Going Greek on a night off

This review was first published in January 2001

At one point during the dinner at Thyme , my guest, Wozza, asked me rather wistfully, do you ever go out to a restaurant just for your own pleasure, perhaps thinking of one of his own?

"Odd you say that," I replied, "I had actually been considering starting a review, 'I hope you don't mind but I went somewhere that I know I like'". As you might imagine, visiting new restaurants does not always have results as felicitous as those at Thyme . That happens quite rarely.

The restaurant that had prompted the plan is THE REAL GREEK and its wine bar MEZEDOPOLIO in Hoxton Market. We went the other night and there was chef/proprietor Theodore Kyriakou working away in the open kitchen with an enthusiasm and nimbleness that never seems to flag. The restaurant which was reasonably busy but not full has settled into a sort of comfortable jumper look, nothing too bright or tight or constricting. It also manages to remind me of certain places in Athens but that is probably wishful thinking.

The menu seems a bit shorter. The mezedes, arranged as trios of items, are followed by a brief list of small dishes and then one of main courses. The meze I chose comprised monkfish cheeks in mayonnaise, baked beetroots dressed with aged vinegar, some deeply savoury squid in wine sauce and that Greek garlic-and-potato purèe, skordalia. Each part was carefully made and enhanced the other.

Reg's selection led with a crab pancake and I can't remember what else since I had gone out to relax and enjoy myself. Following on I had a rabbit stifado in a vinegar-kicked sauce which fairly sang with savouriness and Reg chose partridge roasted with quinces which he relished.

Before Christmas, I had been to try the next-door wine bar Mezedopolio, located in a former Christian mission hall which has been seamlessly grafted on to the restaurant. A Greek Orthodox light now shines down on the merrymaking which is not out of keeping with the tradition of Greek churches, where members of the congregation tend to come and go, talking of Santo Spirito.

The best of the dishes two of us chose from a list 33 were a cold assembly of duck stuffed with squash and dried figs infused with saffron; salt cod in a miraculously light batter; shrimp saganaki ( panfried with cheese); notably light fava (yellow split-pea purèe); and pan-fried kefalotiri, a much fitter cheese for the dish than Cypriot haloumi.

Many of The Real Greek's unbeatable Greek wines are served by small (250ml) or larger (500ml) carafes. They are not cheap. As befits the history, Mezodopolio is truly civilised. It can also be noisy.