:6/10; Price-Performance: 8/10
Total: 35/50 (3 Forks)
Reservations: On the website