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London,
Hot Plato: Delicious dishes at Vrisaki, where the specialities include souvlaki skewers of grilled meat
Flying start: As Greek As It Gets
Efficient service: The Real Greek
Bursting: Lemonia
Greek-style: They'll be no smashing of these plates
There's something so evocative about Greek cuisine. Plump purple olives and creamy feta drizzled with olive oil; grilled fish spiked with thyme; glasses of chilled local wine. It's the taste of summer nights and warm breezes fragrant with jasmine.
Back in London, though, Greek food has been stigmatised by plate-smashing, Zorba the Greek on permanent loop and cheap ouzo on tap. But as Greek food festival Carnival à la Grecque comes to Islington (at Lark In The Park, 60 Copenhagen Street, N1, 020 7553 7190) we'll discover just how good real Greek food can be.
Greek and Greek-Cypriot chefs will celebrate their cuisine in a cook-off to find out who cooks the best kebabs, bakes and sweets, with tastings from 1pm to 3pm.
And after your taste buds have been tickled, why not discover the restaurants serving up the finest kebabs, kleftiko and kalamari in town?
As Greek As It Gets
Newcomer As Greek As It Gets is off to a flying start. The all-day café offers a Greek brekkie of walnut bread, honey and yoghurt.
Then it segues into wraps (from £3), grilled meats and oven bakes. Your Greek holiday will come flooding back over a coffee frappé, cold beer (£3) and a plateful of gyros (meat cut from the rotisserie) wrapped in flat bread with chips. Only the plastic interior lacks authenticity.
233 Earl's Court Road, SW5 (020 7244 7777, asgreekasitgets.co.uk)
Andy's
Forty years old this year, Andy's in Camden has stood the test of time with its classic menu. The alfresco tables won't exactly transport you to a sun-drenched Greek isle - not in February, anyway - but Andy's blend of simple food and cosy interior makes for a jolly atmosphere, particularly for groups.
Grilled sea bass and sea bream (£12.95) delivered thriceweekly from the island Aegina, a range of salads and meze are nice, light options.
81 Bayham St, NW1 (020 7485 9718)
The Real Greek
This buzzing Hoxton outlet of the Real Greek souvlaki bar chain offers modern Greek to a contemporary crowd in a smart environment.
Service is efficient, the wine list extensive and the food is good. The menu is served tapas-style for sharing, with the mezedes - little sharing dishes - made fresh daily from 100 per cent Greek ingredients shipped in from mainland suppliers. Lamb souvlaki (£5.85) is a bestseller, while Santorinian fava (£3.25), a yellow lentil dip, makes a change from hummus.
Try a frozen ouzo mojito (£5.25): delicious, if not authentic.
14-15 Hoxton Market, N1 (020 7739 8212)
Vrisaki
Join the queue for fab kebabs or a dish of pasticho (baked macaroni) or moussaka to take away, or wend your way past the char-grill to the long-standing restaurant out back.
This Bounds Green Greek-Cypriot taverna, on an unassuming row of suburban shops, offers a lively atmosphere and superior taverna grub.
Dish after dish of palest pink taramasalata, glistening radishes and gigantes beans is served up to be followed by a good range of hot dishes like grilled quails, beef stifado (stew) or loucanica (spicy sausages), all priced between £10 and £18.
73 Myddleton Road, N22 (020 8881 2920)
Lemonia
The Primrose Hill set adores Lemonia, now nearly 30 years old. On the weekend, it's full to bursting with waiting customers kept happy with a smile and a plate of olives and crudités.
This approachable venue proves classic Greek-Cypriot cuisine really is the healthy option. Watch the area's yummy-mummies - including Kate Moss, who ate there this week - tuck into sea bream (£13.75), grilled tuna (£13.50) or an artichoke and broad bean appetizer (£5) without fearing for their waistline.
89 Regent's Park Road, NW1 (020 7586 7454)
Retsina
The antithesis of a plate-smashing taverna cliché, Retsina (named after the Greek wine) is the smart and slightly pricier end of Greek dining, as befits Belsize village.
Muted colours and suede chairs spell chichi urban chic; white linen-clad staff, plastic water bottles and garlicloaded kalamari evoke your last Greek holiday.
What sets Retsina apart is the range of specials and fish dishes. Call ahead to order hare stifado (a slow-cooked stew), suckling pig or milk-fed lamb. Whole fish like sea bass or John Dory are another strong suit.
48 Belsize Lane, NW3 (020 7431 5855)
BEST PLACES TO BUY GREEK INGREDIENTS
Zen
Just off Queensway, Moscow Road offers a little corner of Greece, with grocery stores and cafés where old men sip coffee and play backgammon.
Zen is at the heart of it: a proper grocer's selling all things Greek, including dried fruits, cheese and fresh fruit, veg and meat.
27 Moscow Road, W2 (020 7792 2058)
Odysea
Greek food supplier Odysea launches its online shop later this month. Enjoy fine olives, superb pine and fir tree honey (£2.49/450g), and "Delia's cheats" ingredients chosen by Delia Smith herself such as roasted red peppers (£1.99/450g) and aubergine meze (£2.19/220g). odysea.com
Selfridges & Co
The Food Hall's Mediterranean counter sells meze for Greekthemed suppers, barrel-aged feta, and a range of Greek yoghurts perfect with a drizzle of honey.
Oxford Street, W1 (0800 123 400)
Andreas Michli and Son
The Greek-Cypriot shops around Green Lanes include this treasure trove, selling dried fruit, olives and smoked meats, and seasonal vegetables such as cardoons and wild garlic.
33 Salisbury Road, N4 (020 8802 0188)
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
I've been to Lemonia and while it's a lovely place and good atmosphere, the food is overpriced and not exceptional. I don't rate the Real Greek for real food either (alright for a snack but not dinner). Try 'Retsina and Moussaka' on the Uxbridge Rd in Ealing. Best Greek food I've come across in London.
- Ann Griffiths, London, UK
There is a stunning Greek restaurant near Turnpike Lane tube - if you walk through towards Westbury Avenue - I think is called Lavas or something like that - it is next to the station cafe
Great value also
- Jean, London, UK
Yes, Daphne's has a very good fish selection.
As for your hare (lago) stifado, that is a very rare dish for restaurants because the recipe calls for equal weights of hare meat and shallots and most restaurants don't bother with the shallots and hare meat is hard to get hold of and some customers are too squeamish. If your dish had few shallots, then you just got a plain stew, not a stifado. If on the other hand it was the real thing, then congratulations.
David: Erenler is a Turkish name, so I suppose this restaurant is not Greek.
- Sophie, London
Forget it. There are no good Greek restaurants in London- period. Good Cypriot restaurants? Well, that's another story- and another cuisine altogether, but how many know the difference? And, yes, Lemonia was never that good to begin with, it's even worse now.
Of the list above, there are two Greek restaurants and of them one (As Greek as it Gets) is a fast-food restaurant that offers some non-fast dishes- and looks like a typical Athenian fast food chain, so the decor is authentic. The other (Real Greek) is a shadow of its former self and middle eastern dishes increasingly appear on the menu- not to mention that not all outlets are of equal standard.
A very sad story, considering that six- seven years ago two very good Greek restaurants appeared in London and then succumbed to the stereotypical expectations of the customers.
You wouldn't recommend a French restaurant on the basis of its portion size and low price, yet you do exactly that for a Greek restaurant. So what hope there is to get anything better than what we already have?
- Sophie, London
If you're after a good Greek restaurant in the Camden area then it has to be Daphnes on Bayham Street. Friendly family run restaurant which features fish sourced daily from the market and home-made Cypriot specialities such as the Lago Stifado (a very rich and filling hare stew, ideal for a winter's day). I was surprised it was overlooked in the article as it's superior to several of the other restaurants mentioned.
- Michael, Tunbridge Wells, UK
The very best is Erenler on Green Lanes, Haringey, . Amazing food and very, very reasonable.
- David, Phoenix, AZ
I went to Lemonia once. Lovely service tired food. Not nearly good enough to go back to.
- Warren Alexander, London, UK
Forget Lemonia, go to Retsina it used to be just 2 or 3 shops up regents Park road from Lemonia in a small restaurant now in a lovely position in a larger space Belsize Park. I have had my birthday dinner in this restaurant for 25 years and my family have been eating there since before I was born in 1972. The owners are extremely friendly and the food is wonderful. I had the kelfitico last time I visited and it was perfect. If you become a regular they make you feel like one of the family. I have never ever had a bad meal here only amazing food served by amazing people. Lemonia is nowhere near as good or as nice (their fish always disappoints). Next time you are in Primrose Hill walk up and over and find Restina I can promise you will not regret it.
- Kbash, Born & Bred Primrose Hill
The last 3 times I've been to Lemonia I have to say I was a little disappointed with the food. I can't fault the Service and the friendliness of the staff or the feel of the place. I just think the food has taken a slight downward turn. I don't want to sound like too much like an idiot but I think the portions have actually been reduced! The Sardines I had last 2 times were not that fresh and the open Chicken was very tough. Maybe I've just been unlucky the times I've gone - it was Sunday lunch. I would still recommend it to people who were in the area - taking a Sunday morning stroll up Primrose Hill/ Regents Park, but would say if heading towards Camden to go in one there - Daphnes maybe? It's cheaper and the portions, the portions!
- Mark, Barnet
