Britain might have really gotten its head around excellent street food in the last five years or so, but the Greeks have had it nailed since they started mass-peddling souvlaki in the 1950s. Take meat, add tzatziki and salad, roll up in a pillowy pitta, bite in and yell ‘YUM!’.
Brick Lane’s newest Hellenic eatery has named itself after the dish – minus the ‘o’ – and opened a dinky, fun dining room that’s the sister to a Soho branch. There’s a real sense of fun to the place: smiley staff, buzzy conversation, a tucked away booth labelled the ‘Naughty Corner’... and that’s before you realise that the menu offers shots of ouzo for £3. The food was good-to-average: the pulled pork and orzo pasta combo of ‘pork kritharaki’ was all melty brilliance and the lamb chops came beautifully pink, salty as a sailor’s brow and served with a slice of lemon, in authentic Greek style.
The souvlaki range was surprisingly variable for a supposed signature dish, though, with a spicy prawn version featuring chewy crustaceans suffocated by a vast pile of mega-greasy, deep-fried kale. But kormos (chocolate biscuit cake) came with shots of mastiha liqueur for £3. Which perhaps explains the reason that, as we left, one female diner was attempting to dance with a waitress. We’ll say this about the place: it definitely has a party vibe. Will its souvlaki make you want to yell ‘YUM!’? Depends on which one you order.