Suvlaki: Modern Athenian Cuisine in Shoreditch

Suvlaki Shoreditch is a modern Greek restaurant and sister restaurant to Suvlaki Soho. I was there for dinner at the end of summer and it was one of my favourite meals out in London this year. Aside from enjoying the food and drinks, I loved the relaxed atmosphere and friendly service.

The small 45-cover restaurant is located at the north end of Brick Lane in East London. If you walk by too quickly, you will miss it. I rarely go out to eat in Brick Lane, but I’m glad I made an exception to try out Suvlaki.

The restaurant’s interiors are dark and cosy and blend modern design with rustic Greek taverna style.

I went to Suvlaki Shoreditch for dinner with a friend at the end of the summer. We arrived early to get the best natural light. The restaurant was quiet for the first hour or so, then it began to fill up.

We started with our drinks order: all the wines and beers are from Greece. We followed the recommendations of our waitress for craft beers and were very happy with our beers, particularly the Septem Sunday’s Honey Golden Ale.

Suvlaki’s menu is inspired by food of Athens with small mezze plates to share or bigger signature and souvlaki dishes.

The star here is of course the suvlaki: mouth-watering grilled meat (or fish) that can be eaten off a skewer on its own or wrapped in pita bread. Suvlaki is the Greek national street food, a dish any meat-eater must try when they visit Greece.

I ate the best suvlaki in Athens and in Crete, but if you don’t have time and money to fly to Greece than you can enjoy just as good suvlaki here in London.

We started with a selection of mezze: two each, plus the bread. The dishes at Suvlaki Shoreditch are served as and when they are ready, with no particular order, though we asked our waitress to bring everything out at the same time for the sake of my Instagram food flatlays! ;)

Our first choice were the Courgette Fritters: delicious croquettes served with a herby dip os smoked applewood topped with nigella seeds.

The Taramasalata Crostini with Anchovies & Confit Cucumber were really tasty, but then anything made with salted and cured cod roe and Greek extra virgin olive oil is going to be yummy. I’ve only ever eaten taramasalata as a dip (and always ended up overeating it) and I liked the idea of serving is as bites on wafer-thin crispbread.

The Cretan Salad was very good too, though different from the Dakos barley rusk with tomatoes and feta I tasted in Crete last year. Nonetheless, a nice starter or side dish.

Can you tell what those green leaves are? The answer is caper leaves!

One of the highlight of our meal at Suvlaki Shoreditch was the whole Roasted Aubergine with pomegranate, feta and hazelnut.

The aubergine is cooked on the grill and the result is a dish with a smooth texture and subtle flavours. Definitely a must-try dish from Suvlaki’s menu,

Let’s talk about the signature & suvlaki dishes.

The Spicy Prawns with Dill, Crispy Kale and Rose Aioli are delicious and only slightly spicy (just about right for me). We also loved the bed of fried kale they were served on. I wish this dish was bigger though.

The Corn fed Chicken Suvlaki with Pickled Cabbage, Mustard Mayo and Lettuce melts in your mouth and makes you wish you had ordered more. I’d love to try the suvlaki as a mini wrap next time.

My favourite dish at Suvlaki Shoreditch was the Chicken Kebab with Cream Cheese, Wild Oregano and Black Olive Salsa. The succulent meat was packed full of flavours and perfectly seasoned; it balanced well with the sweetness of tomatoes and the sharpness of the black olives.

We concluded our dinner with a traditional Chocolate Biscuit Cake served with Greek coffee ice cream. You can find a very similar cake recipe on my blog called Mozaic Pasta Tarifi. It’s a rich cake made of crushed biscuits and melted chocolate, perhaps too rich to have as a dessert after a big dinner.

The waitress also recommended the special of the day, an Almond and Orange Cake served with vanilla ice cream. I liked this dense, sweet and zesty cake a lot and I hope the restaurant will add it to the menu.

We paired the desserts with a shot of mastiha – a Greek gum tree syrup.

My friend and I had such a lovely experience at Suvlaki – made even better no doubt by our friendly waitress (whose name unfortunately I cannot recall). I went back home that night and immediately recommended Suvlaki to my husband, who then visited the restaurant a few days later. He enjoyed it as well, though I suspect his interest was more on the craft beers than on the food.

Suvlaki Shoreditch is a great addition to the London dining scene.

Disclaimer: I was a guest at Suvlaki. All opinions are my own.