By Eleanor Davies
If there’s one thing the Greeks know how to do it’s cook up a feast!
So when I was given the chance to sample some meze at The Real Greek restaurant on the Southbank, I didn’t need much persuasion!
Situated right on the Thames just along from the Tate modern it really is in the heart of the capital.
The Real Greek restaurants can be found across London but the Southbank is their newest and they offer something quite unique.
Next to each of their mouth-watering meze dishes are the amount of calories each dish contains. They are small enough that if you don’t wish to calorie count you don’t notice them but if you want to add up your calorie intake, it’s right there for you – and they are the first restaurant to offer this!
I’ve never been one to worry about the amount of calories my food contains, so long as it tastes good, but the fact that I could add it all up was quite a novelty.
However my brother and I decided to get stuck in and leave the calorie counting until later!
You can choose between hot and cold meze, platters to share or salads. We went for some hot and cold meze.
To start we ordered Greek Flatbread (£2.25), Hummus (£3.95), Koliosalata (£3.95), and Tabouleh Salad (£3.95).
All the dishes were superb, the flatbread was still warm when it was served and the hummus was delicious. The Tabouleh was quite an acquired taste while the Koliosalata went down a treat.
For our hot dishes (pictured left) we chose: Grilled Kalamari (£5.95), Chicken (£4.95) and Lamb Skewers (£5.45) and Grilled Halloumi (£4.50).
We could not fault the dishes at all, the Kalamari was delicious and not covered in batter, the chicken and lamb skewers were tender and had that bbq tang which makes them that little bit nicer and the grilled halloumi was scrumptious.
After all that we couldn’t manage another bite so soaked up the last of the sunshine while finishing of our carafe of wine.
And just in case you were wondering, my calorie consumption of the evening was 2,405 – remember that was split between two though!
So, if you’re in the mood for an evening of Greek flavours, but don’t want to worry about your waistline, head down to The Real Greek in London - it’s a calorie counting treat not to be missed!
Restaurant: The Real Greek
Rating: ****
Location: Units 1&2 Riverside
House, 2A Southwark
Bridge Road, London,
SE1 9HA
Call: 020 7620 0162
Web: www.therealgreek.com