The Real Greek And Athenian Restaurant, Cookoovaya Review
O
n 5th February 2020 Onin.London visited The Real Greek, near Tower Bridge for an exclusive one night dinner with Father Epiphanios, a celebrated Greek monk, chef, author and winemaker, alongside Greece’s leading chefs from the acclaimed Athenian restaurant, Cookoovaya.
Father Epiphanios is one of the best-known religious figures in Greece. Residing in a Byzantine tower on the rocky east coast of Athos, part of the famous monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece. A talented cook and an ambassador for local produce, his best-selling book, “The Cuisine of the Holy Mountain Athos” is internationally recognised, and he regularly makes food for enormous crowds on Greece’s religious holidays. I was lucky enough to receive a signed copy of the book after our meal and I can’t wait to cook from it soon.
Our meals on the night were cooked by the collective of multi-awarded, nationally renowned and highly influential chefs – Manos Zournatzis, Periklis Koskinas, Spiros Liakos and Vagelis Liakos – from Cookoovaya. This restaurant is a critically acclaimed, bustling restaurant in the heart of Athens.
As Greece is know for its amazing seafood, it was no surprise that the six course menu consisted of 3 seafood dishes, one vegetarian dish and one dessert course.
We started with a delicious Salted Cod Croquette with cream of spinach & wild fennel.This dish was a hit with both myself and my guest. To be honest it was a hit with the whole table. Very light but full of flavour.
The second course was the course that surprised me the most. I’m not a huge fan of aubergine (or eggplant as this Aussie prefers to call it), yet The Real Greek May have changed my mind on this. This smoked aubergine with a tahini & lemon vinaigrette was delicious.
Third course was grilled octopus with Saltorini fava and a vinegar & olive oil dressing. Now I love octopus and this was no exception. You could taste the freshness and the exceptional ingredients used to ensure the perfect flavour combination.
Fourth Course was grilled smoked eel, and probably our least favourite of the course. I mean it still disappeared off our plates pretty quick, so we can’t complain too much.
The fifth course, Mount Athos style white grouper with extra virgin olive oil potato purée & parsley coulis was the best dish we ate that night. The potato purée was divine and the grouper was cooked to perfection.
Our meal ended with sundries traps and wine-poached pear served with halva, almond & walnut praline. My guest throughly enjoyed this dessert and even polished mine off as I’m not a big dessert eater.
We had a great evening in good company enjoying great food and drinking delicious wine. We do hope The Real Greek bring Father Epiphanios and Cookoovaya back soon as everyone who missed out on visiting this time had the opportunity to sample this amazing menu. Until then make your way down to The Real Greek to give your tastebuds something they deserve.
Address:
The Real Greek Tower Bridge
Duchess Walk
Bridgemaster’s House
Tower Bridge
London
SE1 2UP
Website:
Social Media:
Instagram: @therealgreekuk
Facebook: TheRealGreek
Twitter: @realgreektweet
