Ousia Muswell Hill — Restaurant in London

Very disappointed. Ate there on Saturday 11th Feb as it is newly opened and we thought we would give it a try. Food is very bland and amateur. We had humus which came with a SINGLE pitta for 2 people! The pittas were the cheap kind you can buy anywhere. It would have been nice if they had made their own. We then had courgette fritters which were sliced courgette in a barely there batter and these were watery and unseasoned. Falafel was obviously frozen, bought in and poor. Tasted of nothing. The chicken was literally just a plate of grilled skewers, again no seasoning or flavour. They looked marinaded but the marinade had no flavour. This was just a really boring, bland dish. Rose wine is overpriced at £10 a glass. The service was good. I would like the restaurant to do well but they really need to improve on the dishes which look and taste bland and boring and overpriced drinks. Please improve. There used to be a Greek restaurant on this road called okabasi that was amazing and their dishes had colour and flavour. It was so much better!

Response to owner's reply: I appreciate your reply, but the over riding point of my review was that your bbq grilled chicken was bland and tasteless when compared to other grills I have had in the past, and this is true whether I compare it to other Greek restaurants or Turkish. Chicken is a staple food of many cuisines so to offer up the excuse that your chicken is more tasteless meaning your chef is more skilled, and your food more authentically Greek is a strange argument to make. Your reference to your " neutral marinade" sounds especially unappetising.

If the falafel are made in house and are not frozen then i aplologise for my mistake but this just affirms that your chef does not know good flavours or how to season food.

Lastly, between my wife and I we ate half the chicken and were offered a doggy bag to take the rest home, but turned down this offer.

I do wish you well as i love good Greek food and, but the food is bland and tasteless and you need to address this...

Came here on a quiet Sunday afternoon, we didn't have a booking, but thankfully it was quiet and we were given our choice of table. Ousia is a nice spot within Muswell Hill, the decor is quite simple with some paintings on the wall which I believe you can purchase. The music is at the right level and doesn't take away from your enjoyment of the meal, it is at the right volume. The food is served in a tapas style which I've not experienced in a Greek restaurant before, you have a good range of meat options but plenty of vegan and vegetarian options also, each dish I would say is reasonably priced for what you get. Myself and my partner left feeling pretty full. I really enjoyed what we had, however £3 for a glass of apple juice, that's a bit much in my personal opinion. The lamb kleftiko fell off the bone, it was extremely tender which is perfect, however we both felt it lacked a bit of flavour, it just needed a bit of seasoning rather than just the tomato sauce it comes with. Hence the 4* review for the food. The service we received was really good, we had an attentive young waitress serving us. Would I recommend Ousia yes I would, I enjoyed the food and you can see that they take care in the preparation of what you...

Disappointing food! Is ridiculous to read the reviews from 2 years ago and find that instead of improving and changing they just prefer to be defensive and rude. Back to the experience. Service was great unfortunately the food was a massive disappointment. Taramasalata was unseasoned and had a creamy taste instead of a tangy and sour I tried it everywhere else (including Greece) Falafel uncooked in the middle Tabouli salad unseasoned,just chopped vegetables with an overcooked bulgur. Beef sausage overcooked, rock hard Chicken skewers bland , unseasoned un marinated just bland meat. Lamb shank just floating in fat , bland. Potatoes that came with it was refrigerated (not from today) had a very strong starch taste that happens if you refrigerate potatoes and reheat them another day.

Only one meal we enjoyed was the halloumi . Chips was fine for me, home made style potatoes.

Instead of replying defensive maybe you should change the chef and try to improve the customers experience . Restaurant was empty for a Friday evening and that says...