Eaton Mall is the pedestrianised heart of Oakleigh's Greek precinct and the main reason most visitors make the trip out from central Melbourne. The mall itself is a short block running off Portman Street, lined on both sides with Greek pastry shops, outdoor cafe tables, souvlaki restaurants, and small delis selling feta, olives, and imported Greek goods. On weekend evenings it gets genuinely crowded and loud in the best possible way — conversations in Greek and English mixing, the smell of grilled meat drifting down the street, families moving between tables.
The businesses here have been operating for decades. Some of the pastry shops have the same layout and the same glass cases of bougatsa and galaktoboureko they have had since the 1980s. There are places to sit with a coffee and watch the neighbourhood go about its business, and places to stand at a counter and eat a souvlaki quickly. Both approaches are equally valid.
Eaton Mall is most alive on Friday and Saturday nights, but it is worth visiting any evening of the week. Sunday mornings have their own rhythm — Greek families buying pastries after church, the cafes doing a steady trade in strong coffee and conversation.