Seven great Greek restaurants in the UK

This month sees everyone’s favourite Greek island movie come of age; yes, Mamma Mia! the movie turns 18. We know, it feels like yesterday.  

But it was a phenomenon (Greek word) that reminded cinemagoers and holidaymakers just how smashing this part of the world is, particularly the islands of Skiathos and Skopelos (the primary filming location).  

As an added knock-on Greek dining is undergoing a resurgence attributed to a growing trend towards healthy eating, such as the Mediterranean diet (which includes Greek cuisine), the good work of celebrity chefs such as Irini Tzortzoglou and Tonia Buxton, who have played a key role in promoting Greek food in the UK, and a new wave of Greek restaurants focusing on authentic, often modernised interpretations of Greek food.  

And for client entertaining, it’s a shoo-in: Greek food is inherently social and makes even the greyest day feel like summer. From mezes to grills, this is food designed to keep people chatting and happy. Here are seven of the UK’s best. 

Mazi, London 

Time Out called it the “best Greek restaurant in London” and, since opening in 2012 on a tiny side street, it has charmed Notting Hill locals with its Athenian-inspired cooking and contemporary edge. The vibe: buzzy but chilled, with warm, friendly staff weaving around close-set tables, delivering sharing plates of grilled octopus or spiced lamb rump to grateful patrons. (Vegans and the gluten-intolerant are catered for too.) 

Try the sea bass carpaccio, black truffle chicken, or baklava with pistachio ice cream. They’ve just opened another, larger branch in Mayfair too, but try this cherished W8 original first. 

Lemonia, London

An old-school Primrose Hill institution serving Greek-Cypriot food since 1979. Still run by the same family and still drawing a loyal, multi-generational crowd. The menu is built around straightforward cooking with fresh ingredients rather than hipster reinvention: charcoal grills, meze and taverna staples such as souvlaki, grilled fish, lamb dishes and a broad meze selection. 

Try the herb-filled keftedakia, generous baklava, soutzoukakia (meatballs in tomato sauce) served on a fluffy bed of rice, lemon chicken soup known as avgolemono (this writer’s favourite). And you can fit in a walking meeting too by taking a stride up the hill for the best views of London.  

Greek on the Docks, Gloucester

Set among the historic docks, this family-owned restaurant has built a loyal following over the past decade for its warm service, outdoor tables overlooking the water, and generous portions.  

Opened by brothers Georgios and Yiannis Karayiannis and Georgios’s wife Athina, who bring decades of hospitality experience from Greece and Germany, their sprawling menu includes feta saganaki wrapped in filo and honey, grilled octopus with yellow bean purée, rich beef stifado, and a signature kleftiko: slow-roasted lamb baked in filo pastry with cheese and red wine gravy. 

Come with an empty belly and be prepared to be rolled out again like a happy meatball. 

Athenian Tree, Cardiff

When Athena and Poseidon were competing for the protection of a new city in Attica, Athena’s gift of an olive tree, symbolising peace and abundance, beat Poseidon’s spring of saltwater hands down; and thus Athens was named in her honour.  

Named in honour of Greek mythology by its founders, this is another popular family-run affair, built around shared tables, homemade Greek dishes and simple, generous hospitality and authentic cooking. 

Founded by four friends from Greece, it offers generous plates, extra-virgin olive oil and traditional recipes: from slow-cooked kleftiko to rich moussaka, and, of course, bountiful gyros plates of chips, pitta, meat and tzatziki. 

Santorini Bar & Grill, Leeds

Part Greek-Turkish restaurant, part cocktail-led gin room, this is something of a Janus-faced operation - if Janus the god was Greek, not Roman. Headingley’s favourite restaurant on TripAdvisor is another lively, family-run joint, dishing up generous helpings of meat and chips-packed gyros, alongside chicken and lamb souvlaki with bulgur rice and tzatziki, as well as richer classics such as moussaka, stifado and beef guvec. 

Equally piled small plates include halloumi, calamari and saganaki prawns. The attached gin room is another affair, with plush seating, pink lighting and a cocktail list spanning everything from English Garden gins to Nutella martinis and Sex and Candy. 

Fenix, Manchester

As Jay Rayner noted in his review, Fenix is a deliberately ‘joyously over the top’ experience, serving modern Greek food of the highest order. Part restaurant, part theatrical spectacle, it is all faux sandstone, wheat-covered ceilings, priestess-style staff and a bar crowned with plumes of light and CO₂. 

Yet beneath the staging, the food delivers. Chef Ippokratis Anagnostelis’ menu includes sea bass tartare that Rayner said was ‘worth looking at and worth eating,’ alongside a lobster orzo he described as ‘fabulous’ and a crème brûlée ‘as accomplished as any I’ve ever been served.’ His overall verdict was: ‘Terrific… it really is all sorts of delicious and, in its own way, thoroughly comforting.” 

Ella – Taste of Greece, Edinburgh  

A relaxed, meze-led restaurant with a welcoming taverna feel, it serves classic dips including tzatziki, hummus, spicy feta and Spartan salad, alongside hot meze such as halloumi, falafel, courgette fritters and calamari. 

Seafood options include prawns, grilled fish and octopus, while wraps filled with cheesy meat kofta or chicken gyros with fries make for a more substantial meal. 

Ali Catterall is an award-winning writer, journalist and filmmaker whose writing has featured in the Guardian, Time Out, GQ, Film4, Word magazine and the Big Issue, among many others.

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