Four mouthwatering spots for a local Greek holiday this weekend
Plus: Stone Mini Market's new garden extension, Wild Goose Bakery's unique lunch special, Swirl/Arch Q&A - and the Brighton of Walthamstow?
It’s the last bank holiday weekend for a few months — so why not take a mini Greek staycation without leaving East London? That’s what I thought after dining at chef Marios Miliorellis’s Loop residency the other night. And the good news is he’s cooking on Francis Road till Sunday, when you can expect a Greek twist on roasts (slow-cooked rose harissa lamb kleftiko, anyone?)
With Greek cuisine currently on-trend — spearheaded by the success of Borough Market’s Oma/ Agora — in today’s issue I visit four Hellenic restaurants in the area to suit different budgets.
These include Leyton High Road’s underrated Bread & Oregano and Greek-Australian chef Kostas Vais’ acclaimed residency at the Adam & Eve in Homerton (a short hop on the W15 bus). But first up, a shout out for the best budget souvlaki cafe in the neighbourhood: Leytonstone Road’s Pitta Maria is a must-try if you’ve still not been (when I first mentioned it back in November, 57% of readers said they hadn’t).
Located just where Waltham Forest morphs into Newham, this cute spot opened in 2019, all island-white furniture and seascape photos. Here you can plunge into tempting appetizers — tirokafteri (spicy feta), say, or classic Cretan dish Dakos salad — along with weekend specials like lamb priced per kilo and kokoretsi (a seasoned offal dish).
First-timers should, however, simply order a mighty pitta wrap: the oven-warm bread is singed, de-skewered pork bathed in super-garlicky tzatziki, the whole caboodle rammed with sliced red onion, tomatoes, salad and thyme chips. Take a butcher’s here: at just £6 (eat-in), an unheralded bargain.
For something more elevated, hotfoot it down to Francis Road this weekend to catch chef Marios Miliorellis, who’s worked in Michelin-starred restaurants across Amsterdam, London and Copenhagen — including Noma.
It was, in fact, my first time sitting at Loop’s downstairs counter: overlooking the open kitchen adds another dimension to the experience, sipping a chilled vinho verde while surveying the calm choreography of the chefs. With only seven coveted stools, an intimate connection was swiftly forged as Marios talked us through each element of each dish.
Raised in the Cycladic Islands — home to coastal herbs, sharp cheeses and volcanic soil — his menu riffs on the idea of a celebratory family Greek feast, where you might help yourself to a lamb chop here, potatoes there, and maybe some fish and salad on the side, he explained.
“The philosophy behind it is deeply rooted in Greek culture,” he said, “where food is all about sharing, abundance, and connection. We gather around a table full of different dishes, mixing and matching flavours as we eat together.”
The result is way more refined than his modest claims. From the small plates, the classic tzatziki (£9) is a must: creamily tangy, topped with charred pickled cucumber and wild garlic, it complements the moreish spongy potato flat bread drizzled with butter and honey.
But the must-have starter? Well, it’s probably the “prawnut”, or prawn donut (£14), a sculptural play on fishcakes, the fried batter curled on a bed of barrel-aged feta and piquant rhubarb and tomato jam. This unique creation underlines his experimental vision.
As for the mains, these include lemon-glazed poussin, monkfish gyros and lamb mastelo: find out what else I rated in today’s issue, where I also catch up with Marios, who offers an insight into some of his techniques.
Welcome to issue #34. Speaking of holidays, if you’re staying local this long weekend, check out the lush new garden extension at Leytonstone High Road’s ever-growing Stone Mini Market, pictured above.
This leafy new alfresco space is accessible through both the courtyard and the restaurant, adding another twenty or so covers — not to mention shelves of herbs and cute pot plants. It’s an oasis-like retreat that feels miles away from the thundering thoroughfare beyond, and well worth enjoying with a cold beer.
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Behind this week’s paywall:
Three more essential dishes to order at Marios Miliorellis
Bread & Oregano: a classic that’s a surprising must on Leyton High Road
Homerton’s Greek residency Essi reviewed
An interview with Swirl and The Arch owner Michaela Zelenanska
Wild Goose Bakery’s unique lunch special
A local Brighton dupe this bank holiday? Go on then…
All this week’s food and drink news, hearsay and gossip
Marios at Loop: 3 unmissable dishes
Back on Francis, while the starters impressed, Marios Miliorellis’ mains excelled.