Spartan lives up to its name
SPARTAN Eatery, one of the newest editions to East London’s growing restaurant and dining out experiences, has recently expanded their menu with more Greek dishes.
The owners, Petros and Philip Pouroullis, of Cypriot descent, who have run the restaurant under the Guido’s franchise for more than five years, decided to bring a more Mediterranean flavour to the menu under a new independent brand.
The name Spartan comes from the ancient Greek Spartans, who were leaders of the ancient Greek military at the peak of the Spartan civilisation.
Spartans were unique in Greece and the ancient world for their social systems and equality between men and women – only Spartan women gave birth to Spartan men.
All Spartans were given rigorous training while growing up, with a focus on discipline and excellence in everything they did.
Spartan Eatery’s focus when creating a new menu and brand for the East London market was on sourcing local ingredients, meeting the expectations of new and existing customers and ensuring consistency with the products and levels of service provided.
Various challenges and responsibilities had to be met at the restaurant such as minimising waste, ensuring the highest hygiene standards and sourcing quality local products.
The restaurant gives local suppliers preference when sourcing its ingredients to ensure that not only Spartan benefits but also the local community.
Some of the more common herbs used at the restaurant are also grown on site.
Greek cuisine has a number of core ingredients including olive oil, wine, lamb, eggplant, oreganum, mint and yoghurt.
Typically, Greek dishes are served in a Meze style (appetisers) for a social get- together of friends, family or work colleagues.
Traditional Greek Ouzo is also a must try, which is made from aniseed and can be served neat or on rice. The restaurant is also busy planning a number of regular social events.
The first event, the Spartan Souvla (Greek Spit Braai), has already become a great success for Spartan Eatery and is held every two weeks on a Saturday evening.
In true Greek style, the focus for the rest of these events will be on arts and culture, helping charitable organisations, and most importantly, to provide fun in a relaxed environment.
If you would like to be informed of these events, go to www.spartaneatery.co.za to join their SMS or mailing database.
