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Owner Minas Mina, left, with his mother Zeta Mina and
head waiter Vassos Koutris |
Can't go wrong with this Greek
ON the day of its official opening I visited Retsina. This
picturesque area of NW3 with its triangle Piazza is already
known for a variety of restaurants and shops and this new Greek
restaurant promises to contribute to those going to the area
seeking a good meal.
If you look from the outside through the newly refurbished
large windows you see two long rooms with the exhibition kitchen
at the end of one and a bar on the side of the other. Once inside,
the beige walls and floors give it a sense of space and tranquillity.
It is modern and therefore you could be in any type of restaurant
except for the music and the friendliness of the Greek personnel.
Alcoves make the sitting cosy and break the positioning of the
tables into smaller areas. The original quarry tiles took hours
of cleaning to restore them to their original beige colour.
The basement has its own bar and sits 50. It is ideal for private
parties.
Minos, one of the owners, heads a large staff team whose faces
I recognised as having been in the industry for many years.
A good omen as both the food and service were of the highest
quality.
A good wine list with a selection from around the world as well
as Greece and Cyprus. Their fine selection is fine indeed: A
Puligny-Montrachet ler Cru at £60 and my favourite Chateauneuf-de-Pape
Jacques Mestre 2000 at £38. We had their house white (French)
which was excellent at £3.50 per glass. And I must mention
the black olives brought on arrival together with carrots and
pickled chillies. One of the best olives I have had: tasty and
juicy.
Everything is fresh and made at the premises. In fact, seeing
the veal chop in the brightly lit exhibition fridge prompted
me to choose it for my main course. It came perfectly charcoal-grilled
with mushrooms, a grilled tomato and sautéed potatoes.
At their recommendation, Bill had the roasted chunks of lamb
and we shared some beans with green vegetables (£26, main
courses).
From the large selection of starters we ordered the king prawns
in garlic sauce (£7.50). Delicious. For dessert we shared
a portion of Baklava and Kataifi – the typical Greek sweets
made with filo pastry and honey. (£5.40 for both).
It is worth knowing if you wish to have it on your first visit,
that Retsina offer some house specialities such as suckling
pig, roast or casserole pheasant, roast rib-eye steak, hare
stefado, grilled or baked lobster and baked whole sea bass.
Prices are on application and 24-hours notice is required.
Two gentlemen were celebrating a special occasion with Retsina’s
food to compliment the bottle of Scotch they had brought with
them. I wonder what the corkage may have been on this special
£350, 1960 bottle of Scotch. |
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