Fitzrovia, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

London… Mykonos… er, Riyadh… – that’s the lineup for this small international group of luxe Greek restaurants owned by Peter Waney (who, with brother Arjun, has created hits such as Zuma and Roka). It flies slightly under the radar compared with its more famous stablemates, but shares the same virtues: the vibe is buoyant and the food (a Greek-inflected mix of the raw seafood, fish, grills and pasta popular with globetrotting types) “is great… so fresh!”

2021 Review: A “wealth of wines by the glass” and “tasty nibbles”, help make this growing group of self-service wine bars a “fun way to try a selection of vintages from a multitude of small producers”. At the Battersea Power Station branch’s school you can educate your palate towards Wine & Spirit Education Trust certification and watch wine being made from grapes grown in Oxfordshire and Surrey.

2021 Review: “Fun” and fashionable yearling – a glamorous, grown-up, all-day restaurant complete with bar, on the ground floor of ‘private workspace and wellbeing destination’, Mortimer House in Fitzrovia. Its open kitchen is headed by Antonio ‘Lello’ Favuzzi (formerly of leading City Italian, L’Anima) who joined as head chef in February 2019. A versatile choice for many occasions, it is particularly tipped for business. Foodwise, one or two reporters consider the Mediterranean-via-the-Middle-East cuisine a little “average”, but overall it’s consistently decently rated.

The “good-looking decor” and “varied menu with an enticing range of small plates, bowls and skewers” bring customers back to this well-established Fitzrovia haunt, now with a popular sibling in Bloomsbury’s modernist Brunswick Centre (“nice place with lots of plants, like a conservatory”). They’re a big hit for “a long lazy brekkie”; at other times the cooking can seem rather “uninspiring”.

“I don’t know how Ottolenghi comes up with those flavour combinations but the result is genius!”, say fans of Yotam O’s Fitzrovia flagship, which lives up to his renown for “exceptionally varied and delicious food with a focus on the Middle East (but also with some oriental influences)”. “Served mostly as small plates so great for sharing”, they’re “particularly talented at vegetable dishes, but overall everything tastes good”. There’s also a “short but interesting wine list”. It would score even higher but for the odd niggle: be it about “erratic, if charming” service; or toppish prices. Top Menu Tip – “in a high-quality field, the celeriac shawarma really stands out”.

No-one, it seems, told star Spanish chef Quique Dacosta (whose Alicante restaurants hold three Michelin stars) that you don’t launch an ambitious foodie venue just off the shopping hell of Oxford Street. This impressive-looking four-year-old – complete with a large open kitchen – offers high quality grills, with the speciality being a selection of paella dishes. Feedback remains quite limited (not helped by its location) – neither huge criticism, nor huge praise is present.