Suvlaki or souvlaki is Greek for grilled skewered meat chunks.
Suvlaki is London’s newest and trendiest Greek eaterie located in Soho (where else?), just off Frith Street.
It is a cozy and ultra stylish place, with none of the cheesy props older style Greek restaurants sport – the only reminder of Athens is the stone column wall made comfortable with cushions to lean back on. The dozen or so tables look towards the “guerrilla grillers” who prepare the food behind an open counter.
The menu is simple and short which, as every dedicated foodie knows, means it is freshly prepared. The chef, Elias Mamalakis , is something of a personality in Greece, with a TV show and several books to his name.
Simplicity is something the Greeks do exceptionally well, in common with all their Mediterranean neighbours.
Take their Greek salad, for example – the Suvlaki version has cherry tomatoes in it to enhance the flavour, crumbled feta cheese, of course, tons of red onions (another nice touch) and is liberally doused with Iliada olive oil. The combination gives it a signature quality.
The Cretan salad is similar, but has rusks in it and if you give them the time to soak all the goodness of the ingredients, you’d be well rewarded.
The lentil and onion salad is equally topped with feta, and makes a great accompaniment to the suvlaki skewers.
Delicious as the salads may be, do leave space for the grilled meat. It is presented on a tray, with a dip at each end, and wedges of toasted pita under the skewers.
One of the dips is tzatziki, which I don’t normally order, but this is hands down the best I’ve ever tasted – thick, creamy and well seasoned with fresh garlic and herbs. The other is a hot pepper dip. We ordered chicken, lamb and wild boar sausage suvlaki. The wild boar comes from an organic estate in Greece and has nothing whatsoever to do with the variety found in British supermarkets. It is robustly flavoured and lean. The chicken and lamb must have been marinated because they literally melt in the mouth.
All of this was washed down with Ouzo shots and a bottle of red wine. The wine menu is minimal – Greek wines are drunk young, so don’t expect anything exceptional, but you might be interested to try something different from the ubiquitous Retzina of old.
With no room for pudding, we ended the meal with a thick sweet Greek coffee which was perfect in every possible way and rounded a super evening.
Did I mention the music? Discreet jazz (rather than Greek folk or Mikis Theodorakis renditions) would please most customers, even those who adore traditional Greek songs as I do.
Suvlaki offers a take-out menu and office/party catering.
21 Bateman St, London, W1D 3AL
0207 287 6638
info@suvlaki.co.uk
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