![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Lagana-london-apr26-pr-global2.jpg\"\/)
Odes to tradition<\/p>\nHere I tuck into artful reimaginings of classics spanning islands like Kefalonia and Crete, the Peloponnese and northern Greece, attracting an intergenerational crowd of spruce West Enders, couples, and after-work groups. Plates like an indulgent yet light lobster orzo, boldly tangy taramasalata with cod\u2019s roe and dill oil, and attentively seasoned lamb moussaka strike a careful balance. \u201cWith my first opening, I did want some dishes that those who don\u2019t yet know the cuisine in depth would recognise,\u201d Asimakis explains.<\/p>\n
Odes to tradition<\/p>\n
But not all newer openings are opting for formalised styles. Opened in March, Taverna Ermou is the London outpost of the casual-dining institution that launched in\u00a0Athens<\/a>\u00a0last year and is an ode to the classic taverna.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re focused on traditional, nostalgic Greek food, executed for an a\u0300 la carte environment,\u201d Ergon\u2019s CEO and founder Thomas Douzis tells me.<\/p>\n This philosophy informs earnest, unfussy plates arriving in quick succession on metal trays with patterned borders \u2013 herby meatballs, thick-cut fries, sweet-salty saganaki, and ultra-comforting galaktoboureko, warm custard under thin phyllo sheets. With its buzzy outdoor terrace, wooden beams, and vintage ornaments, the interiors echo traditional aesthetics too.<\/p>\n The latest arrival from hospitality group Pachamama last year, Lagana was conceived as \u201ca more casual, cool, affordable Greek restaurant,\u201d Brand Director Yaroslava Malkova shares. The industrial-chic space, with sleek metallics contrasting with primary colours and leopard-print upholstery, serves dishes like a succulent, smoke-kissed chicken thigh with a zippy lemon sauce, a rich prawn saganaki flatbread, and a summery orange-soaked cake based on one of chef Alexandros Loulourgas\u2019 family recipes. \u201cChildhood memories were an important inspiration,\u201d Yaroslava adds, pointing to the playful schoolbook-themed menu and paper tablecloths that the throng of Friday lunchtime diners around me doodle on with crayons.<\/p>\n For Nick Molyviatis, ex-Kiln Head Chef and Singburi co-owner (also involved with opening Oma and Agora), it\u2019s important for Zylia to start off \u201cvery casual and approachable, with no flares or twists.\u201d Nick reconnected with traditional Athenian restaurants after returning to his neighbourhood of Pangrati in 2019. He tells me, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of \u2018innovative\u2019 and \u2018modern Greek\u2019 coming up in London now. I want to celebrate the simple first. Launching with Cypriot restaurateur Barry Karacostas, Zylia is \u201c’a love letter to the food of Cypriot and Greek immigrants who came to London<\/a> in the 1970s and \u201980s.\u201d Expect classics like kleftiko (slow-roasted lamb with aromatics) and vazania, saucy grilled aubergine with anari (Cypriot whey cheese).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here I tuck into artful reimaginings of classics spanning islands like Kefalonia and Crete, the Peloponnese and northern…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[6935,1812,13181,8015,27,627],"class_list":{"0":"post-30359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-eating-drinking","9":"tag-food","10":"tag-foodie-breaks","11":"tag-greece","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-restaurants"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116529990383250203","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}