I can count the number of Greek restaurants in Darwin on one hand - they're few and far between unfortunately. The newest is Antiquity at the Darwin Waterfront, which aims to put a modern spin on the genre. Any restaurant that has modern in its name or strap line makes me nervous, hopefully I won't be disappointed.

We sit outside, making the most of what's left in the Dry Season, plus the inside looks gloomy and uninviting. The alfresco area is nothing fancy, but there are fans, a great view and a nice ambiance provided by the setting. There's an array of male waiters all dressed in black keeping things running, from this point onwards I'll refer to them as the Men in Black (MiB).

One of the MiB points us to a table with plenty of parking space for four plus a pram which much appreciated. Our drinks and food are promptly ordered without any drama. So far so good. As per Greek protocol, we get a trio of mezze plates to share - Whitebait (didn't get the proper name), Feta ke prasa crokedes (Crispy fried feta and leek croquets, $10.50) , Ortýki sti skara (marinated quail char grilled, $17.50) and Arnisia paidakia (lamb ribs rubbed with Greek spices steamed for four hours and then char grilled with honey and ouzo glaze, $18). The croquettes were creamy and had great flavour, not bad for $10.50.

The big basket of whitebait I thought was lovely, moorish, crunchy and seasoned with just enough salt. The miniature deep fry basket is kinda weird, but very useful for passing around the table.

The quail was missing the rocket leaves as described on the menu, but more importantly the quail itself seemed to be missing - for $17.50 there wasn't a whole lot of meat on the plate! Terribly overpriced item. Maybe someone accidentally added an extra "1" onto the front of the price, but unfortunately not the case.

For another 50 cents, the twice cooked (steamed and char grilled) lamb ribs came in to save the day ($18). The lengthy steaming caused the meat to be ridiculously tender, then the char grilling with honey and ouzo glaze gave it a slight crispy texture with sweet flavour. Undoubtedly the best lambs rib I've ever had the pleasure of eating. A generous serving too - give me two of these and I'd be happy with that for dinner. At this point one of the MiB had forgotten some drink orders, but he apologised and brought it over eventually.

Mains arrived shortly after. My buddy had the char grilled duck breast marinated in ouzo, orange and dill. It had a lovely smokey flavour and marinade was great. The duck was cooked medium rare so if you like it cooked more you'd better say so. Overall an OK dish but certainly not a great one for $38.50.

The ladies both had the char grilled  Tasmanian salmon marinated in ouzo, dill and orange on  spinach risotto ($36.50). I thought it was great, but much like the duck, if it weren't for the glaze and char grilling there wouldn't be much left to talk about.

I had the Arni Kleftiko  - slow braised lamb cooked in various herbs, placed on a layer of spinach with feta and wrapped in filo pastry ($32.50). With this dish, Antiquity has basically turned a Greek classic into a fancy pie. The lamb was unfortunately dry and firm and the rest of it was forgettable. I heard some good things about Antiquity but I left disappointed.  The service and location are good, but the value is highly debatable and the quality of the food hit and miss. I've had much better meals over at Manoli's and Yots. I'm no expert on Greek food, but the dining experience at Antiquity just didn't feel Greek to me.