There’s no shortage of Greek-inspired food spots in London. Go to any foodie destination and you’re bound to find a gyros stall, souvlaki grill, and stands selling olives and filo pastries. And, while we have nothing against street food, it’s not exactly what we would call fine dining. But in recent years, a cohort of chefs and restaurants have kickstarted what can only be considered as a renaissance of Greek restaurants in London – and we want to let you in on the secret.

These restaurants are led by award-winning chefs on a mission to take traditional Greek ingredients and create Michelin-starred menus full of innovation, creativity, and a lot of finesse. Not only is the produce of the highest quality, thanks to local sourcing and seasonality as standard, but through modern techniques, unexpected flavour combinations and refined presentation, they promise the full package. Think traditional meals, such as moussaka, grilled seafood, vegetables with feta, and tzatziki spreads, as well as surprise guests like salmon carpaccio with kumquat and yuzu, Greek yoghurt wasabi, and dashes of black truffle.

If you’re looking for somewhere designed for a date night, a lingering lunch of sharing plates with friends, or just need a way to escape the city for an hour or two, these are the Greek restaurants in London to book now.

Kima, Marylebone

One of the most anticipated London restaurant openings of 2023, Kima is the latest project from Andreas Labridis and two-Michelin star chef Nikos Roussos. It promises a contemporary and innovative menu ‘inspired by the abundance of the Greek seas’ as well as embracing a ‘fin-to-gill’ no-waste approach in all its dishes. Every single ingredient is meticulously trialled and chosen for its exceptional quality, which allows each dish to be simple yet striking.

Diners are invited to select fresh fish from the counter display, which chefs will offer in raw form as a starter, before using the rest to create your main. It’s impossible not to gawp at the dry-aging cabinets containing huge cuts of fish just waiting to be played with. Dishes change depending on seasonal availability, but if there is a fish shank available, order that, along with the raw fish of the day (served with salt and extra virgin olive oil), charcoaled broccoli with Greek yoghurt wasabi, and smoked potato mash. There is room for just a few diners, so make sure you book your space

57 Paddington Street, W1U 4JA, visit kimarestaurant.com

Opso, Marylebone

Taking its name from the ancient Greek word for a delectable morsel of food, Opso opened in 2014 with a desire to introduce London to a new approach to Greek food. Its chefs seek to showcase the best of Greece’s culinary heritage in an elevated way, using seasonal-led produce, most of which is supplied directly from Greece. The restaurant is Nordic in style – open and bright with light oak furnishings – making it ideal for brunch with friends.

In fact, it’s the brunch menu that caught our attention most. Highlights include salmon Royale (topped with trout roe and served on sesame-rolled koulouri bread) and pitta with pulled lamb, smoked tomatoes and eggs. At brunch, exclusive Opso cocktails are available, but if you’re going for dinner, then the wine menu is extensive. Greek wines are aplenty, and each is listed with tasting notes to help guide you (or just ask the highly knowledgeable staff).

10 Paddington Street, W1U 5QL, visit opso.co.uk

Meraki, Fitzrovia

Bare brick walls, wines stacked up in glass-fronted cases, natural light by day and low lights when the evening comes; the décor at Meraki is modern and stylish, balancing high-end with a touch of rustic. The name comes from a Greek word referring to the love and soul that someone puts into their work, which is reflected in the effort that the chefs put into sourcing the best ingredients from all over Greece to create their menu, with the promise that you will be ‘mesmerised’.

Indeed, the menu will have you dithering about what to order, because it all looks so good. Notables include tuna ceviche with black truffle and filo, a perfect Mykonian salad, and a beef fillet kebab. The hero plate, however, is the ‘Rosti Greek Style’: crunchy potato, sunny-side-up egg, Cretan butter and black truffle. The extensive wine menu puts Greek wines at the fore while the on-site nightclub brings the soundtrack, with mellow music during service, and a tempo increase as the night goes on. It’s date night done right.

80-82 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 7QT, visit meraki-restaurant.com

Suzi Tros, Notting Hill

This Notting Hill bistro is inspired by Northern Greek cuisine and the eateries of Thessaloniki, the food capital of Greece (apparently). Dishes are designed to be shared by the table as per culinary tradition of the Aegean island and the menu is led by seasonal availability, with all the produce coming from sustainable sources and, most notably, fish caught the night before by a small independent fisherman in Cornwall.

The décor is strikingly simple but feels bright and bouncy, perfect for a lunch date, while founder Christina Mouratoglou recommends the grilled aubergine with tahini and honey, along with ‘Grandmama’s meatballs’, a dish that has been repeatedly celebrated by previous diners. Other menu highlights include baby gem with pistachio pesto, sea bream carpaccio with candy radish, and Greek coffee profiteroles with dark chocolate ganache to seal the deal. And if you love it enough, the team behind Suzi Tros (and its sister restaurant, Mazi) have also produced a cookbook.

18 Hillgate Street, W8 7SR, visit suzitros.com

Zephyr, Notting Hill

The latest opening by Greek-South American chef, John Skotidas, who is the former chef of Mazi and Suzi Tros. It’s named after the Greek god of the West wind, playing into this with a façade of windows kept open to give that Mediterranean indoor-outdoor feel. It is relaxed in style with a touch of gloss, making it ideal for a lunch with girlfriends or a dinner affair.

The menu boasts of a ‘plethora of interpretive feasting dishes’, with notable plates including sea bass carpaccio with bottarga, lemon oil and bonito, and soutzoukakia (spiced minced beef with cumin yoghurt and paprika oil). However, the shining stars are the Greek salad, which comes with thick wedges of feta atop tomatoes and onions laced with salty capers, and the crispy potato terrine, topped with metsovone custard and truffle for good measure.

100 Portobello Road, W11 2QD, visit zephyr.london

Lemonia, Primrose Hill

Lemonia is a family-run restaurant that has been serving the loyal patrons of Primrose Hill since 1979. As a neighbourhood eatery, it’s a little more casual than the previous restaurants on this list, but the one that will make you feel most like you’re on holiday. Everything is very traditional: think white walls, archways, plenty of natural light, vines hanging inside and outside, large round tables and everything written in that Greek font that you see on taverna menus abroad.

The food is everything you’d expect from a Greek restaurant: plenty of dips, hot starters such as grilled halloumi, spanakopita and Greek sausages, through to charcoal grilled meats and plenty of fish. Though the chefs don’t experiment with contemporary twists, Lemonia continues the tradition of championing what is inherently great quality Greek produce. A particularly celebrated dish is the ever-humble vegetable moussaka: rustic but unapologetically virtuous, capturing the essence of the restaurant as a whole.

89 Regent’s Park Road, NW1 8UY, visit lemonia.co.uk

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