It has been ages since I stepped foot in to Hydra. Truth be told, by first visit did not impress. This was when they first opened in 2019. Since then years have gone by, times have changed, and they have a new chef and menu which makes all the difference.
The two story restaurant is part of the Executive Hotel group. The bottom floor serves as a hub with a lively bar and lounge experience.
The top floor is the dining room, which requires traversing up a spiral staircase to reach. Here, they too have a well stocked bar before a tiled mosaic backdrop and one for raw seafood on ice.
We took our seats by the window and began our evening with a couple glasses of sparkling. The Louis Roederer Collection 244′ Champagne, from France. A lovely dry wine, but you could tell had flattened from a long standing uncorking.
The cocktails were more our speed as pre-appetizer sippers. I was curious about the Exochi, described as a “showcase of Greek Flavour” citing fresh, exotic, and aromatic flavours. And that it was. Earl grey infused tsipouro, yellow chartreuse, watermelon, honey, and fresh lemon. It was surprisingly refreshing, given such bold flavours and slightly bitter tea. Together, I found the tea component cleanses and the citrus freshens the palate.
My guest ordered the Negroni Aspro, a Greek style negroni clarified to a water clear. However, as a result, my guest found its flavour muted. Mataroa greek gin, woods chiaro amaro, roots mastica, and a lemon twist.
We would follow this with a Greek wine, as I am not too familiar with many, nor am I all that familiar with Greek grapes. I also find that cocktails are nice to start, but wine is best with food.
Markovitis, Xinomavro, Naoussa 2019. Although we would have white meat for our main, we both prefer red and my guest reassured me that Greek reds are known to be lighter and less fruity. This one in particular was fairly savoury with an herbal-sage profile. An old world wine that was well opened, and heavy on the tongue with grit.
It would have done well to cut into the Saganaki with kefalograviera and lemon. This is baked cheese set a flame table side. Then served hot so it is still soft to cut. Not necessarily a dish I order for enjoyment of eating. Here, the show is the draw and well worth it.
There is definitely a ticking time bomb on this one, you want to eat it fast before the cheese hardens. As is it is salty and one toned. Better alongside the pita below, as a play on a Greek grilled cheese.
Hydra is known for their family style boards, ideal for sharing. Their appetizer one is a collection of four spreads served with crunchy pita chips and buttery soft pita bread. The menu described the collection of vegetables included as an “assorted savoury mezze”, but it was basically sliced and sticked veggies for dipping. I took note of how softened the carrots were, still crunchy, but more friendly for the teeth.
The yogurt, cucumber, and dill Tzatziki was familiar and a favourite of mine.
As was the Melitzana, which is a fragrant smoked eggplant with paprika and scallions.
Sadly I found their Hummus with chickpea, lemon, and tahini a little flat. It was garlicky, but in need of salt, at a minimum. The texture was also fairly runny.
I was most interested in the Tarama, having never had it like this before. This was basically a smoke salmon cream cheese spread with the addition of cured carp caviar. I appreciated how the latter perked up the dip with its salty, not fishy contrast. It was certainly the more exciting of the four.
Our server highly recommended the Grilled Octopus in lemon, oregano olive oil, capers, and parsley. It had a fragrant seasoning and a gentle chew with char edges. The bed of hummus it nested on felt out of place, not adding anything to its flavour. A side of citrusy slaw would have been nicer for both textural and flavour contrast with crispy and creamy.
For our entree it was another platter. There were a few options to consider, including two whole fish, carved up and deboned table side. Judging by the room, the one encased in a coffin of baked salt was the favourite of the two, and definitely something more unique.
There was also lamb two ways, as per its popularity in Greek cuisine. The souvlaki platter was a consideration contender with chicken, steak, and prawns on the docket.
However, we were fairly full at this point, so went with the forno Roasted Chicken with grilled lemon, crispy chicken skin, and a rosemary jus as the perceived lightest of the bunch.
A playful element of this is being able to marinade the pieces of chicken using a rosemary and thyme brush, dipped into an oregano and lemon marinade.
The chicken skin was a little disappointing, not crunchy, but crisp with a plastic-y finish. It had no seasoning, and could at least use some salt. Here, our Greek wine did wonders.
As for the chicken itself, the meat was tasty, the dark was tender, the white as dry as I had feared. Alongside the collection of gem potatoes, kale, and sweet peppers this was a full meal. I just would have liked some bread on the side as a starch.
Try as we might, we were not able to muster any more room for dessert, but were tempted by the baklava and olive oil cake.
Overall, we were impressed by everything we had. This absolutely redeemed the restaurant for us. We had a wonderful time and will be recommending them and their boards for family style dinners in the future.
Hydra Estiatorio
475 Howe St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2B3
(604) 416-0880
hydravancouver.com
