Rating
Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Overall: 9/10
IN DETAIL:
One of the odd dichotomies in the London restaurant scene is that whereas Greece is now the most popular summer holiday destination, and everyone always comes back raving about the fresh fish and delightful wine in the little taverna nearest their villa, Greek restaurants in London are thin on the ground. At least they are compared to other cuisines with a similar place in our soul, such as Italian and Spanish.
Albeit having identified this epochal conundrum I have no clue as to the why. And as the old adage goes, any fool can spot a problem, the clever bit is finding a solution. So not being clever enough to find a solution, I can at least suggest a temporary salve, which is a visit to a very storied Greek restaurant in St.James’s or, to be geographically more precise, on the bit of Regent Street below Piccadilly (aka Lower Regent Street). Which is, for the record, a very grand location indeed.
The restaurant in question, for those who have not already guessed, is Estiatorio Milos, part of a family-owned and internationally acclaimed Greek restaurant empire 1979, by Greek-born-and-raised restaurateur Costas Spiliadas. Given that other locations include Los Cabos, West Palm Beach and Singapore you will be entirely correct in assuming that Estiatorio Milos offers Greek cuisine of the highest possible standard.
But that is only part of the story, Estiatorio Milos does two things that won my heart.
First, a commitment to all things Greek. Be uncompromising – if a top end Greek restaurant cannot champion all things Greek then who will? The wine list made this clear: superb Greek wines at prices which their Italian and French brothers could not match. Maybe there is no Greek wine quite at the level of a Condrieu or a Sassicaia, but there are some fabulous wines here at non-scary prices. At least non-scary for St.James’s I should add.
We started with a Greek sparkling wine, Amalia Brut. Which was not misnamed as it was indeed dry. And very elegant with light lemon color, structured flavours of honey, stone and rose and with a fine plumes of bubbles. Genuinely delicious, and I’m currently sourcing some for home as my wife loved it. In short, a different world from the sickly sweet prosecco that has inexplicably colonised London.
The second thing that won my heart is that they have resisted the temptation to over fuss the food in justification of being a high end restaurant. When in Greece you love the simplicity, clarity and authenticity of the produce, and the fish and meat. It’s the same here.
So after some (astonishingly) more-ish bread infused with potatoes and Estiatorio Milos’s own, top notch olive oil, we had raw bream accompanies by a Greek salad. The former was firm, fresh and utterly delicious. Even my thirteen year old daughter had some – and she “does not do” raw anything. Then the Greek salad and in particular the tomatoes. I’m salivating at the memory of how rich, firm yet moist, dark and juicy they were. You just have to try them.
While enticing meat dishes are offered, and the lamb chops in particular looked rather good, ee stuck with fish and vegetables for our meal. The signature dish of fried courgettes and aubergines in a tower with an inner filling of tzatziki was great, and looks the part. Nuggets of salty fried kefalograviera cheese on the side are an inspired addition. Then another classic from their repertoire: a well-executed dish of grilled octopus with a fava bean puree was so good it prompted my daughter to take her second foray into the unknown and return with a viewpoint ever so slightly widened.
The final savoury dish was a light, delicate and perfect grilled sea bass, with capers and lemon, served with grilled vegetables. The sort of dish that gives sustenance while being light as air. Finally, Greek yoghurt with berries and an epic cheesecake. I didn’t get much of a look in with either to be honest but am assured they were superb.
Which brought to a close a final dichotomy: the venue is very grand albeit terribly well dressed with white sashes and a door that could have been hewn for a medieval church, and the staff as expert and subtle as you would expect from the location, but I still left with that warmth, lightness and frankly wellness that I thought you only got from a long lunch of grilled fish before the Aegean Sea. Seems you can get the same thing in London too.
Estiatorio Milos, 1 Regent Street Saint James’s, London SW1Y 4NW – 020 7839 2080 – estiatoriomilos.com/location/london/
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