Please note, Greek Affair has closed. Time Out Food editors, August 2018.
Time your visit with dinner at the tail-end of the week and there’s plenty of buzz at this decade-old spot in Notting Hill; on our Friday lunch trip we experienced deathly silence and empty tables. Greek Affair reduced its midday openings to Fridays and weekends in early 2013, and perhaps Fridays will follow suit. Nevertheless, there’s lots to like about this relaxed and contemporary space.
The huge wooden dining table by the entrance is just right for a celebratory meal and there’s clearly plenty of skill in the kitchen. Greek rather than Cypriot food is the speciality. Expertly spiced soutzoukákia were faultless, while a piping hot portion of well-seasoned fried calamares was simple and delicious. Other dishes were disappointing: a humdrum aubergine and halloumi dish; a tower of beetroot and feta swimming in balsamic. And there’s no place in a horiátiki for iceberg lettuce, especially not piles of the stuff.
We’ve had much more success ordering from the main courses – the pastitsio (a baked pasta and meat dish) is a favourite – and we love the upstairs courtyard terrace. But there’s work to be done if Greek Affair is going to keep up with its new neighbour, Mazi.