Where the Chefs Eat: Georgina Hayden's favourite ‘Greekish’ restaurants in London

Georgina Hayden may have been born and raised in North London but her Cypriot heritage shines through. She describes her early life as a mirror image of the classic film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. “I even had the glasses,” she laughingly tells me. “The intense patriotism, the focus on food, the tight-knit families, it all absolutely real.” The intimate North London Cypriot community in which she was raised, working in her grandparents’ taverna as she did, absolutely shaped the way Georgina lives, writes, and, of course, eats. Her newest book, Greekish, is called as such, because “it’s my take on classic Greek dishes, with the little things I do to tweak food so it works for my family at home.”

“Greekish was” she explains, “almost like a retaliation from the last few books I wrote. It’s my fourth book, and I feel like the first one – Stirring Slowly – was very much of a time, and then Taverna was very much about my heritage and family traditions, so there was quite a feeling that I couldn’t mess with the recipes. Then I went full-on with the third one – Nistisma – I joke about it, but I really feel like someone should give me a PhD for that book. It was like a thesis. It was pretty intense, and it was amazing and fun, and I’m so proud of it, but Greekish was almost like a childish backlash to writing something so intensely deep and serious, and it was me just wanting to write recipes again that were mine. I haven’t written a terribly commercial book before and, interestingly, this is the first book of mine that will be sold in supermarkets.” Georgina is clearly very proud of the book, as she is of her family and their traditions. “The recipes in this were actually the hardest,” she explains, “because, in a way, they are my recipes and I’ve had to make them work for other people. And people love to pigeonhole you – are you Greek? Are you Cypriot? It’s very difficult with these recipes to say specifically where they are from and there’s a huge amount of overlap between Greek and Cypriot food, hence it’s ‘Greekish’.”

Georgina’s innate interest in food is something she has always known within herself but didn’t realise wasn’t something everyone shared until her young adult life. Her grandparents’ restaurant “was so ingrained in our lives that I just thought everybody wanted to work in food. I assumed naïvely that everyone’s life revolved around what they cooked and ate because that was my reality. I was at university, and I was reading Delicious magazine, but all my peers were reading Grazia.”

Her grandparents’ taverna in Tufnell Park was where she lived until she was in her teens and, “I joke about my life being like the film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but it’s so unbelievably accurate: I’m married to someone who isn’t Greek, I was a total geek and wore glasses when I was younger, and the level of patriotism they show in that movies is absolutely real. In my community, if somebody was upset, it was all about food; if someone got married, it was all about food; if you had a good day, it was all about food; if it was a birthday, it was all about food and all my memories, up until I was a teenager, are in that restaurant. Ironically, as a teenager, I was considered an outcast because I was the only grandchild on both sides who didn’t finish Greek school, so I was shunned. I was the unusual one, so it’s hilarious that I’m now the one that writes about Greek society and food; at the time, I was the one that seemed to be rejecting it.”

While Georgina’s family taverna was obviously the best place to eat Greek food in the capital city, she has a few other favourites she has kindly shared with Conde Nast Traveller.

Nissi

“Nissi is a local restaurant in Palmers Green, affectionately known as ‘Palmers Greek,’ because it’s got such a big Greek community. It’s a Greek-Cypriot restaurant and it’s really authentic. It’s where I take my Yiayia, (my granny) and my kids. I found out recently that the head chef’s dad actually ran the café opposite our restaurant growing up; his café was on Hercules Road in the Holloway area, right opposite my grandparents’ restaurant. The whole Greek-Cypriot community in London is so small, and everyone knows everyone, so he was obviously very good friends with my grandparents, though that’s not why I’m picking this restaurant; I mention it because the food is fantastic. It transports me straight to Cyprus and, it’s not necessarily cool or trendy, but I love that about it.”

Who comes here?

“This is very much a favourite amongst the North London Greek and Cypriot community.”

Best table in the restaurant

“Nissi is quite narrow, but if you sit in the middle of the restaurant, you can see the grill, which is fab. I always go with quite a few people - at least eight or 10 of us – so I try to sit in the back, which is slightly wider. We take over a whole table and, as is the way with Greek food, it’s all about sharing plates. Also, Greek people are quite loud, so if you’re in the back, you’re not shouting over everybody else.”

Best time to come

“I love to go for a big, long lunch.”

Dish to order

“They do a fantastic fish mezedakia [fish stuffed into grape leaves]. When I was on maternity leave, I’d go with the kids for lunch and have a plate of calamari and chips and it was delicious.”

Opso

“This is a different vibe to Nissi, as Opso is in Marylebone. It’s quite cool and it’s got that very Central London feel to it, with lovely décor. It reminds me very much of being in Thessaloniki in the north of Greece. We went to Thessaloniki last year, and I just think it’s a fantastic city; it’s really hip, it’s very young, and the brunch at Opso reminded me of being there, but the dishes are more stylised than traditional.”

Who comes here?

“It’s definitely a hip Marylebone hangout rather than a strict pull for the Greek-Cypriot community.”

Best table in the restaurant

“Opso is on two floors. If you sit upstairs, it’s quiet, bright and light, and you can have a really great brunch in peace. That said, the ground floor is also lovely, airy and open, so I personally like to sit there at a window table if possible and look out onto everything.”

Best time to come

“I really like to go for brunch.”

Dish to order

“They have strapasada eggs, which traditionally would have tomatoes in them, but at Opso, they do them with things like mushrooms and black truffle, so it’s not super traditional but delicious. And they have ‘saganaki’ prawns, made with tomatoes and feta and Giouvarlakia dumplings, which are stuffed with lamb, Greek yoghurt and lemon.”

The Life Goddess

“The Life Goddess is on Store Street, just a stone’s throw from Tottenham Court Road tube station. I really like it and, again, it’s not a super traditional Greek restaurant and I chose it for their cake and wine. It’s a bit more of a deli; it’s not a formal restaurant. I’m sure the dinner is lovely, but I always end up having cake when I go, which is just incredible. It’s much more casual and it’s great for a gossip with a mate over a wonderful slice of sweet or savoury pie.”

Who comes here?

“Those in the area who know it go time and again. And lovers of Honey & Co often check it out as they will be on Store Street for the new Honey & Co Daily, which was recently opened by Sarit and Atamar.”

Best table in the restaurant

“I’ll sit on the street and have a nice glass of wine and a slice of cake or pie with a mate.”

Best time to come

“Daytime is when I usually go.”

Dish to order

“They don’t always have it but they sometimes do this incredible Portokalopita orange cake that’s becoming quite trendy. It’s having a moment. I did a recipe for it in my book Taverna a few years ago and now I see it on menus quite a lot. It is an orange pie, and it’s really unusual; it’s made with filo pastry, and it’s got this orange mixture cooked through it, and then it’s drenched in a sugary orange syrup. If you like lemon drizzle cake, it’s got that sort of vibe. I love filo pastry and they make a phenomenally good one. They do lovely cheese and herb pies, too.”

Santorini

“Santorini is near Bayswater and it’s a very traditional Greek island restaurant. Amazingly, half of my family is pescatarian, and that’s quite unusual for Greeks, so, for us, this is fantastic, but they do lovely meat dishes like souvlaki, too. Santorini feels very much like going back in time. I think it might have opened back in the ’80s, but it’s got that real ’80s style and décor to it. It is whitewashed with lots of blue - that very classic Greek look - and it’s not at all trendy, but I just love it.”

Who comes here?

“This is always busy with a lot of regulars. A lot of people that moved to London from Cyprus in the 1960’s (just like my grandparents did), generally went to one of two areas. They either went to Bayswater, where traditionally you get a lot of Greeks (you’ve got the Hellenic school and the big church is there) and then the other place was Camden, where my grandparents moved, and there’s a big Cypriot community there. The Greek church in Camden is where my parents got married and the other big one was in Bayswater, where this restaurant has always been popular with the west London community. Santorini is very much of a time when people were migrating over so it draws in a heavily Greek and Cypriot crowd who will have been going for years as repeat customers.”

Best table in the restaurant

“It’s quite an open sort of rectangular-sized, classic dining room and I quite like being near the windows if possible.”

Best time to come

“It’s always rowdy and fun and bustling at dinner time.”

Dish to order

“The prawn saganaki is amazing. I love fried white bait, which they do really well but any of the fish on the menu is amazing.”

Tsiakkos and Charcoal

“I’m going rogue with this one. Tsiakkos and Charcoal did a pop-up in Islington, and now they’ve opened the main restaurant near the Maida Vale area. The couple who own it are Greek-Cypriot and I just thought the food was great. I love the décor; it looks amazing, it’s got quite a cool air about it and the food is delicious. It’s a really cosy neighbourhood joint with panelled hardwood floors and white tables. If I were to open a little Greek Cypriot restaurant, this is the sort of thing I’d love to do. It is totally my vibe.”

Who comes here?

“I think people who try the pop-up will definitely make a trip to Maida Vale for the restaurant because it offers a terrific food experience and is very well-established.”

Best table in the restaurant

“There’s an intimate covered space in the back of the restaurant, which is a really sweet space to eat in.”

Best time to come

“This is another lovely spot for a cosy dinner date but also great fun for lunch.”

Dish to order

“The Mezze is fantastic value for money; it’s about £35 and it’s totally delicious.”

‘Greekish’ by Georgina Hayden is published by Bloomsbury and released on 25 April 2024.