Test Driving Zylia, where Greek and Cypriot cuisine come together in Covent Garden

This is Zylia (picture taken facing away from the pass, where there are a few seats too)

So what is Zylia?

There have been a lot of new Mediterranean and Greek-inspired restaurants in London of late - and we mean a lot. But Zylia tries to do something a little different, looking to be both authentically Greek and Cypriot-influenced. That's mainly down to the two people behind it. First up on the Greek side of things is Nick Molyviatis, who is an ex-Kiln head chef and also co-owner of the new Singburi 2.0 in Shoreditch. Joining him is Barry Karacostas, who is the Cypriot part of the equation, and who has also managed many of the big Arcade launches from the food side. So it's a team with great promise. 

And it's part of the new Arcade in Covent Garden?

Yes and no. It is part of the whole Arcade Covent Garden complex, but like the new Plaza Khao Gaeng, it's also a standalone restaurant with its own entrance. So you could visit Zylia and not realise that it's part of Arcade. Unless you needed the loo, that is - then you'll be heading into the main Arcade section. 

Where is it?

Arcade has opened in Covent Garden, in what used to be a massive TGI Friday's. If you know where the currently empty The Lady building is in Covent Garden, it's across the road from that. You'll find the Zylia entrance in particular on Chandos Place. 

The entrance to Zylia is just around the corner from the main Arcade entrance.

Where should we go for a drink first?

If you're meeting people before heading to Zylia (or going for a drink after), then the most obvious place for a drink is going to be Arcade itself. There's a big bar here, with cocktails all around the £13 mark and it's much more glam than we were expecting it to be, frankly. Alternatively, the original Lady of the Grapes is a couple of minutes down the road, and if you want to go really old-school (and considerably more upmarket), there's also the bar at Rules nearby. 

Where should we sit?

It's a smallish room, so for this one, we'll say to sit wherever they put you. But there are four seats up at the kitchen counter, so if you like seeing the chefs at work, see if you can grab one of those. 

So what about the food at Zylia?

While the restaurant is a team-up between Nick and Barry, it's Athens-born Nick who's leading the overall menu here, while Barry makes sure that the Cypriot side of things stays authentic. 

Your first step is, of course, to get carbs on the table as quickly as possible. The generous bread basket is a must, so you should order that immediately along with at least a couple of dips.

In the bread basket, you'll find a mix of grilled Cypriot bread and Greek pita (£9). It's actually more generous than the above shows because we started snacking on it before remembering to take a photo...

On the left is their coal-roasted aubergine dip (£7.5), which was good but maybe needed a little more smokiness, and the taramosalata with cracked carob rusk (£7), which was fantastic as the crunch of the carob really enhanced it. 

After that, you'll want to order two to three hot meze. We hear good things about the spanakopita stack (kind of a deconstructed and then reconstructed in a new way spanakopita), but here's what we went for:

Grilled Cypriot sheep & goat halloumi with oregano (£12) - proper Cypriot halloumi which Barry gets flown in specially, which you'll need to eat while it's hot if you want to get the best out of it. 

Sweetbreads Spanakopita (£15) - fried lamb sweetbreads with leek, green peppers, lemon and oregano. Sweetbreads may not be your thing but they're a trigger dish for us, with this a great take on spanakopita. Go for the stack mentioned above if you're after something a little more traditional (at least flavour-wise). 

Crisp fried metsovone cheese croquettes with thyme honey (£8) - not at all what you'd expect from croquettes, but these crispy cheese balls are a delight. 

Then, finally, you've got a selection of salads and the main event, which is the grill section. We'd already had quite a bit by this point, so here's what we ordered, both of which we'd strongly recommend:

Sheftalia - Cypriot caul fat-wrapped pork parcels, served with sliced onion, parsley and sumac (£14) - best dish of the night and the second time we've had these in a few months, as they're also on the menu at Impala. While admittedly not quite up to the next-level Impala version, these are still absolute must-orders. 

Pork Souvlakia (£15.50) - two skewers of pork neck with our spice mix, lemon oil and oregano. Just great tender pork skewers - a very easy recommendation, with a chicken version available too. 

All of that is quite a lot, so we didn't make it to the sharing dishes. These are essentially 1/2 kg piles of chops from the grill - either Ibaima pork (£42), lamb (£46) or aged ribeye beef (£68). They were clearly proving very popular around the room, and if you're dining in a group, these would be an easy choice. 

What about dessert?

There was just one option on our visit and an easy one to share:

Kaimaki ice cream with spoon-sweet sour cherries (£6.50) - an absolute delight.

What about drinks?

Just like the rest of the menu, the drinks selection here is completely separate from Arcade next door. There's a short selection of cocktails and we'd strongly recommend ordering both of those pictured below. Wine-wise, there's a short list with a similar Greek/Cypriot split to the main menu. It's very well priced for this part of town, with a Three Bowls Greek Assyrtiko coming in at £36 a bottle. On the beer front, there's also a Greek (Mamos) and Cypriot (Keo) split. So there's an admirable sticking to the overall theme throughout the whole experience. 

On the left is the Med Martini (Belvedere vodka, olive leaf gin, blended dry vermouth. kalamata olive brine, lemon oils, and a great little garnish (£14) and on the right is the one we insist you try, the Custard Pie (Metaxa Brandy, Fino sherry, fig leaf infusion, custard, Palo Santo, lemon & greek honey, £13)

Overall thoughts

We've been waiting a while to see what chef Nick Molyviatis was going to do with his own opening and this team-up with Barry Karacostas has proved to be an instant smash. It's also beautifully designed, fully giving Greek/Cypriot taverna that just so happens to be in the heart of London. Bringing proper Greek/Cypriot-influenced food into central London and at pretty decent prices too, this should definitely be on your to-go list.