essi Restaurant — Restaurant in London

I was looking forward to experiencing the Aussie/Greek fusion here and it delivered. The space is great and there's a good atmosphere. All the food was very good and good value. Between the three of us, we shared the white tarama with crispy potato skins (good and they gave us extra pita to enjoy the rest of it), saganaki toastie (rich but delicious), chicken souvlaki, pork souvlaki (both very small but tasty - they did mention it was one per person), octopus (really good), rabbit pie (my favourite), lamb ribs (slightly fatty so fat could have been rendered more but the side of tzatziki helped) and the charred cabbage. For dessert we shared the Cretan pie (not bad but quite simple) and the galaktoboureko which was custard in flaky pastry (so delicious!). Kostas, the owner was very friendly and came over for a chat and all the other staff were...

A friend had eaten here before and recommended we go as a group of friends. From start to finish it was a lovely experience.

Firstly, the food was delicious. I had a couple of small plates. I intended to share with my friends, but it was delicious and ended up having them all myself. The wine was also good.

Secondly, the staff were very friendly. Not sure if it was just because it is a pop-up, but the lady serving us was friendly and nice to speak to, but not overbearing. She made great friends with my friend's (almost) three year old, and kept him entertained every time she passed by. The owner(?) Con came around and chatted to us; again very genuine and a nice experience.

Thirdly, it was a lovely space. Not too big, but an interesting space, and nice heated outdoor area.

Definitely want to...

Pros

Food lived up to expectations, John Dory is highly recommended Service is GREAT flexible menu, each plate could feed 2 people but recommended to order 6 to share between 2 prices are quite reasonable for this quality

Cons

allow 1+ hour for a typical meal. Probably not suitable if you have a tight schedule terrace is nice, though some tables are a bit exposed on windy days. saganaki toastie had little cheese and very thick bread, though I loved the sweet notes only 2 desserts available (no Cretan pies mentioned when I visited), Galaktoboureko takes longer to prepare, generous serving, very mild taste, personally I would not...