Dante Aligheri's most tortuous levels of Inferno were dedicated to gluttony and I sometimes ask myself 'Am I a glutton,'? But then, don't we all love our food? And does one turn down an invitation to lunch, dinner, tea or even breakfast for fear of finishing up in Inferno? These thoughts occurred to me when a friend invited me to lunch at Manakis, a relatively new Greek taverna in St Julian's, next to Gululu and another Kitchen Concept launch.  As we know the owners do things properly and are meticulous about detail.

I have never been to Greece, which is a misfortune, but now it is too late and anyway I've thrown my bucket list away. I've travelled extensively and all I want is to be where my family is so I go wherever they choose to take me.

I had a couple of good Greek meals many mango seasons ago in London and another couple in Valletta recently so I know very little about Greek food but eager to learn. 

I loved the clean and fresh ambience at Manakis which you experience as soon as you go down the stairs, on your way to the terrace, for this was a day for outdoor dining.

 There is blue and white decorative pottery but no clutter anywhere. It feels as if every tablecloth, every corner, every bit of pottery and every waiter has been lovingly polished, maybe scrubbed even.

 Now the terrace is another great plus. You can almost touch the sea and simply by sitting down whilst sipping a glass of wine you can watch the bobbing boats looking ready to be photographed in colour for a travel poster. You may even be lucky enough to attain Nirvana.  That's one way of beating the wretched cranes, a constant reminder of how very greedy some of us are. Surely hell is for them and not for gluttons.

After contemplating the menu we opted for the tasting menu which seemed good value for Euros 27.50  for two. I now often prefer two starters instead of the traditional starter and main course followed by dessert. I invariably like the starters and I tend to find main courses heavy on the whole.

Neither of us expected such a vast, plentiful and reasonably priced choice.  Theodore, one of the waiters who was looking after us soon appeared with several colourful bowls each containing a dip seemingly made up of myriad ingredients blended together harmoniously. There was the traditional Tzatziki, Greek Houmous (no different as far as I could taste from the Lebanese variety), Melitazno salata or marinated green olives in olive oil, lemon, garlic and coriander which we loved; Dolmas with which we are familiar too, and pickled beetroot. I did not partake of the latter as they remind me of school meals but I was assured that they are delicious. These were the Cold Mezze served with plenty of fresh bread and pitta.

We were also served Hot Mezze. There were Sheftalies - Greek Cypriot pork sausages and Kefted that is lamb meatballs.  Theodore then unexpectedly produced a bit of theatre and put some magic in the air, when he brought us the Saganki Flambé or 'cheese on fire' (with Metaxa)  and with a flourish put it on our table.

I stuck to water, always in the hope that if I sacrificed a glass or two of wine I would not put on more weight. It's a miracle I did not develop a halo overnight for that wine looked really tempting. But I stood my ground.

By now the food was lulling us into a mood of benign tolerance towards mankind which, on the whole, is disgraceful and to be avoided. But then I don't even like dogs.

Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher, once advised a young courtier, "If you lived on cabbage, you would not be obliged to flatter the powerful." To which the courtier replied, "If you flattered the powerful, you would not be obliged to live upon cabbage."

Nevertheless eating boiled or braised cabbage for a couple of weeks would do none of us any harm.

If you opt to have a traditional meal at this Greek Taverna, you will find that the same Hot and Cold Mezze which we enjoyed so much are there too, as starters, and individually priced. And there is an even bigger choice for added to the ones we were served there are Charcoaled Kalamata olives, Crispy Feta Cheese, Tarmasalata (which on my visits to England I purchase from M & S which make an excellent one,) and a couple more offerings.

There is also a variety of salads for the body conscious, who, unlike me, don't have to use large safety pins to hold up their skirts and trousers.

There are plenty of lamb dishes when it comes to the main course. But also Spanakopita, the spinach, ricotta and Feta cheese filo pie; the traditional moussaka made with aubergines and plenty of fish, meats, chicken dishes.

 There are several dishes I would have liked to try but especially the Chicken Souvlaki made up of charcoal grilled chicken thighs marinated with spiced yoghurt and coriander served with tahini sauce and a grilled lemon. It sounds exotic. Theodore in fact brought us some to try but I simply could not look at more food and anyway Dante kept on coming to mind. We both skipped dessert and I didn't even want to look at the menu again incase I was tempted. But I had already noted that apart from the usual Sorbet and ice-cream there was Baklava served with Tahini ice-cream and Classic Galaktoboureko. Look it up on the internet if you want the details of what goes into it.

 Next time I shall start with dessert.

Service was not only very good but Theodore knows his food and is articulate in English so you don't have to brush up your Hellenic kitchen vocabulary. He is a cheerful soul.

We stayed on chatting until 5pm sipping coffee.

I am surprised we were not asked to leave.

If these standards are kept Manakis Taverna should go on doing very well.

I only have one complaint: where was Zorba the Greek? I thought he would make a surprise appearance and give us a dance.

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