The Real Greek

Great position by the water. Long thin restaurant so not ideal with closely packed tables and a pushchair, but always consistently yummy food.

This was my first meal in London! I wasn’t expecting to eat Mediterranean food while I was in London, but I am glad I gave this place a try. This restaurant is at a nice location. It is near the Globe Theatre, near the river. We were lured into the restaurant by the samples that the chef was cooking in the patio. My friends tried the grilled pork that they were offering and thought it was delicious. So we decided to eat there.
We got the peloponnese, which is a combination of cold and hot meze for two people to share. There were four of us so we ordered two of those! We got to try their watermelon and feta salad, greek flatbread, hummus, chicken skewer, halloumi skewer, tiropitakia, lamb kefte, falafel, etc. This is perfect if you want to try a bunch of different items on the menu! We were thrown off by the halloumi skewers. We thought it was some type of fish but it was cheese instead. I did not try it but my friends did not like the texture of the cheese. The lamb kefte was my favorite! I also liked the watermelon and feta salad because it was quite refreshing. I wish the ratio of watermelon to feta was more like 2:1 rather than 1:1. The hummus is different from the hummus I have in the states, which isn’t a bad thing. It is coarser and has more of a bite to it. The hummus that I get from the states is a lot creamier.
We were especially pleased with the service. The servers here are very friendly. At one point, my friend dropped the whole plate of lamb kefte. One of the servers came by and cleaned it up for us right away. She even got us a new plate of lamb kefte! They also immediately cleaned up the empty dishes on our table to prevent any more plates from flying off our table! Overall, the food was good and the service was excellent.
The restaurant is located right by the riverside. It is a good place for dates because you can sit in the patio complement your meal with the lovely view.

It’s a chain, but it’s a nice chain experience only let down somewhat by the food.
The menu is fairly broad leaning heavily towards the mezze side of Greek food. There are no real surprises. Some of the items such as the tiropitakia and salt cod are rich and delicious but more are disappointing; the hummus can’t be saved even by some really good if worryingly greasy flatbreads, and their falafel is not worth bothering with. I’d say that what they are missing most badly is some really good fresh green vegetables.
On the plus side, the staff have always been friendly and the service quick, the position on the South Bank is exceptional although the restaurant is positioned too low to make the absolute most of it. Knowing my way around their menu a little now, I’d be fairly happy if not desperate to go back again.

My two stars are for the halloumi and chicken souvlakis, which were both okay. My lamb, however, had the exterior of a cured meat and the interior of a very well done steak. It probably wasn’t, but it looked and tasted like it had been left on a counter for a few days — not pleasant. I also got a side Greek salad. It was about 80% tomato with a lump of dry feta on top.

It was okay. You are definitely paying to be on the edge of the river and get some pretty high quality people watching. It was alright, but I have to agree with other reviews, if you have access to good Mediterranean food already this place won’t really do much for you.
BUT nothing beats sitting on a patio drinking a beer on a nice day watching folks cruise by. AWESOME environment. okay food.

Piège à touristes. Vous avez une jolie vue sur la Tamise. J’aime leur façon de présenter les assiettes.
Les plats sont juste ok. Ni bons ni mauvais. Si vous avez envie de profiter du beau temps et de manger des plats basiques, vous pouvez y aller.

Whenever we visit London, we come here. It’s such a nice walk along the south bank to get here. The food is delicious… I enjoy getting different dips (taramasalata, melitzaosalata, tzatziki, hummus) and dipping the warm pita in. Can’t get enough.
It’s a nice restaurant with a nice view. Can’t wait to come back again!

We elected to have several appetizers. Flatbread was very good and tasted freshly made. Aubergine dip was nice a bit minty which i have never had before but it was good. Grilled Kalamari was okay. A bit lacking in flavor. Pork belly was very tasty although slightly greasy — but it is pork belly afterall. It came with slices of red onion which were a bit strong in flavor maybe better if soaked in water for a while before serving. Lastly we had the grilled asparagus — nicely done, tender but not overcooked.

Good Greek food right by the Globe Theatre. We said we were in a rush as we were going to the Globe so the staff were really great at rushing things through.
The menu is good. Lots of tapas options and quite reasonably priced too. It’s a great way of having a taste of lots of different things and the food genuinely is really tasty. It has a great vibe and a really nice view out onto the Thames. They’re pretty good with allergies too with gluten free options marked clearly on the menu.
The haloumi is delicious, as is the lamb, pork, octopus and the greek salad. I wouldn’t say it’s super authentic and the food did seem a little greasy but overall it was decent food. I’d certainly go again when in need of a quick pre theatre meal.

Every plate of food I had, I found myself saying, «Well, I guess it’s alright.» Nothing was generally «good». It’s not worth the price I had to pay.
EDIT: So far I have not received the bill and it has been 25 minutes. I just edited the review and dropped the rating down.

If you aren’t very spoilt by quality Mediterranean cuisine — by all means go here. It is decent, convenient and has a good service. I like their multi-​layered serving plates where they serve mezes. They have a selection of Greek wines (which I quite liked) and good variety of different dishes overall.
It does not however have this atmosphere typical for a Greek/​Mediterranean place — it’s a chain afterall and is lacking character
I would recommend checking out their wines and try the lamb cutlets — both were very good.

Popped in for a late lunch on Thursday afternoon. Lots of space, so we sat by the windows so we could see the river. We each had a Greek Trio for lunch (£8.95) with three different meze picks from the menu. I had veggies with hummus and a smoked aubergine dip to start — the dips were very good. The hot meze included a lamb kefte, which was perfectly seasoned and very juicy, and new potatoes in olive oil and herbs.
The food was delicious and well-​prepared. The service was not great — it was very slow, and a bit odd. I think there was a lack of communication between servers. At a couple of points, we were brought other tables’ food that we had to turn away. Both times we were waiting for our bill, which took asking three different servers and waiting about 20 minutes. In a nearly empty restaurant. Bit odd.
Our bottle of house white was very drinkable, though. Unexpectedly nice, and it did keep us happy while we waited that eternity for the bill to come.

This place gets such a high score because of the incredible setting and the wonderful service by Rabin. I cut me thumb pretty badly and he ran to get me a plaster straight away. The food is great, especially for couples to share. ;) i’ll say no more on that front, the food was pretty good too. Especially the new potatoes, the pita bread, the dolmades and the halloumi skewers. Yummy.

I’m surprised that there are so many negative reviews of this place because our experience there was fantastic. The service was top notch, the food was beyond delicious, and the location and atmosphere was great. We’ve eaten a lot of Greek food in various citied, including in Greece, and this was some of the best Greek we’ve ever had. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for great Greek food in London. And it’s on the waterfront in a great location for people watching and enjoying dinner by the river.

Stunning restaurant & views. The Greek wraps (one Halloumi & one Pork Belly) were delicious & the side coleslaw was great. Service was fast & price was fine. Overall a great lunchtime experience & would dine here again!

Service was good. Food was dreadful. Lamb and chicken wraps were cold and tasteless. Potato was Ok but nothing Greek about it. House white was not bad.
Just had main course and got out as soon as possible.

Surprised by the poor reviews, stopped for a quick late bite after a trip to The Globe.
Service good, explanation of menu good, food good. Surprise was how nice the Cretian Rose was!!!
Will go again

I worked there for two months and it was a bit hard. Too much work for two barmen… sometimes only one. Anyway, the place is nice, service depends on the waiter/​waitress. I recommend Onza, a real proffesional.
Surroundings are allright. Nice area. Best thing: its terrace, you can watch the big Thames while you have a Mythos.

Was in for something different beyond the usual fare of pubs or Pizza Expresses around South Bank so decided despite the bad review to give The Real Greek a try.
I’m not going to rave about, it’s not that kind of a place, but for a quick and «healthy-​ish» lunch it wasn’t too bad. I had a Lamb Kefte and tabbouleh, and all was good (expected the tabbouleh to have traditional couscous but it did not), could have enjoyed some bread with it.
My companions all got different meat on a sticks which they enjoyed, with the winner being the lamb souvlaki which was wrapped in some yummy but undefiniable bread.
Don’t think I’ll go there often as it’s not my normal kind of food (mmm nandos and sushi) but when in the area it will be in the list of possibles for sure!

I’m not sure how The Real Greek on the South bank works, but it does, well kind of. It simultaneously offers ‘real’ Greek food and a modern stainless steel setting which you probably wouldn’t think go well together, but somehow it manages to pull the combination off. Maybe it’s because the food isn’t really (in the traditional sense) that Greek, so you aren’t left craving a homely setting with Sakis Rouvas crooning away in the background. Maybe this trendy approach to Greek cuisine is why it’s so popular.
I’ve called in here a few times with friends after meandering along the South bank and it’s always full with an upbeat atmosphere. On a weekend there’s always a a slight queue at the door though, you can book, but I don’t think it’s worth more than a spur of the minute visit. When there’s room they sit you at the the bar whilst you wait for an available table. I’ve sat in both booths, which are really comfy for larger groups, and on the smaller steal tables for two that are also good as you can nosey into the open partition of the kitchen form here. And guess what, there isn’t a plump looking Greek mama toiling away in sight.
OK, so The food isn’t as good as my grandma’s, but there are a few things that taste surprisingly authentic. We usually have ‘souvlakia’ (marinated, grilled meat, wrapped in a pitta) and the ‘meze’, preferring to pick at a lot of different things. I recommend the ‘tzatziki’ (a cucumber and garlic dip) and the ‘fassolia’ (giant beans served in a tomato and garlic sauce) both are pretty spot on. I also like the way the dishes are served, stacked up on a metal rack. It’s touches like this that male it a fun experience whilst still having a little taste of the Med.

Nothing, and I mean *nothing,* could have made up for the terrible service at this place. I was so enticed by the thought of Greek food and the manicured trees bedecked in pretty white and blue lights outside — but the façade of orderliness now seems all like part of a calculated bait-​and-​switch lure for tourists.
Inside, everything is a wreck. The table we sat at was awkward, the people didn’t seem to know anything about the menu, we had no idea who our server was, there was no toilet paper in the bathroom… it took *forever* to place our order… *forever* to get bread for our hummus after it came… *forever* to get cutlery for our food… *forever* for them to straighten out a wine mix up…
Even then, all of those *forevers* may well have been eternity if I weren’t the sort of person who will get up out of my seat and go up to staff to figure out what the world is going on… that said, it felt like I was up and on my feet as much as one the servers… oy
The food was *okay* — but the rest of our night was so absurd, I think we really failed to notice.

I stopped in at the Real Greek in the late summer for a late Lunch. It is a good location and the weather was tempereate so we sat outside which gave us a view of the river and people passing by. The restaurant itself has a smart modern design.
We ordered our dishes, including souvlakia and dolmathes. The food was tasty but the service was pretty appalling. The waiter was very offhand and the food took a very long time to come, especially considering there were just two of us eating.
The food is good, but with the number of restaurants around it is hard to reccomend a place with such bad service.