Recently been on holiday in Greece and getting withdrawal symptoms from all their amazing food? If so, Meraki should be next on your list to visit for a taste of Greece in London. Located in the heart of Fitzrovia, Meraki is a contemporary Greek restaurant, and was born out of a desire to offer the finest Mediterranean ingredients with warm, generous hospitality and stylish cosmopolitan flare.
The restaurant looks deceiving small from outside, but step inside and you will realize how much more spacious it is, with an open kitchen with counter seats at the front (for those who like to be at the heart of the action), and a hidden bar at the back, just round the corner from a vast display of wine bottles.
Their menu features seasonally changing sharing mezze dishes, chargrilled meats and whole fish dishes which are carved at the table.
We started with a delicious mezze selection, including Taramosalata (white cod roe emulsion), Tirokafteri (barrel aged feta, chilli & smoked walnuts) and Hummus Greek style which was made from smoked eel and toasted buckwheat seeds – definitely much tastier than supermarket hummus … These were accompanied by more-ish spicy crispy pita and warm pita bread.
From the Hot Mezze section, we tried the Baby Squid and Courgette Tempura, both lightly spiced and fried in a light and crispy batter. The Keftedes which are grilled meatballs were well-marinated and juicy and moist, served with a tangy lemon tahini sauce.
There were two different salads which were both bright and refreshing: Mykonian Greek salad, which contained cucumbers, kritamo, tomatoes, olives & feta, and Beetroot chestnut salad with orange mustard sauce & soft goats cheese.
The courgette and feta spaghetti was another favourite dish of mine, tossed together with mint, lemon zest and garlic aioli: simple ingredients but yet so tasty and flavourful. We also tried the richer and much meatier “Pastitsio”, which consisted of an oxtail ragu, paccheri pasta, graviera cheese & truffle oil – warm, comforting and perfect for those chilly winter days. Winter is the perfect time to load up on those carbs after all! The sides were pretty good too, especially the grilled mushrooms with rosemary oil and peanuts.
And the final highlight of the meal was a sumptuous selection of desserts: Loukoumades donuts, orange – agave syrup cake, Lemonato Eclair, and cherry chocolate fondant – I could have easily finished them all by myself. Those who know me are well-aware of my love for all things sweet – although my dentist would probably not approve of this sinful affair …
They also do a Big Fat Greek brunch on Sundays for £45pp from 11:30am onwards, which sounds pretty tantalizing – you can view the menu here. I just might need to pop back for another visit …
Many thanks once again to Meraki for hosting us for the evening, and to our lovely organizer, Naomi (@bookonin).
I really should plan a holiday to Greece soon, or if anyone would like to kindly offer to fly me there (an early Christmas gift maybe?), I would surely not decline …
The Cheekster, signing out x
- I was invited as a guest to review.
I didn’t know this place existed! The food looks lovely!
Author
I didn’t either before this visit! It was great, definitely worth checking it out 🙂 x