H

is name was Andreas. He was

ve foot six, most of which

was eyebrow, and always remembered our names. He

was our waiter at Lemonia, the Primrose Hill institution

that has served as the bastion of the Greek restaurant

scene in London for the past 30 years and where for

the

rst 16 years of my life, I celebrated every one of

my own and my Grandma's birthdays. Andreas didn't balk when my

grandmother pronounced his retsina "worse than Kosher wine" and

was approximately 103 years old, though continued to dash back and

forth with the plates of halloumi, dolmades, hummus and moussaka

that have earned Lemonia its loyal following. But change is afoot. A

raft of new modern Greek restaurants have opened in the capital

and, coupled with the renaissance in Greek wine, are creating a new

benchmark for the cuisine, turning the old perceptions on their head.

It started in 2012, with Mazi in Notting Hill. "When we

rst opened

Mazi some people were asking why we didn't have kleftico and

hummus - and why we had an all-Greek wine list. No one asks

that any more," says co-founder Christina Mouratoglou. One of the

reasons for Mazi's success, she suggests, is to do with traditional

Greek cuisine

tting with

the London zeitgeist for

small and sharing plates.

"Mazi means 'together'

in Greek, lots of food

coming out as and when

people want it - rather

than a regimented starter,

main course, dessert,"

she explains.

With a recent pop-up

supper club at Fortnum ”

Mason, international franchises planned in Dubai and America, and

a

rst cookbook under way, the zeal with which Londoners have

embraced Mazi is a testament to how much it was needed.

squaremeal.co.uk | 73

restaurants ” food

"IN GREEK FOOD, THE

INGREDIENT IS KING.

PROVENANCE AND

FRESHNESS MATTER"

ANDREAS LABRIDIS

Mini

sh burger in squid ink bun (above left) £6, Opso

Grilled octopus, garden herb potato salad, olive tapanade

(above right) £24, Mazi

Soutzouki sausage and root vegetable melitzanosalata

(smoked aubergine salad) £6, The Greek Larder

Mushroom and halloumi pitta burger £10, the Hungry Donkey

Mastelo cheese and vegetable souvlaki skewer glazed with pine

and

r-tree honey and mustard Three for £10, Suvlaki

From top: Opso's yellow fava beans and smoked eel dish; galaktoboureko

pastry dessert from Mazi; co-founders of Mazi Christina Mouratoglou

and Adrien Carre; Opso in Marylebone; a Hungry Donkey souvlaki wrap.

Opposite page: Mazi's mildly battered fresh oysters with chilli and lime

Beyond baklava

There's more to Greek cuisine than lukewarm

slabs of moussaka. Here are fi ve inspiring dishes

available to try now on London menus