London Restaurant Review: As Greek As It Gets, SW5

A good culinary experience is never just about what the food tastes like. It has to be about the experience as a whole. Food, like music, is one of those magical things that can transport you instantly back to a moment in your life and bring up happy memories and a smile to your face without you even realising.

For me, good Greek food will always do just that. I LOVE Greek food and have always thought it is a massively underrated cuisine. But it may be because I have close emotional ties with the country.

Every summer of my childhood was spent on a Greek island, usually in the Ionians. Some of my happiest memories as a little girl are of lying on my stomach on a pier in Corfu and trying to catch fish with a net, a can of fanta lemon next to me. Chicken souvlaki is still one of my brother’s favourite dishes and may explain why, as an adult, he has an abnormal obsession with barbequing. For me, it was pasticcio which is a Greek version of lasagne.

Then, when I was 18, my parents bought and restored a gorgeous villa on the most beautiful of all the islands: Paxos. My brother and I have been going there every year since with our friends. Those of you who read the post about mine and JJ’s hols there last summer will understand why I fell in love with the island and the people. It is hands down the place I love most in the world. The only place where I really sleep properly, where I feel utterly relaxed and I breathe out as soon as I step off the boat on to the harbour. Every year at the end of the summer when my brother and I come back to London we are miserable about the fact that we’ll have to wait a whole year to go back. So now, whenever I eat good Greek food, it takes me back to Paxos in my head, and for a moment, I feel like an island girl again.

It being January, and knowing that I will have to wait until at least May to head back to the Ionians, I thought it was time to get a little Greek fix to cheer me up while it was still so cold. Laurie and I headed down to As Greek As It Gets on Earls Court Road after a foodie friend of mine told me the he’d had a great night there.

The manager warmly welcomed us and led us to a table in the window. He recommended a delicious bottle of Greek white wine and brought over some meaty olives for us to chew on while we eyed up the menu. As he came over to take our order, we still weren’t sure what to have. He asked if he could make some suggestions of authentic dishes that he thought we would like, but might not have tried in the past. We happily agreed and eagerly waited on his selections.

To start with we were brought a traditional sausage stew cooked with vegetables which was tasty and hearty. Perfect for this weather! Next up came on of my absolute favourites and the first thing I always eat when landing on Greece: proper spinach and feta cheese pies. The next dish he brought us was one I had never tried before but apparently is very traditional: beef cooked in honey. I really enjoyed this one, but it was a little sweet for Laurie’s taste buds. She loved the stuffed calamari which we drowned in lemon juice. It was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. By this time we were starting to feel full, but as with all Greek feasts, you’ve got to man up, and eat properly…so we did just that!

Over the next few hours we gossiped and laughed while we indulged in grilled feta cheese wrapped in filo pastry, swordfish skewers with rice and tartar sauce, beef ravioli type things with tomato sauce and Greek yoghurt, and a bucket of pita to soak up the sauce. We both agreed that the ravioli was our favourite of the dishes we’d tried and again, pleasantly for me in particular, not one we’d had before.

After admitting defeat, we took a break to finish our wine and chat with the manager who told us that there are plans for a new site in Soho for the near future. This will be exciting news for all you Greek food lovers who want to try the same delicious treats we did, but don’t want to go as far out as Earl’s Court. We’ll keep you posted on progress. In the mean time, this is a great little local London restaurant.

There is something special about Greek hospitality and warmth that you don’t get anywhere else. Everyone is relaxed… on “Greek time”. I practiced the (rude) Greek I’ve picked up over the years while the three of us drank sfinakis (shots) of ouzo and Laurie and I dug into the traditional dessert that is baklava. I’m not a huge baklava fan normally, but this was lush. The ratio of nuts to filo to honey was perfect, and there was a big dollop of Greek yoghurt in the middle to take the edge off the sweetness. Bliss.

Time had run away with us and we had eaten faaar too much (as was only right) so we headed home. I will head back here for sure if only for the spinach pies and maybe, as I did that night, to feel like I’m back on holiday once more…even if it’s only for a few hours.

[slickr-flickr tag=”Greek”]

Click images to enlarge