HAVING visited Corfu just last month, when a new greek restaurant opening in Solihull I knew I had to try it.
Based in the Touchwood shopping centre, the Real Greek offers authentic Greek food with indoor and outdoor alfresco seating.
Utilising core ingredients directly sourced from Greece, the creative direction in the kitchen is led by Nikos Karathanos, the youngest Greek chef to be awarded a Michelin star at the age of just 27.
The restaurant is the fourth opening this year and the first in the Midlands.
Nabil Mankarious, managing director at The Real Greek, said: “We’re delighted to be opening our fourth restaurant this year and our first site to arrive in the Midlands.
“Solihull is a great addition to our existing portfolio of restaurants, and Touchwood is the perfect buzzy location, which will attract a new host of visitors to experience The Real Greek.
“It is an exciting time for our brand as we continue to expand across the UK, with more openings in process in the pipeline”.
“Tony Elvin, General Manager at Touchwood added : “We are so pleased to welcome The Real Greek to Touchwood, their first restaurant to open in the West Midlands.
“The Real Greek offers fantastic Greek food and wine to create a relaxed dining experience for our visitors and adds to the wide range of cuisines already on offer at Touchwood”.
Myself and my partner were shown to out table quickly and our server, Harriet explained the menu to us.
Guests can mix and match from a selection of three types of meze: Cold, Hot and Grilled.
The Cold Meze dishes include a variety of dips, such as: blended Houmous, and the rich and creamy taramasalata which is made with undyed, salted and cured cod roe.
The Hot Meze dishes feature classics such as: halloumi fries and dolmades which are vine leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, and fresh herbs.
The Grilled Meze is made up of meat and seafood dishes, including lamb skewers and Tonia’s prawns, a recipe of tiger prawns in a rich tomato sauce with Pourgouri.
We chose a selection of hot and cold meze, including Greek flatbread, with olive oil & Dukkah, halloumi popcorn, halloumi and vegetable skewer, a Souvlaki wraps with vegan meatballs, lamb, skewered with onions and peppers and fried calamari.
Our server suggested options and ways to customise our dishes so they compliment each other.
It was a waiting experience like no other, and Harriets help and suggestions made the meal all the more enjoyable.
We finished the meal with Greek filo custard pie at Harriets suggestion, and it was the best desert I had ever eaten.
the pie is a traditional dessert from Sérres, North Greece, called Bougatsa.
The restraint is a real homage to Greece, and we can’t wait to return.
Visit www.therealgreek.com for more information.
Review by reporter Ashleigh Osborne.
