If there has been a dominant trend this year with new restaurant openings, it’s the unending rise of the Greek taverna. It feels apt. The same year that pavements cracked with heat and parks turned brittle, a yearning for the Hellenic feels natural. And the Odyssey came out, which felt weirdly foreign in its dark dampness this July.

The taverna is a semi chaotic, elbow-pressed testament to grilled meats and oregano-spiked salads. In Athens this summer, I ate bowls of brothy chickpeas at Diporto and in the evening, beef livers and lamb pilaf at Manari Tavern. Back in London, Greek food is hardly groundbreaking, but a new generation of restaurants is very much in vogue. It’s dippier with more bread varietals. The plates and chops are a little smaller, the rooms more contrived in a gesture towards tradition or an attempt at rupture from it. In effect, London-accented. From tasting menus to family favourites, it’s all Greekish in the city.

Oma & Agora

Oma (Michelin-starred upstairs) and Agora (not Michelin-starred downstairs) are two restaurants in the same building in Borough. Set up by David Carter – who recently set up the much-hyped and much-punned Kid – the restaurants are the originators of the new Greek wave. Oma is ‘inspired by the isles of greece’, Agora is ‘inspired by the streets and markets of athens’. Here the emphasis is on flatbreads, dips, sweetly charred skewers and fire cooking. 

Maza

Maza is Mayfair Greek: buzzy and pricey. Tables are pressed together as the well-heeled touch heels. This place has captured the plate-clattering energy of a good taverna, and the taramasalata is pretty perfect too. Owner Christina Mouratoglou says that she wanted to create “fun, warm, organised chaos” when she opened the restaurant earlier this spring as Greek food mainlined into the “mainstream”. Maza ticks those boxes. On the other side of London is Lagana, which opened last year and feels a bit like the Shoreditch crayon-drawn doppelgänger of Maza. Both guarantee a good night out. 

Zylia

Zylia was London’s most hyped opening this year until the next one. It also stirred up a touch of controversy over whether it properly marketed itself as Greek or Cypriot, or a mix of all the food in a palatable jumble of convenience. It’s headed by Nick Molyviatis (family from Athens), an ex-Kiln head chef, and Barry Karacostas (family from Cyprus). As expected from a Kiln alum, the flavour is packing. The milk-fed lamb shoulder is a particular highlight.

Pyro

Another Borough spot, upmarket beach-shack-coded Pyro nods towards the fine-dining end of the spectrum with a tasting menu. Chef Yiannis Mexis, who has worked at Hide and The Ledbury, has created a contemporary, cheffy take on his native cuisine. Some highlights include spanakopita transformed into a Parmesan-dusted nata tart and iberico pork souvlaki. They also serve a room-dividing tzatziki cocktail that tastes just like tzatziki. 

Andy’s Greek Taverna

On the other end of the spectrum is Andy’s with its big ol’ slabs of moussaka and stuffed peppers. A Camden institution serving souvlaki and gyros since the 60s, Andy’s is not the best Greek restaurant in London, but it’s comforting and has one of my favourite restaurant websites of all time (volume up).