Myrtos

The Greeks gave us democracy, philosophy, and now apparently, half the great new restaurants in London.

In the last year alone, we’ve seen AGORA and OMA in Borough Market (both of which wowed the Michelin inspectors) joining the excellent Bottarga, Krokodilos and Kima. If Zeus saw the city now, he would be all “Olympus who?“. 

And the latest entry into the pantheon is Myrtos. It’s the brainchild of Chef Asimakis Chaniotis who’s spent the last 13 years cooking at the Michelin-starred legend Pied à Terre on Charlotte Street. Taking his traditional training and applying it to the Greek classics he grew up eating and cooking, Asimakis plans to make Myrtos a home for Greek hospitality and elevated dining in South Kensington. And the best part? Nudge Members +1 are getting a trio of exclusive previews at Myrtos from 3-5th May with 50% off food. 

Named after Myrtos, where you’ll find Kefalonia’s most famous beach, the restaurant will draw from the island’s rugged natural beauty. While diners might not be able to hear the sound of crashing waves from Myrtos – which will be opposite Claude Bosi’s Michelin-starred Bibendum on Brompton Road – there will be plenty of cues to help transport you far away from SW3. The 80-cover restaurant will feature a cascading olive tree and artworks by Greek artists Yorgos Papadopoulos and Christos Raptis.

To help you fully ease into Greek-island mode, there’ll also be an impressive cocktail selection – bar Line in Athens, which is no 6 on the World’s best Bars list, is behind the drinks here. They’ll have drinks like their own take on a Bloody Mary made of sun-dried Greek tomatoes, red beetroot molasses, samphire and vodka.

Now to the food, which will naturally champion Greek ingredients and recipes. Think small plates of metsovone, a smoked cheese from the Alpine village of Metsovo in Northern Greece, alongside Dorset Snails. It might sound like an unconventional pairing but this is Asimakis’ signature Snail Flatbread, that riffs on the traditional Cretan stew. There’ll also be Taramosalata, finished with trout roe and dill oil; and generous servings of fava – a dip made from soaking split peas and whipping them up with lashing of olive oil and lemon.

Dishes will be made to share where everyone around the table can roll up their sleeves and dig in. The larger dishes will include lobster Giouvetsi with orzo, tomatoes, mussels, lemon and basil; and pink break, pan-fried and served with a 5-herb, lettuce and lemon sauce. Alongside this there’ll be skewers, including lamb belly and pickled turnip; savoy cabbage and tzatziki; and whole squid, lightly fried, served with a Greek herb chimichurri and squid ink.

And for dessert? Expect light but rich yoghurt parfait with caramelised almonds alongside pistachio cake, made using the vibrant and naturally sweet pistachios grown on the island of Aegina. There’ll also be an exclusively-Greek cheese trolley, so you can take your pick from Smoked Gais; Mizithra; and Krasotyri, served alongside olive bread, sweet preserves and dried figs.

Fit for the gods, indeed.

 

NOTE: Myrtos opens in May. We’ll be back to give you the full scoop then but in the meantime, you can find out more information the Myrtos website.