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Wishing all my readers a very Happy New Year 2023 💥 May the new year bring happiness, peace and prosperity.

This is going to be a big year for my family. We have lots of changes, transitions and challenges up ahead. But we are preparing for it and I will post an update in due course of time 😊

I had some draft posts from 2022 that needed publishing. This post is from last November when my brother-in-law and his wife visited us from the US. They stayed with us for 10 days and it was a jam-packed but fun family reunion with us heading out somewhere or the other almost every single day.

During that time we were specifically looking for non-Indian restaurants (that we had not been to previously) that offered a decent selection of vegan options. Although we are not vegan, our guests happened to be and so we wanted everyone to enjoy a good meal when we were dining out.

I'm usually aware of new and/or buzzworthy restaurants that open in Singapore, especially those that are vegetarian-friendly. I invariably come across them on social media or I hear about them from friends and colleagues. So when my husband suggested Pano Kato Grill, Pizza and Deli, a Mediterranean eatery housed in Tanglin mall, I was mildly surprised because I had never heard of the place.

This restaurant is the culinary adventure from the owners of House of AnLi, Anne-Jean and Panagiotis. Pano Kato in Greek translates to upstairs downstairs referring to House of AnLi's store & bistro located upstairs and Pano Kato located downstairs inside Tanglin Mall.

At Pano Kato, delicious food from the Mediterranean region made with good-quality natural ingredients is served in all its simplicity.

The stylish restaurant is bright and airy, has ample space and a lovely white and green Mediterranean-inspired décor embellished with rattan furnishings and potted plants for a tropical touch. The restaurant has a welcoming and relaxed vibe.

I spent a few minutes gazing at the delectable food enclosed within the glass shelves. There were stuffed peppers, salads, falafel, patties, cakes, tarts and puddings among others.

The staff were friendly and hospitable. They had us comfortably seated and handed us the menu. The menu offers a wide selection of appetizers, salads, sides, pizzas, burgers, pasta, wraps, Greek desserts and artisan ice-creams. Most dishes are from Greek and Italian cuisine. There are gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options available. There is also a section for kids menu and I was glad to see it included some wholesome dishes instead of the deep-fried or cheese loaded junk food that is commonly found in the kids menu section at most restaurants (this is a huge pet peeve of mine by the way!).

After placing our lunch order, we snuck over to the adjacent House of AnLi to check out the homewares and furnishings. They have some really nice stuff but most of it is rather pricey so a fat wallet is recommended 😄

Here is a round-up of the dishes we ordered,

Bevarages

I ordered a smoothie and my husband ordered a green juice. Both drinks had nice flavor and consistency but were not sweet enough for our liking. I realize I should have requested for them to be sweetened.

Dolmades

I absolutely love dolmades which are basically Greek stuffed vine leaves. The rendition at Pano Kato was a small portion which had a mixture of rice, onions, warm spices and mixed herbs encased in vine/grape leaves served with a lemony sauce. The dolmades were very flavourful and I thoroughly enjoyed the little bites while wishing there were more.

Greek Handcut Fries

The fries arrived piping hot. They were fresh, thick, crispy and lightly seasoned with oregano and sea salt. The kids polished them off in record time.

Spanakopita

Spanakopita is a Greek savoury pie made of filo pastry encasing a filling of spinach, dill, feta cheese, onion and eggs. I make Spanakopita at home so I have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a good pie.

The Spanakopita at Pano Kato was excellent. It had a crispy pastry with a soft, flavorful and moreish spinach and feta filling. This was the dish of the day for me.

Falafel Wrap

The Falafel wrap was served with a side salad and hummus. It was vegan, fresh tasting and nicely prepared. It looked appetizing too. My only gripe with this dish is that I felt it was a bit dry because it was served with hummus. I would have preferred tzatziki or even a toum instead.

Simply Vegan Pizza

My brother-in-law ordered the vegan pizza which was a thin crust pizza with fresh tomato passata, roasted zucchini, onions, basil, rocket leaves, oregano and EVOO. The vegan pizza was surprisingly good. It had a great crust, delicious pesto and colorful and fresh greens and veggies. This was an all round hit.

Mini Margarita Pizza

This pizza was just the right size for my children to share. It had a thin crust, fresh tomato passata, fiore di latte (that's cheese to you and me), basil and EVOO. The pizza was really tasty and received a thumbs up.

Penne with Pesto

One of my daughters' favourite meals is pasta tossed in basil pesto. They love it so much that they would eat it every single day. The penne with pesto arrived as a small serving of al dente penne tossed in a delicious oily pesto infused with the flavour of basil, pine nuts & garlic and garnished with finely chopped chives. This dish was a hit with them as well.

Desserts

The enticing display with tubs of sorbet and gelato was hard to resist even though we were pretty full from our meal. While we adults eventually passed up on dessert, the girls thoroughly enjoyed a scoop each of well-made raspberry passion fruit sorbet and strawberry gelato.

We spent a relaxed leisurely afternoon at Pano Kato enjoying a wonderful family lunch. This is a restaurant I would happily return to again.

Homestyle Greek food in the heart of the city

Pano Kato boasts a great location within Tanglin Mall which despite being a central location is tucked away from the buzzing streets of Orchard. It is a nice restaurant suitable for families and small gatherings. The space is bright, cheery and has a really chill vibe. We experienced the service to be courteous and efficient. Even though the restaurant was crowded, we were served promptly. I really liked the menu options. There were enough dishes to cater to our vegan guests, plenty of variety for us and dishes to keep our children happy as well. Although the portion sizes are not very large, the food is unpretentious, well prepared and wholesome. The prices are slightly above mid-range but for the ambience and quality of food, I would consider it worth the money.

My rating for this restaurant is