10 Greek Street - London

Soho seems to be cornering the market on small, trendy yet definitely unpretentious restaurants, focusing on excellent seasonal ingredients, daily changing menus and simple but accomplished cooking. Following the arrival of the rather fabulous Duck Soup, just a few streets away, recently opened 10 Greek Street feels very much in the same mould. Which, I should add is definitely a good thing.


Having almost walked past the very austere, grey and functional frontage, which belies a much warmer and light filled dining room beyond. I strode in at Friday lunchtime, bang on 12 in the hope of grabbing one of the stools at the bar, front row seats overlooking the comings and goings in the kitchen and available on a first come, first served basis. I was in luck, and within 20 mins of my arrival, the whole restaurant was buzzing and packed to the rafters.


It has to be one of the airiest and light filled kitchens I’ve ever seen, the glass raised ceiling above floods the whole area with natural light and on a cloudless spring afternoon I couldn’t imagine anywhere nicer to be seated.


Water served in recycled milk bottles was a nice touch, it’s always good to see a bit of subtle inventiveness with the more mundane tableware.

Some good bread to nibble, a chat with the cheerful and friendly staff who were more than happy to recommend their favourite dishes off the menu, and a glass of Schloss Vollrads Reisling to wash it down I was all set to order.

A word about the wine list. Almost all of it is available by the glass. £4 is the average price for 125ml, with the most expensive glass coming in at £5.50. This is very smart pricing and promotes matching wine to individual dishes without spanking the wallet or purse too hard. It has to applauded.


My Welsh Black Beef, Beetroot and Horseradish starter was exactly that. No frills, perfectly rare, a beautiful piece of meat simply cooked with classic accompanying flavours. It could be argued, a bit unadventurous, but then the counter argument is, why mess about with such superb ingredients? It was absolutely delicious, and living with a pescetarian and eating a lot less meat than I’d like, I’m inclined towards the positive.


Calves Liver, Polenta, Kale and Balsamic Onions was superb. The liver was perfectly cooked, seared on the outside and still pink in the middle, with a rich almost buttery taste. Again, simple, beautifully cooked, unmucked about with food, allowing the excellent ingredients to really be appreciated. Washed down with a big glass of recommended red (errr which I can’t remember the name of) I truly couldn’t have been happier.


Quince and Apple Crumble had my name all over it. Happy to see a really decent sized individual portion with an accompanying jug of crème anglaise, and the tantalising offer of ‘if you want more, just ask’ left hanging in the air. I glided towards the end of the meal in a state of rapture.

So, one of the most pleasant lunches I’ve had for quite some time. 10 Greek Street is just a bit special. The menu is packed full of interesting dishes. The food is simply and beautifully executed. The wine list, priced as it is, mainly by the glass is highly approachable and good value. The service was welcoming, cheerful and polished. I really couldn’t fault any aspect of my meal. Bravo.

My lunch for one, 3 courses, 2 glasses of wine and tip came to just over £40. Believe me when I say it’s a complete bargain. I highly recommend you go, and make sure to grab a seat at undoubtedly the best table in the place, the bar overlooking the action in the kitchen.

10 Greek Street

London
W1D 4DH

http://www.10greekstreet.com