Words and image Karen Watts
Opera Grande https://operagrande.com/the-bistro/ opened last July for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I have had the pleasure of eating all three. Several times.
On arrival, be shown to a table, dump your jacket and go investigate the inside. On their first visit, most people, myself included, are quite simply gobsmacked. The interior furnishings and decor, including the bathrooms, could be out of a 1970’s Ken Russell period movie – think of the set of The Music Lovers crossed with Studio 54 in New York and Heaven in London.
It is overwhelmingly fabulously camp, darling!
Most importantly the Food is really rather good.
Brunch 8 to 13.30.
The brunch menu caters for all kinds of breakfast eaters, from home-made granola with fruit, yoghurt and honey, both yoghurt and honey being of the highest Greek quality, to poached egg with cream cheese and a lush avocado sauce on home-made toast. They also have Eggs Benedict, pancakes and croissants and many more things in between.
Or just go for coffee and cake and people watch.
Lunch 13.00-18.00
The lunch and snack menu is very interesting and all the dishes I have tried so far are beautifully cooked and presented and you can also order from the main menu.
Yesterday for lunch I had the chicken burger and my companion the Orzo with beef. He deemed it well-balanced. The beef unctuous, the orzo perfectly cooked and the cheese cream mixed in creating a highly satisfying dish.
As far as the burger goes, I think these are the best in Rhodes Town utilising good quality, chicken breast, arugula, caramelised onions, bacon and cheese on homemade Ciabatta with home-made chips and soya mayonnaise.
Whenever I eat somewhere that I have not eaten before, I use the humble chicken burger as a yardstick. If you can’t put together a good chicken burger, chances are the rest of the menu won’t stand up to serious scrutiny. It was the first thing I ate at Opera Grande and over the months I’ve been eating here it has maintained that quality and, most importantly, I have yet to have any meal here that has not been great.
We shared a crème brûlée for dessert. Simply sublime. Served with mandarin sorbet and little balls of lemon lushness – for the technically minded, this process is called Spherefication.
We washed it all down with a bottle of Vlemma, another great Rodian dry white wine and finished with a complimentary Masticha, lime and cucumber.
I think it is obvious that I love this place… the decor, the service, the food and even the crockery are consistently excellent.
I have just two minor issues that would definitely not put me off coming again and again. While the waiting staff are polished, attentive and professional, there appears to be more senior management than floor staff. Their role seems to be that of useless eye candy that will find you a waiter rather than demean their place in the hierarchy by actually picking up a plate.
The second thing I want to lightly niggle at is that all of the main courses, the most expensive of which is the ribeye at €49 do not come with any sides, though these are all available for €4-6.
Go to Opera Grande for the food, for the people watching and for the decor. Please make time to visit the bathrooms, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
I.Kazouli, 1.
Telephone : 2241038748
Website: https://operagrande.com/home/
Karen
Kalliopi Kitchen in 2025 notes:
I have gone back through the blog and Pete and I have fixed the changes and made updates across each and every one of them.
The Kalliopi Kitchen blogs are all lovingly collected HERE – the most recent ones are always the first displayed. So if you wish to read them in order go to the bottom of that page, navigate back to the first pages – and enjoy!
Or simply select my blogs at random when a title or photograph catches your attention.
