Some restaurants make you forget where you are.
Greca makes Brisbane part of the experience.
Greca is the riverside Greek taverna at Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane, sitting directly beneath the steel framework of the Story Bridge on one of the city’s most recognisable dining sites.
This is our full review: what the food is like, what to order, what it costs and how to book a table that actually faces the water.
In this Greca Brisbane review
- What the food at Greca is like
- What to order first: pita and dips
- Raw seafood: oysters, snapper and tuna
- The mezedes: pies, saganaki and keftedes
- Seafood: octopus, calamari and king prawns
- The big plates: lamb shoulder, souvlaki and whole fish
- Sides and salads worth ordering
- Greca banquet menus and set menu prices
- Lunch at Greca and the $28 weekday mixed grill
- What to drink at Greca
- Dessert: katoumari, avgolemono pie and watermelon
- How much does Greca cost?
- Do you need a booking at Greca?
- Greca opening hours and the best time to go
- Greca Brisbane FAQs
- The Boarding for Dinner verdict on Greca
The restaurant is open and breezy, with whitewashed walls, timber furniture, large windows and outdoor tables positioned towards the water.
CityCat ferries move along the river.
The bridge rises overhead.
Across the table are plates of warm pita, taramasalata, saganaki, seafood and slow-cooked lamb.
It feels relaxed without being casual to the point of forgettable — exactly the balance a contemporary Greek taverna should strike.
Greca comes from chef and restaurateur Jonathan Barthelmess, whose restaurant group also includes Sydney’s The Apollo. The menu follows a similar philosophy: simple Mediterranean food, strong produce and dishes intended to be placed in the centre of the table.
This is not somewhere to order an individual main and protect it from everybody else.
Greca is built around generosity, sharing and the pleasure of staying longer than planned.
What the food at Greca is like
Greca describes itself as a contemporary Greek taverna, with a menu inspired by the Mediterranean way of eating.
That means dips, breads, raw seafood and mezedes first, followed by grilled fish, lamb, vegetables and simple desserts.
The food rarely feels overworked.
A handful of good ingredients are allowed to do most of the talking, with olive oil, oregano, lemon, feta, yoghurt and the smoke of the grill connecting the menu.
The best way to order is gradually.
Begin with pita and dips, add two or three smaller plates, then let lamb or fish become the centre of the table.
Do not underestimate the portions.
Greca’s food is designed to accumulate, and what appears to be a sensible order can become a feast by the time the larger plates arrive.
What to order first: pita and dips
The opening order at Greca is straightforward.
You want the grilled pita, currently $10, and at least one dip.
The traditional taramasalata, currently $20, brings the salty richness of fish roe and is the most recognisably Greca way to begin.
The fava combines split pea, onion and chickpea for $18, while the tzatziki brings together yoghurt, cucumber and mint for $17.
For two people, choose one.
For four, order all three and let the first part of lunch become its own course.
Add the olives, currently $9, if drinks have already arrived.
This is not the moment to be overly strategic.
Warm pita, something salty and a cold drink beside the river is the entire point.
Raw seafood: oysters, snapper and tuna
Greca’s raw seafood section is short and deliberately restrained.
Freshly shucked oysters are currently served with fig-leaf dressing for $7 each.
The raw-fish selection changes between options such as goldband snapper with vinegar and capers for $27 and seared tuna for $33.
These plates offer a clean, acidic interruption before the richer dishes arrive.
They also make particular sense at lunch, when Brisbane is warm and the river is visible through the restaurant.
Choose one raw plate for the table rather than ordering the entire section.
The snapper is the lighter opening.
The seared tuna brings more richness and works better if you are moving towards lamb or grilled meat later.
The mezedes: pies, saganaki and keftedes
The middle of Greca’s menu is where the table begins to fill.
There are pies, cheese, seafood, vegetables and meatballs — the kind of dishes that make it difficult to stop ordering.
The wild-weed and feta pie, currently $21, is crisp, savoury and easy to share, while the tiropita brings together three cheeses and oregano for $23.
Then there is the saganaki.
Greca’s version arrives with honey and oregano, balancing the saltiness of the cheese with sweetness and herbs.
At $29, it is not the cheapest saganaki in Brisbane.
It is also one of the dishes most likely to disappear before everyone has had enough.
Order it early and eat it while the cheese is still hot.
Other current mezedes include eggplant moussaka with pork, mushroom spanakorizo, grilled sardines with pickled tomato and keftedes — Greca’s Greek meatballs.
This section is built for indecision, but a table does not need everything.
One pie, one cheese dish and one seafood plate will usually take you far enough.
Seafood: octopus, calamari and king prawns
Greca’s riverside location makes seafood feel inevitable.
The kalamari tiganita, currently $27, is lightly fried and simple enough to suit almost any table.
It is the safe order.
The octopus with fava and pickled chilli, currently $39, is the more distinctive one.
Tender octopus sits against the creaminess of split pea, with pickled chilli providing the acidity needed to keep the dish from feeling heavy.
Then there is the king-prawn saganaki, currently $49, served with trahana and feta.
This is richer than the restaurant’s cheese-only saganaki and substantial enough to count as one of the table’s larger dishes.
If you are also ordering lamb shoulder, choose either the octopus or calamari.
If seafood is leading the meal, order the prawns and let them become the bridge between the smaller plates and the main event.
The big plates: lamb shoulder, souvlaki and whole fish
Eventually, Greca’s menu arrives at the dishes designed to anchor the table.
Current options include barbecued lamb chops with oregano and mustard, chicken souvlaki, grilled market fish, coral trout and oven-baked lamb shoulder with Greek yoghurt.
The lamb shoulder is the classic Greca order.
It is available in two sizes, currently $58 for the small and $118 for the large, making it suitable for anything from a table of two to a full family-style lunch.
The meat arrives soft enough to pull apart with little effort, with yoghurt adding freshness to the richness of the lamb.
Order the small portion for two if you have already been generous with the mezedes.
Choose the large for a group and let it sit at the centre of the meal.
Add roast potatoes with garlic and parsley and the village salad with tomato, cucumber, olives and feta.
That combination gives you exactly the sort of meal Greca is designed to serve.
For seafood, the half barbecued coral trout is currently $120, while a whole 1.1kg fish is listed at $240.
It is an impressive order, but it makes the most sense for a group willing to build the entire meal around it.
Sides and salads worth ordering
Greek food can become rich quickly.
That is why the vegetables and salads should not be treated as optional decoration.
The village salad, currently $27, brings acidity, freshness and crunch to lamb, fried seafood and saganaki.
The maroulosalata is a simpler iceberg-lettuce salad for $17, while horta combines braised greens and seasonal vegetables.
Roast beetroot with pearl barley, garlic honey and feta offers something more substantial.
Then there are the roast potatoes.
Finished with garlic and parsley, they are exactly what you want beside lamb shoulder — crisp at the edges, soft through the centre and ready to absorb everything else on the plate.
For a balanced table, order one green dish and one potato dish.
The lamb may be the centrepiece, but the sides are what turn it into dinner.
Greca banquet menus and set menu prices
For groups — or anyone who would rather let Greca manage the ordering — there are currently four banquet options.
The Full Greek menu is $80 per person and includes olives, taramasalata, pita, king-prawn saganaki, chicken souvlaki, village salad, roast potatoes and katoumari for dessert.
The Super Greek menu is $90 per person, adding saganaki and replacing the prawns with oven-baked lamb shoulder.
For a more expansive experience, the Greca Feast is $110 per person and moves through dips, bread, raw fish, saganaki, village salad, lamb cutlets, roast potatoes and two desserts.
There is also a $60 per person Vegan Greek menu built around fava, vegetables, mushroom spanakorizo, eggplant moussaka and watermelon with mint and ouzo.
All banquet menus are designed for the whole table.
Groups of eight or more are currently required to dine from a set menu, while smaller tables can choose a banquet or order à la carte.
For a first visit, we would choose the $90 Super Greek.
It covers the dishes Greca does best without turning lunch into an endurance event.
Lunch at Greca and the $28 weekday mixed grill
Greca is one of the relatively rare Brisbane restaurants that works just as well for lunch as it does for dinner.
In fact, lunch may be its strongest time.
The restaurant currently offers a weekday mixed-grill platter for $28 per person, available Monday to Friday between 12pm and 3pm.
It includes yoghurt flatbread, spiced lamb loin chop, chicken souvlaki, fava and tomato-onion salad.
The offer is designed as a quicker weekday lunch and is not available on Queensland public holidays.
For a longer lunch, ignore the special and order from the regular menu.
Start with dips, add seafood, share the lamb and let the riverside setting do the rest.
This is particularly effective on a Friday when returning to anything productive afterward was never really part of the plan.
What to drink at Greca
Greca’s drinks list leans into the brightness of the setting.
Spritzes, cocktails, Greek wine and Australian bottles all make sense beside the river, with enough freshness and acidity to work across seafood, cheese and lamb.
Current cocktails include a watermelon-and-basil Karpouzi Spritz, a lemon spritz with limoncello, mastiha and yuzu kosho, and a Mountain Bellini combining peach, Earl Grey, Prosecco and hibiscus.
For lunch, start with a spritz.
For dinner, ask for a Greek wine recommendation — particularly if the table is moving between raw seafood, saganaki and lamb.
If you normally avoid unfamiliar varieties, this is a good place to ask rather than defaulting to the most recognisable Australian bottle.
Dessert: katoumari, avgolemono pie and watermelon
Dessert at Greca stays connected to the restaurant’s Greek identity.
The signature finish is the katoumari, currently $16.
Smashed filo is layered with walnut and cream, creating something crisp, rich and deceptively easy to continue eating after a large meal.
The avgolemono pie offers a citrus-led ending for $17, while the chocolate dessert brings together whey caramel, mastiha and halva.
For something lighter, watermelon with mint and ouzo is currently $14.
After lamb shoulder and roast potatoes, the watermelon is the sensible choice.
The katoumari is the correct one.
Order both for the table and avoid making the decision.
How much does Greca cost?
Greca sits comfortably in Brisbane’s mid-to-upper-range dining category, although the final cost depends on whether you visit for a quick weekday lunch or a full riverside feast.
Banquet menus currently range from $60 to $110 per person, before drinks.
For two people ordering dips, several mezedes, lamb shoulder, sides, dessert and drinks, we would allow approximately $100–$150+ per person.
You can spend considerably less by visiting for the $28 weekday lunch or sharing a smaller selection of dishes.
You can also spend considerably more once whole fish, cocktails and wine enter the table.
Do you need a booking at Greca?
Technically, Greca may accept walk-ins when space is available.
Practically, we would book.
The restaurant sits inside one of Brisbane’s busiest dining precincts and remains popular for birthdays, group lunches, visitors and pre-event dining.
The type of table you reserve matters.
Outdoor and riverside seating offer the strongest atmosphere and views, while indoor tables provide more protection from Brisbane’s heat and unpredictable weather.
The mezzanine sits upstairs and does not offer direct river views.
There are also bar seats, high communal tables and weather-dependent laneway tables.
If the view is important, do not assume every booking will provide one.
Select an outdoor table when reserving or add a request, understanding that riverside positions cannot always be guaranteed.
Greca opening hours and the best time to go
Greca currently opens daily from 11.30am.
Listed closing times are 9pm from Sunday to Tuesday, 9.30pm on Wednesday and Thursday, and 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday.
For the best version of Greca, choose a long lunch.
You will see the river, the room feels bright and the food suits the warmth of the day.
For atmosphere, book dinner around sunset and watch the precinct shift from afternoon into evening beneath the Story Bridge.
Weekends are busiest and most energetic.
A weekday lunch is calmer and often better if the food matters more than the crowd.
Greca Brisbane FAQs
Where is Greca in Brisbane?
Greca is at Howard Smith Wharves, 3/5 Boundary Street, Brisbane City, on the riverfront directly beneath the Story Bridge.
Do you need to book Greca?
Walk-ins are sometimes possible, but we would book. Greca sits in one of Brisbane’s busiest dining precincts and fills quickly for birthdays, group lunches and pre-event dinners. Request an outdoor or riverside table when you reserve if the view matters, and understand that a riverside position cannot always be guaranteed.
How much does dinner at Greca cost?
For two people ordering dips, mezedes, lamb shoulder, sides, dessert and drinks, allow roughly $100 to $150 per person. Banquet menus currently run from $60 to $110 per person before drinks, and the weekday lunch platter is $28 per person.
What should you order at Greca?
Grilled pita with taramasalata, saganaki with honey and oregano, either the octopus or the kalamari tiganita, oven-baked lamb shoulder with Greek yoghurt, village salad, roast potatoes, and katoumari for dessert.
Is Greca good for groups?
Yes. The menu is built for sharing, and groups of eight or more are currently required to dine from a set menu. The large lamb shoulder at $118 and the whole coral trout at $240 both work as a centrepiece for a bigger table.
Does Greca have vegan options?
Yes. There is currently a $60 per person Vegan Greek banquet built around fava, vegetables, mushroom spanakorizo, eggplant moussaka and watermelon with mint and ouzo.
What are Greca’s opening hours?
Greca currently opens daily from 11.30am. Listed closing times are 9pm Sunday to Tuesday, 9.30pm Wednesday and Thursday, and 10.30pm Friday and Saturday.
The Boarding for Dinner verdict on Greca
BOOK IT — AND ASK FOR THE RIVER SIDE.
Greca delivers the version of Brisbane dining visitors tend to imagine before they arrive.
The river is beside you.
The Story Bridge is overhead.
The table is crowded with pita, taramasalata, saganaki, octopus, lamb and roast potatoes.
It is polished enough for a celebration but relaxed enough to order another drink and stay.
Come for the location.
Return for the lamb shoulder.
If you are working through Brisbane’s best tables, we have also reviewed hôntô and Maeve Wine Bar.
GRECA
Where: Howard Smith Wharves, 3/5 Boundary Street, Brisbane City.
Best for: Riverside dining · Long lunches · Group celebrations · Contemporary Greek food · Visitors to Brisbane · Sunset dinner
Price: $$–$$$ · Banquets from $60–$110pp; à la carte dishes currently range from approximately $7–$240 before drinks.
Reservations: Recommended, through the Greca website. Groups of eight or more are currently required to select a banquet menu. Request outdoor seating if river views matter.
BFD order: Grilled pita and taramasalata → saganaki with honey → octopus or calamari → oven-baked lamb shoulder → village salad and roast potatoes → katoumari.
Allow: Around two hours for dinner or closer to three for a proper long lunch.
Boarding for Dinner rating: Worth the booking — especially by the river.
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