Tasting Britain was invited down to the relaunch of the old ’21 Bateman Street’ restaurant which may or may not have changed hands but has definitely changed appearances. ‘Suvlaki’, which is the Greek word for ‘stick’ or ‘little skewer’, focuses on Greek street food and a rare/eclectic selection of Greek drinks, served up in a traditional (tiny) taverna style environment. Very tiny and…shall we say intimate? It’s communal but can get a bit crowded.
Decor? The walls are graffed up in Greek text which kinda reminds me of something you may have once seen on the side of a burning building during the Italian invasion of Greece (but I dunno for sure since I wasn’t actually alive at the time). The interior was designed by Afroditi, a Greek-born, London-based designer who seems to have the monopoly on designing the insides of Hellenic themed places around here. So combined with the food and wine list it’s basically it’s ALL GREEK ALL THE TIME. The restaurant is supposedly the work of a small group of friends from Athens. Our waiter was from Crete and was a real chill guy who appreciated the fact I’d actually been to various parts of his beautiful island (in search of the minotaur…). Souvlaki’s Food can be eaten in or ordered to takeaway. Me and Sorcha consumed it ‘Mezethes’ style – which means a lot of small plates in the middle of the table that you basically share with whoever you’re eating with. Everyone wins – except for the food, the food gets eaten.
And how about that food then? The Suvlaki itself is prepared on a Robata style grill, skewered and then served plain or on a wrap. The menu was put together in conjunction with Elias Mamalakis (as the ‘consultant chef’). He’s a pretty well known TV personality in Greece and, amongst other things, is the author of nine cookbooks to date. As I alluded to, drinks menu is pretty special: they have an entirely Greek wine list (Greek wines need more love) along a number of bottled craft beers from