It’s time to declare that Londoners are waking up to Cycladic islands other than Santorini and Mykonos. They’re visiting Sifnos and dining at Cantina, Nus and Omega 3; they’re drinking assyrtiko they tried at a taverna on Milos and aren’t suffering from the Provencal Rose Paradox.
Greek and Cypriot food is nothing new in London. We’ve long been blessed with pork souvlaki, spinach and feta pies and quality meze, but in recent years there has been a distinctive rallying cry, a move towards celebrating more of the Aegean and with a keener, more detailed eye.
Here are ten restaurants in London worth their weight in hummus.
Lemonia
It is never luck nor social media frenzy that maintains a restaurant for 45 years. Lemonia has stood the test of time and the fact it continues to draw custom in these challenging times is testament to its worth. This neighbourhood restaurant might be in Primrose Hill, a part of London where people have plenty of cash to splash on dolmades and silken hummus, but it is loved. Those not au fait may wish to consider the set lunch (£19.50 for two decent courses) or swing by for calamari, Greek salad and superb sheftalia, a dish of mince with onions, herbs and spices.
89 Regent's Park Road, NW1 8UY, lemonia.co.uk
Opso
It would be reasonable to suggest the strip of Marylebone where Opso is found is among the priceless parts of London to eat out in. That’s ignoring Berkeley Square but then nobody actually “eats out” there, do they? They have yellowtail sashimi with shaved truffle and then switch to a powered diet. Anyway, Opso, where you’ll be asked to pay £32 for a cuttlefish skewer and £46 for monkfish osso buco. Bloody good food all the same. Have the spanakorizo, or oven baked rice with spinach, octopus stifado to share and a side of fava beans.
10 Paddington Street, W1U 5QL, opso.co.uk
Kima
Kima is the other Greek restaurant on Paddington Street – also home to Lita, now without its Michelin star-winning head chef Luke Ahearne, who departed in July – and which is also the work of chef Nikos Roussos, who has built a mini-empire in the shadow of the Hellenic Centre nearby. This one is about the food found on Cycladic islands, namely the fine fish and seafood landed there each day. Here, diners are asked to choose their fish before chefs go away and prepare it, using every part of it with skill, flair and respect. Anyone who’s dined at Cantina, one of the greatest restaurants in Europe, will love it.
57 Paddington Street, W1U 4HZ, kimarestaurant.com
Paneri Taverna
Wood Green is a Greek stronghold in London and so it isn’t any wonder places like Paneri Taverna exist there. The restaurant is old, traditional and witty, the sort of place where service is a little chaotic, where the illuminated sign outside still reads, “Exclusive Greek cuisine”. The thing is, there’s nothing exclusive about it – this is as inclusive as dining out gets these days. Visit for classic calamari, top souvla and souvlaki in warm and fluffy pita bread, and big, homecooked comforts like pastitsio (Greek lasagne), stifado (beef stew) and keftedes (meatballs).
340 High Road, N22 8JW, 07841 392704
Daphne
Not to be confused with the fancy Mayfair Italian of the same name, Daphne in Camden is a family run Greek restaurant in situ since the Fifties. Found in a storied part of London once dubbed the Peloponnese Triangle due to its bustling Greek and Cypriot community, this is an old school joint serving top tarama, grilled swordfish and excellent lamb kebabs. Though much of the Greek diaspora moved north as they established themselves in London – the sizable Irish community that arrived in Camden did much the same – Daphne is a landmark, an echo of a time before. Today the place is run by the Lymbouri family, in charge since the Eighties; they turn out fasolada and moussaka with aplomb.
83 Bayham Street, NW1 0AG, 020 7267 7322
Tsiakkos and Charcoal
Tzatziki with fresh bread, a fillet of grilled sea bass dressed in olive oil and lemon, oblongs of tender halloumi and a slow-roasted pork shoulder with tomatoes, capers under a blanket of parsley. Where would we be without Greek-Cypriot food, really? What would be the point in anything? Such questions come about during visits to Tsakkos and Charcoal. This neighbourhood restaurant is well-loved by locals and though it might not inspire long treks, you wouldn’t suffer for undertaking a journey. Ask for a table outside among the old tablecloths and fairylights, order a Keo beer and look on Skyscanner for flights to where it all began.
5 Marylands Road, W9 2DU, tsiakkos.co.uk/
Milos
Look, this is partly a restaurant for hedge fund managers to have meetings; food for those who tour the Aegean by yacht. It’s in St James’s, there’s an enormous wine list, and the raw fish platters are frankly bothersome unless sprinkled with caviar. Still, at this branch of Milos, a starry restaurant group with 13 sites around the world, they know what they’re doing. And there’s space for poshed-up versions of Greek dishes like spanikopita, lahanodolmades in avgolemomo sauce and kakavia, not least when care and attention is put toward the sourcing of fine fish and meat. Incidentally, three courses for £36 is a pretty good offer.
1 Regent Street Saint James's, SW1Y 4NW, estiatoriomilos.com
Vori
In Holland Park is a Greek restaurant inspired by the island of Andros, a larger island close to the mainland. On it is Vori beach, where restaurants serve seasonal daily catch, paying homage to provenance and craft above all else. Vori does much the same. There are prawns with chilli, tomato and feta; market fish grilled until flaky; and calamari spruced up by aged vinegar. Elsewhere are croquettes, dishes of fried aubergine and courgette fritters, braised butter beans, and matsata, a pasta native to the region.
120 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UA, vorigreekitchen.co.uk
Peckham Bazaar
Though not exclusively Greek, Peckham Bazaar is a must on this list. The restaurant merges Albanian, Greek, Turkish and Iranian cooking, a light riff on the Eastern Med; essentially the food from a good holiday, one where you wear little leather sandals and get carried away with blue and white striped garments. In any case, this is an absolute must in London, somewhere for Cornish mackerel to come spiced and willing, for pork skewers in adjika and for Cyprus straw potatoes. Slow-cooked beans get a look in, too, and if there’s Greek orzo on with shellfish and samphire, order it.
119 Consort Road, SE15 3RU, peckhambazaar.com
Agora
The Greeks do mysterious things with yoghurt. Anyone who’s been to the 100-year-old Stani bar in Athens will attest. Agora, a light riff on an old-time Athenian pleasure palace, puts garlic yoghurt on its lamb and spiced tomato flatbreads to impeccable effect. Everything else on the menu is exemplary, whether the slow cooked cannellini beans (softly inspired by Diporto), the hummus, the feta and roasted peppers, or the grilled meats and fish that come charred and distracting. Don’t miss the spanikopita and the spiced sausage either, or the fact there’s Oma upstairs which has a Michelin star and also happens to be excellent.
4 Bedale Street, SE1 9AL agora.london
