The Real Greek, Covent Garden, London

I ate here last night for the first time and really enjoyed it. The place was packed when we arrived around 8.30pm but we only had to wait a few minutes for a table. The staff were friendly and the service was speedy. We opted to share the Anatolian meze and chose flatbreads, hummus, revithia (chick peas), chicken skewers, dolmades, grilled halloumi, salad and rice which were all delicious. With a very nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a bowl of olives the bill came in at £55 for the two of us – not unreasonable considering the area.

They've shot themselves in the foot really by calling themselves 'the real greek' haven't they. Because if you've ever been near Greece then you'll know that this isn't in any way authentic, but if you can get past the chain-restaurant chic then there's some good Greek grub to be head here.

As you'd expect there's meat galore, the lamb we had was spot on, but if you're a greek restaurant that can't do lamb then you might as well go home. Food comes 'mezze' style i.e. bit by bit at the whim of serving staff, and the portions aren't huge.

Great for big parties where you dont mind a wait (and your boss is picking up the bill).

yummmmmmmmmmmmmm enjoyed it greatly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went here for lunch on Saturday. It was a bit packed and the waitress was certainly slow. We had to wait about 10 minutes before ordering drinks and food. They said that all juices were freshly squeezed and when I ask to confirm that and if even cranberry juice was freshly squeezed, she assured it was. I ordered it and it clearly wasn't! I don't know if this is a misunderstanding because I'm Spanish, but I thought freshly squeezed means that you've got the fruit and you process the fruit with some gadget in you kitchen to get a "freshly squeezed" fruit juice. Maybe in a restaurant it means that you open an Ocean Spray tetra brick and mix it with water and ice. I don't know. Anyway, at least if was a far larger glass that you get in other chain restaurants for £2.95.

I gave them 3 stars finally because food was quite tasty. We tried the chicken souvlaki, anatolian spiced gambas and lamb cutlets. I found the lamb great, but I'm not very demanding with meat, I like almost everything so perhaps my opinion is not the one to trust. Prices were more on the expensive side and we had to wait again more than 10 minutes to pay and go.

With the choice of restaurants in London I'll probably won't visit this chain again, but it was fine to try.

This place is pretty small by chain restaurant standards, and pretty tightly packed. If you like people-spotting over your lunch then you'll like the window seats. You might not like having your back pressed against the guy at the table right behind you so much.
The portions are pretty tiny, as mentioned below, but the food is good. As long as you like Mediterranean food! The service was poor, the staff spent a lot of time chatting to each other and ignoring the packed restaurant.
If you use a discount to get a decent amount off the bill then the price is acceptable, otherwise, you don't get much food for your money.

What a big dissapointment. Once and never again.

I am not Greek but I do understand about Mediterranean food (I am Spanish) plus I have been prepared Greek food by Greek people plenty of times. And I can tell that the food in this place is really terrible.

And it was very expensive for what it is.

It was really busy, we were hurried, the service was poor.

What can I say? Terrible. I woud choose no stars if I could.

My visit here last night threw up a real dilemma in terms of whether or not I'd reccommend this place....

On the one hand the service from our waitress was some of the best I'd received in a long time, especially from a chain AND a West End location at that, the location is perfect for pre-theatre munching, the food service was prompt, they get top marks for having a menu listing coeliac-friendly foods, the decor was nice and (I was seriously considering how I could fit a light feature like their's in my lounge), but.....

....and it's a large, BUT, on the other hand the portion sizes for the meze dishes were too small (2 meat skewers per plate please and what's with the TWO pieces of halloumi for £4.50?) and the meat was over cooked (if you want tender lamb, stick to Gallipoli). There were highlights on the menu - the lamb stifado hot pot and the chocolate mousse cake get thumbs up.But unfortunately, with the overall value scoring so low I'm afraid it has a real detrimental effect on the whole place.

In short, if you can visit with a discount voucher and aren't bothered about the meat dishes you're in for a nice meal.

The name doesn’t quite fit the place.
Because it’s anything BUT “real greek”.

The food is different, the decor is completely off (and i don’t expect cute cycladic island white walls, just typical greek taverna style decor) and … well…

I’m sorry, but I’m greek and in short: I’d never go back. Ever.

The spices they use are exotic, i’m sure, but have nothing at all to do with greek cuisine. It’d be like eating baby back ribs with mango chutney!! Blah.

The chairs aren’t very comfortable either, nor is the place spacious.

I suppose it’s better than McDonald’s, but that’s about it…

We went here for a meal while on a weekend break in london. We were really surprised with the quaint layout as its a small venue in an old pub on a corner. The seating is quite high but was comfortable once i had got up there! This seating arrangement gives it a really intimate setting and because the numers are limited it doesnt get rowdy or anything like that.
The staff were friendly and our waiter very helpful and knowledgable. My husband has Coeliacs so cannot eat gluten and they were great advising suitability of dishes.
The food came on sort of high rack plate design, like a 3 tier cake stand affair and all was presented well and tasted fantastic.
This was an introduction for our daughter to greek food and we thought the quality and authenticity was great, she loved it all.
Prices were reasonable for London, we did however use some Tesco vouchers which meant we paid just for the drinks in cash ourselves, bargain!
We would definately go here again, with or without the tesco vouchers. I believe the other branches are arranged differently and the seating at this one is unique so if the high seats dont suit you maybe try a different branch.

I really enjoyed my time at The Real Greek. This particular restaurant is based in an old pub, the Kembles Head, and seems to have a very different feel to others in the chain. It is set up bar style, on high tables which can be difficult to get used to, but once you have got the hang of it, it actually gives the places a great “tapas style” atmosphere.

I have only eaten their meze style dishes, but the Vegetarian Meze for 6 I would say is about enough for 4 people - I’m not sure I would have wanted to share with another 2! However there is good variety and you can order extras too.

The service I felt was speedy, if not a little rushed, but I think this is the ethos of the place - quick and easy dining. It is really close the theatreland, so ideal as a quick stop off before moving on.

If we just talk about the food it was delicious, plenty of choice, great flavours, lots of extra and side dishes to order - what to choose was the problem!

Service is a real let down. Very pleasant and polite staff but dishes were brought out separately and well before other members of our party had their food, and then had to be returned to heat up.

The wine was served warm and we requested ice cubes which took over 20 minutes to arrive.

The cloakroom facilities were basic and not well kept.

When asking for the bill again we were kept waiting 20 minutes.

Hmmm, what to say? Incredibly incompetent service here at lunch (“I’ve lost my pen so I can’t take your order?!!”) - I even offered mine but he wasn’t interested. It’s also quite expensive for what you get. However, the food was delicious, and I really like the trad pub decor, so I’ll give it 3. A big downer for me really though, is that someone has contrived to convert a lovely pub like this, into a bloody restaurant. A real Greek tragedy.

The Real Greek made a very bad start today at lunch time. We waited for a number of minutes to be acknowledged by a waiter to show us to a seat and we proceeded to wait for at least 10 minutes (maybe 15) for our order to be taken. At this point i was thinking this place is getting 1 star :) Thankfully they half made up for it with the food. Very nice skewered chicken, the aubergine paste was delicious and i tried Octopus for the first time!

Good food, but all in all pretty shocking service.

Real Greek ? well..not in the atmosphere… If you expect Sirtaki and Ouzo.. white and blue paint all over the venue.. well.. it is not here you ll find those…

Service starts a 12.
Nice location (Bow st X Long acre).
Traditional pub venue converted into a restaurant. High celling, large windows, meaning plenty of light…
Many tables.. very tall and narrow top, with super high chairs / benchs. Narrow tables mean that you re super close to your eating-partner. It gives a sense of intimacy that i liked.
I appreciated the “Plate-rack” on which the “mezethes” are served.

Now the food.. tried a “meat sharer” which is a combination of 6 plates i think: skewers, meatballs, red pepper paste, aubergine puree + a side (chips or salade).
Adding a coke and a beer : about £30 for 2.

deserved 4 stars IF : the waitress hadn’t had pressured us to pay and leave… but i must admit.. 90mn for a lunch might have been too much… .

A popular restaurant, part of a chain of interesting "Real Greek" restaurants in London www.therealgreek.com. This one is in the former location of an old fashioned bar, lots of dark wood and high tables.

The menu tends to specialise in a Tapas style, with many people going for many small dishes and sharing: hot and cold meze include tzatziki, hummus, tabouleh, taramosalata. One popular group of dishes are Souvlaki, a char-grilled kebab of chicken, pork or lamb, wrapped in flatbread and served with tzatziki and tomato relish wrapped in a pitta bread; one of my favourites is loukaniko, a tasty lightly-spiced beef sausage. If you aren’t into meat then you can choose from olives, nuts, feta cheese, calamari, octopus, prawns, sardines and tiropitakia: filo parcels of spinach, leeks and feta.

If you go with friends they have some nice “sharer” dishes which are a really great way to pass an hour or two. For kids there is a separate menu.

The drinks menu includes beer, champagne, 20+ wines, cocktails and soft drinks.

Smaller dishes typically cost £2-6, sharing dishes cost around £19.

Very close to Covent Garden, you're on your own when it comes to parking, but it is just a few minutes from Covent Garden tube station.