NIKOS Sandton — Restaurant in Gauteng

NIKOS (ΝΙΚΩΣ) Coalgrill Greek is what you need when you’re looking for Greek food, and an amazing contemporary dining experience with it.

Hello to a Seaside* table As we walked in we were greeted by one of the owners, that led us to one of their “seaside” tables. A bit confused, but also intrigued so we gladly followed along. The table was situated at the window at the far side of the restaurant overlooking 5th street, which was actually quite beautiful with the sun hitting all the windows of the skyscrapers in the area. It sure looked like the seaside with the amount of wind blowing. Seems like the area is always windy, so sitting outside might never be a good option.

Nikos is beautifully decorated with white and blue, with big windows all around to brighten it up. Makes you almost feel as if you are in a cafe in Greece to be honest, especially seeing as the owners are also Greek, and very friendly. It is not always that you meet such hands-on and down to earth restaurant owners.

Let’s dig in Drinks Seeing as we are seaside we opted for some delicious cocktails. As always we grabbed a Long Island Iced Tea and some pink girly drink.

We were pleasantly surprised by these drinks as we didn’t think that they will be on par with the bars around Sandton, but they were, if not even better, especially as they weren’t nearly as expensive.

Sharing As with Greek tradition and our foodie tradition too, we grabbed a few sharing plates.

We ordered the Loaded Hummus which is a MUST, like a must stuff your face as this plate was out of this world. Give us a spoon, we will eat it as is. With it, we ordered pita bread, and later had to order even more. We sure went all out here. Our final sharing plate was Tiropita, basically egg and cheese filled phyllo pastries, which were a bit oily and more pastry than filling, but the filling was quite tasty.

The Yiro of the story Now this was our first ever Yiro and we weren’t sure what to expect, so we jumped right in.

It might not be the prettiest dish, but what it lacks in looks it makes up in flavour. This right here is the Paros Yiro, with beef fillet, feta, peri-peri salsa, tomato, tzatziki and red onions. Filling as hell with flavour punches in every bite. We had to fight over who was going to finish this bad boy. Almost had to battle it out right then and there in Nikos. This is a very messy meal, but definitely worth it.

Dessert time Say hello to a bowl of love.

At this point, we were pretty full and worried about finishing this Halva Ice Cream bowl. We licked this bowl clean. Not really don’t worry, we only lick plates clean at home. This was a fantastic dessert. Rich and creamy with hints of sweetness from the Halva, freshness from the pomegranates and crunch from the pistachios. This is definitely one of our top desserts.

Staff Our waiter was friendly and attentive, making sure that our table was clean and our drinks were filled. With that, the owners also came around to check on us and just chat about how they opened the restaurant and other things that they had going on in their lives.

Verdict This entire feast with bottled water and coffees came to R500, that is including the tip. If you just look at the amount of delicious food we got then that would have been good value, but with drinks, great service and an amazing atmosphere it is just a steal if you ask us.

TTT recommends you grab a Yiro for a late lunch at one of their seaside tables.

TTT’s rating out of 5: Food – 4.5 | Service – 5 | Atmosphere – 4 | Value – 5

Nikos gets a ‘Fist Bump’ from Two...

I got to experience the new Kid on the Block, situated in the funky Alice Lane Precinct. If you haven’t heard, Nikos Sandton Alice Lane has opened up a branch here and its quickly going to become a lunchtime favourite. Summer time should be fantastic with its outside seating, although the restaurant is not as large as the others, it sure does pack a punch. I loved the décor, the styling thereof as its simple, fresh and casual.

Now for the Menu, if you are a meat lover like me then it’s a BIG WIN. Don’t fret they do serve alternative options, and keep an eye for their specials board. They sometimes do have added items like Kingklip or Salmon (you know for those Pescatarians) and currently Lamb Shanks. Apparently one of the best sellers are the “Skinny Lamb Chops” so I will have to try that next time. So if you know me well, there are a few items I will always try at a new place just to see how they compare, so it was a no brainer that I ordered the Zucchini Fries to start with. It’s probably the one vegetable I have taken a liking too (purely cos it’s fried and dunked in a batter to disguise it). Happy to say it was fantastic, not all were crispy, but the pure flavour of it was delicious and it was salted just enough, so that you just kept on munching.

For Mains, I asked my waiter Martin for assistance in deciding what meat to pick for my Yiro. Be warned he clearly likes to feed people, and you will easily order everything off the menu from his suggestions. Martin is such a rock star, with an amazing and positive attitude, you will be in good hands with him. I had the “Paros” Yiro, with Beef Fillet, (you can also choose Pork or Chicken as a filling) and it’s filled with Peri Peri Salsa, Tomato, Tzatziki & Red Onion. It was Fresh, flavourful and full of meat – I didn’t need to “fish” to find the Fillet, it was right there. A cute little FYI, check out the pictures on the paper that the food is served on...😋

Another plus, I didn’t need to salt or re-spice my food, and that in my opinion is a MAJOR plus in my books. All of that goodness was washed down with another firm favourite of mine – a Cosmopolitan, the Bartender didn’t get a complaint from me. I tried a little bit of their Halva Ice Cream, but that isn’t for me, next time when I have more time will try the Corrugated Baklava or the Poached Pear & Crispy Kataifi

They have a great variety of Cocktails, and those G&T’s and Mojitos are ready for the summertime, with pretty good pricing. Even the food is reasonably priced, if you compare it to a few surrounding eateries.

Check out their menu, and if you are still a bit hesitant, chat to them when you are there, they are really accommodating, and might just whip up something different for you. You definitely wont leave their...

I can most definitely rate it 5-stars. My sister, nephew and I went there for lunch last week Sunday afternoon. We were not disappointed. We each had the Yiro it was delicious. The kind of delicious that makes u lick the wrapping it came in. Dessert was everything we could have wished for -if u have a sweet tooth, especially if it’s the Greek kind. The signage for Nikos is hiding if you are driving towards Bowman’s, past Sandton Shopping Centre. But it’s a secret treasure tucked right in the Bowman building. We parked at the mall and took a stroll over the road. Service is excellent from management to the waiters. If I was working at Bowman’s. I’d probably be eating something from there daily. PS: Your most welcome Nikos 😀 Your response reminded me to finish my review. Your...