George's Paragon

George's Paragon has reopened on Tamborine Mountain's Gallery Walk, four years after it closed and the much loved Greek restaurant, which has been given a refreshing makeover, retains all of its original charm.

The fourth in the stable of restaurants owned by colourful Gold Coast hospitality veteran George Tassis, George's Paragon has reopened off the back of last year's resurrection of the old George's Paragon site at Burleigh Heads, which sprang to new life as George's Pizza and Wine Bar.

Step into the bright spacious Cyclades Island-inspired white and blue interior, featuring white-washed walls with blue trim, white and blue table settings and murals on the wall and you're instantly transported to Greece. 

Despite the expansive size, the dining area still manges to feel intimate and cosy, with touches like fireplaces in pillars dotted around the room to keep things warm in winter.

The extensive menu offers plenty of faves from before, starting with breads and dips (tsatsiki or taramasalata); cold appetizers such as smoked salmon; prawn paragon (king prawns with cocktail sauce); and avocado seafood; as well as hot appetizers like spanakopita; saganaki (barbecued haloumin with roasted capsicum); garrlic prawns; and calamari (lightly crumbed, with garlic and butter).

George's Paragon has always had a reputation for seafood, which also dominates the new menu. Seafood lovers can take their pick of oysters (natural, kilpatrick or mornay); mussels (paragon or provencale); barbecued baby octopus or prawns; seafood crepe or skandali (fish topped with garlic prawns).

Fish dishes include Atlantic salmon; snapper; barramundi; whole sole; whiting; and skandali (fish topped with garlic prawns); while a choice of crustaceans includes barbecued bugs; mud crab; fresh king prawns; and whole lobster mornay or thermidor.  Seafood fans can also elevate their experience with one of George's specials - barouti (fish, prawns, scallops, bbq bugs, garlic, white wine & cream); seafood paragon (oysters natural, fresh king prawns, barbecued bugs, barbecued prawns, fish, calamari & garnish salad); or the ultimate seafood platter (for two).

There's plenty for meat lovers to enjoy too, with Steak Diane; acropolis (steak topped with prawns); lamb fillets with garlic, mushrooms, white wine & cream); veal funghi or parmigiana: and lamb souvlaki with Greek salad and tzatziki. Other dishes include parmigiana or Olympus (chicken breast, ricotta cheese, spinach, with chive and horseradish cream sauce); beef or vegetable moussaka; and a selection of pastas including prawn or chicken fettuccine; ravioli or spaghetti carbonara.

For dessert there's baklava, pavlova, sticky date pudding, strawberries romanoff, and mud cake, as well as a dessert platter that is perfect for sharing. Diners can also finish with a Greek coffee, liqueur, port or cognac.

Good to know - George's Paragon has a children's menu including steak, calamari, fish cocktails or schitzel and chips. There's a selection of sic 3-course menus on offer, five of them named after Greek islands.