is it really all Greek? (The Real Greek)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	The Real Greek
Date:	03/05/09 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tasty food, location

Disadvantages: no cheese balls, small portions, slow service

It was my birthday recently and I had the fun task of selecting a restaurant to hold my celebrations at. It had to be central London as my friends are spread out of over the metropolis, it had to be wheelchair friendly and it had to be fairly vegetarian friendly, as I'm a fish eater an a lot of my friends are Kosher keeping Jews so a steak house was certainly out of the question. I had pizza last year so pizza and Italian were off the menu so in the end I plumped for somewhere I had eaten at a few times before and liked it. The restaurant in question for my birthday meal was the Real Greek at Bankside by the river Thames.
The real Greek is a mini chain of surprise surprise Greek restaurants founded by chef Theodore Kyriakou in 1999. There are seven branches of the restaurant in total (the others being in Hoxton, Covent Garden, Clerkenwell, Spittalfields, Putney and Marylebone) but I have only been to the one in Bankside. I think its a superb location as its right on the riverside and only a stone throw away from London landmarks such as the Millennium Bridge, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern and Saint Paul's Cathedral. Its easy to get to by public transport, as it is within walking distance of Blackfriars, Cannon Street and London Bridge railway stations. If you were arriving by tube its easy enough to get to from London Bridge (Northern and Jubilee), Southwark (Jubilee), Mansion House (District and circle) and saint Paul's (Central Line).

My table was booked for 12 people on a Saturday evening in early April. There are facilities to book on line but I telephoned my booking through , as I had to make sure they could accommodate a guest in a wheelchair. I found the staff to be very helpful and booking was very easy.
The Real Greek is housed in a modern building next to he ubiquitous Pizza Express. At the moment there are roadworks on the pavement outside, which does not make a good first impression but I suppose they are a necessary evil. There's an outside searing/smoking area at the front . This would be lovely in the summer , as I can think of nothing better than some mezze, a glass of wine or ouzo whilst watching boats go by on the river.

Once inside I was seated at the bar whilst I waited for my guests to arrive. Being a Saturday night it was busy and I heard there was about a quarter of an hour wait or so for tables if they were not booked. Whilst at the bar I ordered a bottle of coca cola and scanned my surroundings. The restaurant consists of an area with tall stools for smaller parties and some booths and larger lower tables at both ends for bigger parties. Ours was right at the end of the restaurant in a corner so it felt nice and private. However the downside of this was we often felt a little forgotten about, as the waiittng staff did not pass us as frequently as those in more central tables.
The menu is split into nibbles, mezze, Souvki, side dishes, salads and desserts. The first time I ate at the Real Greek at Bankside was two years ago and it advertised itself as a souvaki bar, as that's their specialty. Souvaki are proper grilled Greek kebabs. However with all but one of them (the seasonal vegetables) consisting of meat they have been off the menu for me. They cost around about the £6 mark which is not too bad value for money.

The reason for us coming to the Real Greek was for the mezze. For the uninitiated mezze is the Greek, and Middle Eastern version of Spanish tapas. It consists of little dishes from dips, to meat, salads and sea food. You normally choose three dishes so its like having a mix of starers rather than one main dish. I like it because you usually share most things with the whole of your party and you get a little taste of everything. I like this idea and find it most civilised and fun. There are various preselected sharers ranging in price from £18.50 for the vegetarian one to £25.00 for the meat one. We never go for these, as there is usually one thing we do not like and it is more fun choosing our our selection.
Scanning the menu I was really disappointed to see the cheese balls were no longer available. These were balls of hot melted feta in a lovely crispy coating and were a favourite of me and my friends that had eaten there before. They really were delicious. However there were still loads of tasty sounding treats to choose from. I selected some dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), a dish with melted feta in a tomato and onion and sauce and for my birthday treat some big fat juicy tiger prawns. Other ordered hummos, taramsolatta (not a favourite of mire), Greek salad and Tiropitika (little pastry triangles stuffed with cheese and leeks) alongside lots of flat bread and cubes of salty feta cheese. Each little dish costs around about £3.75 for a dip or cold mezze ranging up to £6 for the seafood and meat.

I love the way the Real Greek serve their mezze, as they come stacked on containers almost like a cake stand with a handle. They are easy to carry and don't take up much room on the table. One thing I would like is for the dishes to be labeled, as some of the dips looked very similar. The one thing I noticed was that the plates were not big. Some of them were no bigger than a saucers. With things like the Dolmades and Tiropitika you only got about three of them on a plate. Thus they had to be cut in half if they were popular. I did like the Tiropitika as they were crispy outside and gooey in the middle but only had a mouthful of one. The prawns were highlight as I got four big plump juicy prawns. I was not so impressed with the Feta Bourgidii, as I could barely taste the feta as the tomato and onion overpowered it. Our cold mezze came first and we had a bit of a wait for hot ones to come. This was not too bad as it was a relaxed party but I think if I was in a rush I would be a bit annoyed. My mezze was washed down by a glass of Greek white wine at £4 a glass. I remember when I first visited the restaurant the drinks menu seemed to be more expansive and there were cocktail that seem to have disappointed. I found the small portion sizes particularly deceptive as I was nicely full without being stuffed and ready for a dessert.
The dessert menu consists of mostly Greek style desserts such as baklava and Greek youghurt with a few old favourites thrown in for good measures such as chocolate mousse cake (expensive at (£5.95). For those who can not decide and want a mezze approach to their dessert their is a sharer at £11.95. The Real Greek have also developed a guilt free dessert and its not fruit salad. Instead they donate your dessert money to charity. I did not fancy anything too rich or sickly so plumped for a palate cleansing passion fruit sorbet (£3.00). This was sharp an refreshing bit I think passion fruit is too strong a flavour to have on its own. It would have been very nice mixed in with the raspberry sorbet some of the others had. One of my friends had a quibble with her mint tea as it was just mint and hot water unlike the Moroccan style mint tea she is used to drinking.

When it came to the bill we had a bit of a wait, as again we seemed to be forgotten about a other customers were tended to first.
The Real Greek is a nice place to dine especially in the summer but it does have stiff competition and can not afford to be complacent. They do have an offer on the website for 50% off the food bill durirng off peak times and on Mondays all Mezze are £2.00. I would certainly go then but I am not so sure about going back on a busy Saturday night again, as there are so many dining options in London to choose from The food is good but the portions are small, the service can be a bit slow and if they want to regain my custom bring back the cheese balls.
Riverside House,
2a Southwark Bridge Road,
Bankside,
London,
SE1 9HA

0871 971 3527

http://www.therealgreek.com

Summary: chain greek by the banks of the Thames