For the city’s best Greek fare, going to Brighton-Le-Sands is a no-brainer. Especially now that Ammos by Peter Conistis has moved into the neighbourhood.

For the mere mortals that haven’t heard of Conistis yet, the Greek-Australian chef opened high-flying Greek diner Cosmos in his twenties, before moving on to Hellenic institutions Eleni, Omega and finally Alpha, where he has been head chef for the past 12 years.

And now, the odyssey continues, with Conistis moving down to the Greek heartlands where he’s opened a slick new restaurant at the Novotel Hotel opposite the lapping waters of Brighton Beach.

The oversized dining room is big enough to fit even the largest of Greek families. Paul Papadopoulos from DS17 – the same designer as Alpha – is behind the impressive 160-seat space, which has been sprinkled in earthy, natural tones, inspired by its namesake, sand. Coastal-chic woven chairs are complemented by breezy fabrics, along with all the Greek mandatories, olive trees and assorted clay pots and vases included.

In the kitchen you’ll find another familiar face, executive chef James Roberts, who has worked alongside Conistis at Alpha, Ploos and Omega. The menu is described as modern Greek, but following Greek law, includes all the classics too.

Taramasalata is having a moment right now and Ammos is one of the few places doing it right. The kitchen uses white tarama, sans the colouring or additives, and the salty roe is whipped into light, fluffy folds along with lemon, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Wipe it up with the warm, fluffy oregano-flecked flatbread while you pretend you’re in the Cyclades for a moment.

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Greek lamb is not only on the menu, it’s there five times. Yiayia will insist on the slow-roasted Sovereign lamb shoulder, made the traditional way, with just oregano for seasoning and a garlicky tzatziki on the side. But there’s also a Margra lamb neck infused with moussaka flavours, a lamb tomahawk with skordalia plus a lamb rump and whole bone-in lamb sirloin.

Turn it into a Sunday roast with golden lemon potatoes and a cabbage slaw, upgraded with salty kefalotyri cheese.

Conistis has also smuggled in a Greek treasure – his famous scallop moussaka, the signature dish at Alpha restaurant. Excavate the layers to reveal buttery seared sea scallops atop an eggplant disc, with more of that dreamy taramasalata.

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Ouzo is not for everyone, but thankfully there’s Greek wines too, with 25 per cent of bottles on the menu exported from the motherland. Skip the shiraz and try the stone fruit-scented vidiano from Crete or the peppery, lemony, assyrtiko from Attica – who knows when you’ll find them on a wine list again.

With the generous portion sizes, it’s impossible to save room for dessert, but do try anyway. Galaktobourkeo, the classic Greek custard pie, is wrapped in filo like the present it is, with jammy poached quince on top.

Ammos joins the throng of legendary Greek restaurants in Brighton, giving the rest of us one more reason to head south.

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