Asimakis Chaniotis, heading up Myrtos
What can you tell us about Myrtos
This is the latest opening of what's become a palpable trend in London - Greek restaurants with a bit of a refined touch. It's run by Asimakis Chaniotis, who was part of Michelin-starred Pied a Terre for 13 years, most recently as Executive Chef. Having been born in Athens, Asimakis is drawing on his Greek heritage for a restaurant that's taking a contemporary approach to Greek classics. And it's very much his own thing, with Myrtos by Asimakis being the full name of the restaurant on the door.
Where is it?
Myrtos took over the site that was once Aubaine, almost just across the road from the Bibendum building, with all the Michelin Men emblazoned on it in South Kensington (which is the nearest Tube station). It's a pretty spacious affair, but if you're looking for the best tables, they'll be the ones closest to the windows at the front. That said, there is a terrace space that we can see being coveted spots in decent weather, although the blinds give them pretty good rain cover too.
Looking into the restaurant at Myrtos
What can we expect from the food?
While there are more experimental dishes like the snail flatbread below, it perhaps sits closer to something like Krokodilos than perhaps Oma or Agora. What's on offer here are largely classic dishes, albeit presented extremely well and with some signature flair. Price-wise, we'd say it's upper mid-end, as while there are some highly priced sharing plates, hummus and pitta for £15 isn't too bad for this part of town,
From the menu overall, everything starts with dips, snacks and raw dishes, before moving onto small plates and sharing mains, The first lot of dishes can arrive at a pace, so you might want to stagger ordering to allow for that. The chef, Asimakis Chaniotis, was on hand throughout and delivered many of the dishes to tables all over the room - so there's a real sense of it being his place and that helps bring a warmth to the whole affair.
With that in mind, here's what we had. In fairness, we over-ordered a little, so you could probably knock out a snack and a small plate below and have more than enough food:
Kicking things off with dips, we have taramasalata with trout roe and dill oil (£10), a hummus of chickpeas, black sesame, tahini, smoked
paprika (£10) and pita (£5). Great dips and there's also an extensive and generous bread basket (including a sourdough loaf, pita and ladopsomo) at £9.
Dorset Snail Pita with tomato, chilli, pickled red onion and aged graviera (£15). Personally, we love seeing snails making so many appearances on London menus of late. We understand this isn't for everyone, but if you do like snails, this is a must-have.
Bluefin tuna, with Cretan rock samphire, tomatoes, capers (£18)
Carlingford oysters with cucumber granita and lemon (two for £8)
Lamb moussaka (£20), described as "The non-deconstructed, traditional way" and pretty much perfection as a result. This was our favourite dish of the night - sometimes simplicity works wonders.
Briam - Aubergine, courgette, potato, tomato and described as a Greek take on ratatouille (£14).
Every Greek restaurant we've been to recently has giouvetsi on the menu and this whole lobster version is up there with the best, mixing in orzo pasta, mussels, tomato, lemon and basil. It's on the high-end of things on the menu at £60, but excellent.
Other sharing dishes include a 500g cote de boeuf (£50), 400g whole poussin (£28), 1kg salt-baked Kefalonian organic sea bass (presented and served at the table, £60) and pork tomahawk with spetsofai (£48). So there's a decent varied selection to choose from and once again, those prices aren't too bad for this part of town.
And dessert?
Definitely leave a tiny bit of space. More traditional takes like a pistachio cake or loukomades (Greek doughnuts) are available, but if you're going for one dish, we'd make it the mousse below. Yes, we know chocolate mousse is everywhere at the moment, but this is an exceptionally good offering:
Manjari chocolate mousse, with butterscotch, feuilletine and caramel at the centre (£14).
Galaktoboureko with semolina custard, phyllo, strawberries, icing sugar (£12) - also great if you're looking for something light.
What about drinks?
On the wine list, there's naturally a big focus on Greek wines and we'd strongly recommend going in that direction, with advice from the sommelier if you're unfamiliar with the wines from this part of the world (general hint, you can't go wrong with Assyrtiko). Prices start at £34 (for a 2024 Kokotos Estate Savianto-Roditis), which is a good entry-level price, with most wines on the list well under the £100 mark. Cocktails are also decently priced at around £15, but they do need to get their martinis a little colder.
On the no alcohol front, they have Lucky Saint for beer and a couple of no-alcohol cocktails (or some low ABV options if you fancy). The non-alcoholic Spiced Pomegranate Mule, with no-alcohol gin, pomegranate, mandarin orange citrus and ginger beer (£12) was excellent, so we can easily recommend that.
Mediterranean martini - Mediterranean gin, dry vermouth, kalamata olive, lemon thyme, miso vinegar (£15). Very well balanced, just needs to be much colder.
Overall thoughts
As we mentioned at the beginning, there's been a definite trend emerging of really good new Greek restaurants in London and Myrtos very much continues that. Asimakis Chaniotis picked up a stellar reputation while working at Pied a Terre, and his talent is also really evident at Myrtos. While dishes may not feature some of the more inventive turns seen elsewhere, those really aren't needed here. Ultimately, what you have is a classic Greek menu, with a few high-end touches, all delivered exceptionally well. We left full and happy and there's no better recommendation than that.
More about Myrtos
Where is it? 260-262 Brompton Road, London SW3 2AS
How to book: Book online or call 020 7052 0100
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @myrtoslondon.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Myrtos. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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