Review: Tzatzikis

Stumbling out of The Friendship or 256, the first thing on most people’s mind is food. Burger, kebab, we all know the sorts of things that take our fancy at that time of night. Having recently sampled, and thoroughly enjoyed, a late-night gyros — think a sort of upmarket kebab with tzatziki and chips included — I thought it was only fair to give this Greek deli a fair chance at impressing me sober.

I was greeted by a pleasantly cheap menu, with prices from just £6 for a souvlaki, flatbreads, tzatziki, and a Greek salad — something which always helps a meal go smoothly. There is a wide range of the more famous Greek dishes on offer, and those which one doesn’t have to be a connoisseur to have come across.

You can order chicken or pork souvlakis, skewers of meat marinated in garlic, oregano, and lemon juice, before being cooked on a charcoal grill, moussaka and a mixed mezze plate containing pitta bread, a selection of dips, stuffed vine leaves, halloumi, and souvlaki meat. Alternatively, should you wish to try something a little more authentic you can choose from dishes such as spanakopita, loukanikos, or biftekia (that’s a feta and spinach filo pie, traditional Greek sausages and spiced minced meat skewers.)

I ordered a mixed souvlaki and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meat. The chicken was tender and flavoured well, carrying just the right amount of charring from the charcoal grill, and the pork, despite looking as though it might be a touch dry, was succulent and once again very good.

The hand-cut chips come coated in oregano and salt, exactly as one would expect to find in Greece, and had an excellent crisp coating.

We may all be familiar with feta, but the feta on offer somewhere like this is nothing like the feta on offer in a supermarket. It is rich and creamy and the combination of the obviously high-quality ingredients in the Greek salad combined with the excellent souvlaki and delicious chips and flatbreads makes for a delightful meal, again washed down fantastically with the memory of parting with just £6.

Perhaps the star of the show, however, is the tzatziki. Countless times I have strived to make something that even slightly resembles the yoghurt-based dip I have sampled abroad, and yet it always falls short. It must be said that Tzatzikis’ namesake isn’t quite at that level, but it is certainly up there with the best I have had in this country.

All in all, given the variety on the menu, and the associated prices, I would wholeheartedly recommend checking out this deli-come-takeaway, be it just for a late-night gyros or a delectable dinner, I cannot imagine you will be disappointed.