I love hospitality and discovering new restaurants is one of my favourite pastimes. It was something I spent an awful lot of time doing when I worked in central London. Then, new places were popping up faster than I could eat at them. Now that I am closer to home (and have a chef in residence!), my visits are less frequent.
Restaurants have more to live up to for me these days. I have become slightly disillusioned with the high price, average experience that I find all too often. So when I read glowing reviews from two reliable restaurant critics about a new opening, especially when it is my kind of food, I am on to it.
Hands down, pants off, run around screaming, slam-dunk best-of-the-year-so-far joint in central London Giles Coren
Oma
The restaurant is Oma in Borough market and it would be hard to disagree with him. I confess that last weekend was already my second visit!
Approaching from an incredibly busy South Bank in the sunshine, I was astonished to see how much development there had been in the area. Old buildings have been renovated beautifully and there’s a whole new section of shops, restaurants, cafes and even a cinema. The very upmarket Alain Ducasse chocolate shop was worth a wander if only to inhale the divine aromas from the glass dome covers.
Oma is hidden away and accessed via a small door in a side entrance. The main restaurant is upstairs with a covered terrace that looks out over the market itself. It is just enough to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells while at the same time providing enough distance for comfortable conversation.
To describe it as a Greek restaurant is somehow not sufficient. The menu is mystifying in places but just as you are wondering what it’s all about, the incredibly friendly staff appear and explain everything in the greatest detail. It’s a ‘sharing’ concept with a selection of ‘dips’ (not the best description as they are about as far away from your average tzatziki as you could get!), a crudo (raw) section, skewers, and a couple of dishes cooked in clay pots.
On both occasions I have been, the staff could not have been nicer. They are relaxed, confident, very knowledgeable and more than happy to chat. They enthuse about the menu and make recommendations when needed.
The food
I have managed to sample three of the four ‘dips over my two visits. I thought their houmous and babaghanoush could never be beaten but I was wrong. The ajvar, made from charred sweet bell peppers topped with mizithra, a cheese made out of whey, and roasted hazelnuts was divine. We ordered two different types of bread to go with, both delicious.
Raw fish is not to everyone’s taste but gilt head bream, green tomato and apple aguachile, a Mexican version of ceviche with more liquid, was really good. Next was a spanakopita but not as we know it – it was to die for! A gooey mix of baked spinach and cheese came with home-baked flatbread on the side, sprinkled with cheese for added excitement. Fabulous.
By this stage I was pretty full. It’s amazing when you have smaller dishes and eat them more slowly than you would a large plate of food, the brain has chance to catch up with the signals the stomach is sending to say enough now! We still managed a fish dish to finish but we probably could have done without it.
On a Saturday lunchtime, Oma was totally full and the waitress said they were heading for an equally busy evening service. No doubt it has been helped along by the great reviews but with that comes high expectations. It certainly lived up to them on both my visits.
Having spent a very special couple of hours, my girlfriend and I headed off. On the way down the stairs we met what I assume was a kitchen porter, transporting supplies to the first floor kitchen. He stopped and engaged us in conversation, eager to know if we had enjoyed our lunch. To see staff who care so much is incredibly rare. It was the perfect final (and totally unorchestrated) moment that rounded off a brilliant experience that I would totally recommend. Let me know if you go!