By contributor Mathew Lea.
The Real Greek is a restaurant chain that has been in operation since 1999, although only recently have they started to expand into the more popular areas of London. Their new restaurant, in Soho, is located on the trendy Berwick Street, just off Oxford Street.
Priding itself on excellent customer service, the welcome from the restaurant’s staff was extremely friendly. The service and wine (Kanenas Red) during our meal was also excellent, although the food itself didn’t quite reach the same heights. Dishes are served mezze style on a multi-level stand, which enables you to order a variety of things to share/sample. It’s a great way to try lots of food without getting too full on any one thing and prevent overcrowding on the table.
Mezze Stand
To kick things off we had a few dips, with the highlight being the deliciously smoky Melitzanosalata (similar to Baba ganoush) in contrast to the Htipiti (feta cheese, peppers and chili), which was a bit wet and lacked any real punch. Award-winning food presenter, Tonia Buxton, has a selection of specially created dishes dotted across the menu, we tried her prawns with feta. The prawns had been cooked well (although they had not been de-veined) and came with a pleasant enough sauce, but the feta was fairly tasteless and got lost in the dish.
Octopus
We tried the grilled calamari which, unfortunately, was fairly bland and chewy. In contrast however, was the grilled octopus which was fantastic. Cooked to perfection with a smoky chargrilled flavour and a hint of lemon to lighten the dish, I could easily have eaten a second plate.
Mezze L to R: Greek Salad, Grilled Calamari, Chicken Skewers
and Halloumi Souvlaki ‘Athenian style’
The chicken skewer wasn’t terribly exciting and whilst the lamb kefte didn’t look too appealing, it had a nice charred taste with a hint of spices and the accompanying mint yoghurt dip helped cut through the strong lamb flavours.
Up next was the halloumi souvlaki, which we upgraded to have ‘Athenian style’. My mind brimmed with excitement as to what this could entail, so I was a little disappointed to find out it simply involved stuffing some chips into the flatbread. This didn’t really offer anything for the dish since the chips were too thick and soggy, whereas it would have been much better if the chips were thinner and crispy.
Custard Pie
Vying with the grilled octopus for highlight of the evening was the Greek filo custard pie for dessert. This was simply delicious as you would expect from deep fried pastry, custard and ice cream. A must for anyone looking to end their evening on a decadent high.
Hot and cold mezze are priced from £4, wraps from £5.50 and dessert from £3.75
The Real Greek Soho
50 Berwick Street
London W1F 8SJ
Tel: 020 7287 6805
www.therealgreek.com
