Lokanta Aegean Eating House & Bar

About Lokanta Aegean Eating House & Bar

Lokānta — Turkish for "local eating house" — is an Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean eating house and bar on Richmond Road in Grey Lynn. The kitchen serves authentic, tasty food from Greece, Turkey and the wider Eastern Mediterranean, built around a small-plates, share-the-table philosophy.

The menu ranges from mezze-style small plates like taramasalata, smoky eggplant dip and stuffed gözlemé flatbreads, through to slow-cooked mains such as an ottoman lamb neck and a braise-roasted goat with barley risotto. A dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu and a No Gluten Added menu are both available, alongside Zeki's Special — a shared, whole lamb shoulder kleftiko for four or more that requires 48 hours' notice.

Lokānta has been reviewed favourably by food writers Peta Mathias, Denizen and Ray McVinnie, and carries a Restaurant Guru 2021 Recommended listing. The wine list draws from Greece, Turkey, France, Spain, Australia, the US and New Zealand, alongside a cocktail list built around Mediterranean spirits like raki and ouzo. Bookings and walk-ins are both welcome.

Lokānta: Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Eating House in Grey Lynn

On Richmond Road in Grey Lynn, Lokānta takes its name from the Turkish word for "local eating house," and that's exactly the atmosphere it's built around — real food, beautifully cooked, meant to be put in the middle of the table and shared. It's a small local eatery with a reputation for honest, homemade cooking across Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean traditions.

A menu built for sharing

Lokānta's small plates set the tone: creamy taramasalata with red roe, a smoky eggplant dip with grilled garlic pidé bread, and stuffed gözlemé flatbreads filled with potato or spinach and feta. Flaming saganaki — panfried haloumi flambéed with aniseed — brings a bit of table-side theatre, while chargrilled octopus with fava dip is one of the more refined options on the small plates list.

The mains lean into slow cooking and bold, regionally rooted flavour. The ottoman lamb neck comes with a charred eggplant bechamel, the minotaur is a slow braised veal shank with potato mash, and the aegean island goat is braise-roasted and served over barley risotto. For something lighter, the icarus pizza and urfa lahmajun flatbread both draw on Turkish and Greek pizza traditions rather than the Italian original.

Zeki's Special and dietary menus

For groups of four or more, Zeki's Special is Lokānta's standout offering — a whole lamb shoulder kleftiko, braise-roasted until it's falling apart, served with red peppers, Turkish rice pilaf and a rocket and mint salad, with shared meze and dessert included. It requires 48 hours' advance notice, so it's worth planning ahead if you want to order it.

Lokānta also runs a dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu, with dishes like hummus bi tahini, a slow-cooked kuru fasulye bean stew, and "the theorum" — a roast cauliflower dish with red pepper cream, fava puree and braised silverbeet — available in both vegetarian and vegan form. A separate No Gluten Added menu covers many of the same dishes prepared without gluten-containing ingredients.

Drinks worth lingering over

The wine list draws heavily from Greece, Turkey and the wider Mediterranean, alongside a strong selection of New Zealand wines from Marlborough, Gisborne and Hawkes Bay, and a few further afield from France, Spain, Syria, Australia and the US. The cocktail list leans into the region too, with raki lion's milk served over ice, a Lokanta espresso martini built with vodka, ouzo and kahlua, and the Octopussy — a vodka, raspberry and passionfruit mix finished with ginger beer.

Reputation and visiting

Lokānta has picked up praise from food writers Peta Mathias, Denizen and Ray McVinnie, and carries a Restaurant Guru 2021 Recommended listing. The restaurant is open six nights a week, Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm, with an earlier 11:30am opening on Saturdays and Sundays. Bookings and walk-ins are both welcome, though given the restaurant's reputation and its 48-hour notice requirement for the shared kleftiko, planning ahead is worthwhile for anything beyond a casual dinner.

Signature items

• Kleftiko for 4 or More
• Ottoman Lamb Neck
• Chargrilled Octopus
• Flaming Saganaki
• Icarus Pizza
• Coconut & Almond Baklava

Menu

Beer

• Mythos Hellenic Lager — 5%, Greece
• Hallertau Pilsnah — 5%, Riverhead
• Hallertau Maximus IPA — 5.1%, Riverhead
• Peroni Nastro Azzurro — 5.1%, Italy
• Peroni Zero — 0%, Italy
• Amstel Light — 2.5%, Netherlands

Meals

• Kotopoulo — Greek lemon & rosemary chicken, leeks & carrots braised in olive oil, rice pilaf, tzatziki
• Minotaur — Slow braised veal shank, potato mash, pan juices, roast cabbage, thyme
• Greek Winter Meatballs — Beef meatballs, makarna pasta, creamy lemon & dill sauce, fresh parsley
• Ottoman Lamb Neck — Succulently slow cooked, charred eggplant bechamel, roast baby onions
• Siren's Song — Pan fried market fish, white wine cream sauce, olives, capers, potato flats, rocket salad
• Aegean Island Goat — Braise-roasted, barley risotto, caramelised carrot, pan juices
• Icarus Pizza — Tomato, green pepper, red onion, black olives, feta & mozzarella, parsley, olive oil
• Urfa Lahmajun — Urfa style flatbreads — minced beef & onion, served with rocket, fresh tomato, lemon
• Lamb Kleftiko — Greek style braised shoulder, potato, capsicum & tomato broth, lemon, oreganum
• Sujuk & Fasulye — A Lokanta classic — beans cooked long and slow, with spiced sujuk sausage

Sides

• Home Chips — Hand cut, rosemary, aioli
• Greek Chips — Hand cut, loaded with feta cheese, tomato, aioli, fresh herb & olive salsa
• Rocket & Mint Salad — Honeyed pomegranate & organic apple cider vinaigrette, parmesan cheese

Sweet

• Coconut & Almond Baklava — Fresh orange, cream
• Crème Brûlée — With Turkish apricot centre
• Greek Yogurt Pannacotta — Warm butterscotch apple
• Lokum — Turkish delight

Wine - Red

• Caravan Petite Sirah — South Australia
• Nemea Reserve Agiorgitiko — Peloponnese, Greece
• Bargylus Grand Vin de Syrie — Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot — Latakia, Syria
• Odyssey Reserve 'The Iliad' Pinot Noir — Marlborough, New Zealand
• Codice Old Vine Tempranillo — Castilla, Spain
• Smoking Loon Zinfandel — California, USA

Coffee & Tea

• Turkish Coffee
• Arabic Coffee — With cardamom
• Espresso Coffee — All the usuals
• Liqueur Coffees
• Turkish Apple Tea
• Moroccan Mint Tea
• English Breakfast Tea
• Earl Grey Tea

Small Plates

• Olives — Green & black, wild thyme, lemon, extra virgin olive oil
• Creamy Taramasalata — Red roe, cucumber sticks, chargrilled flatbread
• Smoky Eggplant Dip — Extra virgin olive oil, grilled garlic pidé bread
• Sarma — Stuffed cabbage leaves — rice, onion, dill, currants, pinenuts, with tzatziki
• Potato Gözlemé — Turkish flatbread stuffed with potato, onion, feta, parsley
• Spinach Gözlemé — Turkish flatbread stuffed with spinach, onion, toasted pinenuts, feta, mozzarella
• Pachanka — Greek flatbread — sujuk sausage, green pepper, cheese, with tzatziki
• Havuch — Caramelised roast carrots, tahini cream, toasted fennel, black sesame, pistachio nuts
• Gallipoli Bombas — Potato, spiced mixed meat & cheese bombs, aioli, pomegranate salsa
• Flaming Saganaki — Panfried haloumi, aniseed flambé, garlic pidé bruschetta, roasted peppers
• Kalamar — Lightly spiced and pan fried, served with rocket, tarama aioli, lemon
• Chargrilled Octopus — Fava dip, rocket, lemon
• Mussel Dolma — Stuffed mussels — rice, onion, black pepper, lemon wedge

Wine - Rosé

• Odyssey Organic Pinot Noir Rosé — Marlborough, New Zealand

Wine - Sweet

• Santorini Vinsanto — Sundried grape dessert wine, Greece

Wine - White

• Côte du Rhône Samorens Blanc — Rhône Valley, France
• Santorini Assyrtiko — Santorini, Greece
• B-Qā de Marsyas Sauv Blanc / Chardonnay — Marlborough, New Zealand
• Odyssey Reserve Organic 'The Iliad' Chardonnay — Gisborne, New Zealand
• Wildsong Sauvignon Blanc — Te Awanga, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Wine - Bubbles

• Divici Prosecco — Italy
• Daniel Le Brun NV Méthode Champenoise — Marlborough, New Zealand
• Mineral Water — Artesian sparkling mineral water, 750ml

Vegetarian & Vegan

• Tzatziki — Classic Greek strained yoghurt, cucumber and garlic with garlic pidé bread
• Hummus Bi Tahini — Extra virgin olive oil, chilli flakes, tomato salsa, garlic pidé bread; vegan available
• Fava Bean Dip — Red pepper salsa, extra virgin olive oil, chargrilled flatbread; vegan available
• Stuffed Flatbread — Potato, onion, feta, parsley; vegan version made without feta
• Kuru & Fasulye — Lokanta classic — beans slow cooked with onion, tomato, olive oil, over rice pilaf; vegan available
• Pirasa — Melt in the mouth leeks & carrots braised in olive oil, with lemon & tzatziki; vegan version without tzatziki
• The Theorum — Roast cauliflower, red pepper cream, fava puree, braised silverbeet, brown lentils; vegan version available

Juices & Soft Drinks

• Mineral Water — Artesian sparkling mineral water, 750ml
• Sheftali — Peach iced tea
• Homemade Limonata — Freshly squeezed lemonade
• Aranciata — Orange & homemade limonata mixed, not so sweet
• Orange Juice

Cocktails & Aperitifs

• Raki Lion's Milk — Traditional aniseed liquor served over ice
• Aperol Spritz — Aperol, bubbles, soda water, orange zest
• Limoncello Spritz — Limoncello, bubbles, soda water, lemon, mint
• Priest's Mother — Gin, lemon, grapes, mint, basil
• The Med Mojito — White rum, limes, mint, sugar, soda, blueberries
• Octopussy — Vodka, raspberries, passionfruit, mint, ginger beer
• Negroni — Gin, campari, martini rosso, orange peel
• Lokanta Espresso Martini — Vodka, ouzo, kahlua, espresso shot
• Mardi Gras Mocktail — Passionfruit, orange, lime, raspberries, mint

Zeki'S Special (48 Hours Notice Required)

• Kleftiko for 4 or More — Whole lamb shoulder, braise-roasted 'til falling apart, red peppers, Turkish rice pilaf, rocket & mint salad; includes shared meze and dessert

Frequently asked questions

What cuisine does Lokānta serve?

Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean cooking — the name Lokānta means "local eating house" in Turkish.

Do they have vegetarian and vegan options?

Yes, Lokānta runs a dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu alongside the main dinner menu.

Is there a gluten-free menu?

Yes, a No Gluten Added (NGA) menu is available.

What is Zeki's Special?

A shared whole lamb shoulder kleftiko for four or more people, requiring 48 hours' advance notice, with shared meze and dessert included.

What are Lokānta's opening hours?

Open six nights, Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm; also open from 11:30am on Saturdays and Sundays. Closed Monday.

Is Lokānta well reviewed?

Yes — it carries a Restaurant Guru 2021 Recommended listing and has been reviewed favourably by food writers Peta Mathias, Denizen and Ray McVinnie.

Do they take walk-ins?

Yes, both bookings and walk-ins are welcome.

Tips

• {"body":"The shared lamb shoulder kleftiko requires 48 hours' advance notice and is for groups of four or more.","title":"Book ahead for Zeki's Special"}
• {"body":"Separate vegetarian, vegan and No Gluten Added menus are available on request.","title":"Ask about the dietary menus"}
• {"body":"The list spans Greece, Turkey, France, Spain and New Zealand, worth asking staff for recommendations.","title":"Explore the wine list"}
• {"body":"But given the restaurant's reputation, booking ahead is a safer bet, especially on weekends.","title":"Walk-ins are welcome"}

Good to know

• {"dietary":"Dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu, plus a separate No Gluten Added (NGA) menu"}