Cyprus - Kolossi Grill

Restaurant:  Kolossi Grill

Location:  50-60 Roseberry Avenue, London, EC1R 4RR

Date of visit:  17 September 2016

Time of visit:  7.40pm

Having just returned from a week in Corfu, we were expecting more fine Greek food during our next restaurant visit, as we headed for a Cypriot restaurant. There are a handful of Cypriot restaurants and takeaways in London, including a couple of Turkish establishments (of course the northern part of Cyprus is controlled by Turkey) but I opted for one of the higher rated and more authentic looking Greek Cypriot choices.

We arrived just after 7.40pm, without a prior booking. This didn't cause a problem as the restaurant wasn't too busy. That said, there was already a nice little bit of a buzz in the restaurant, which was helped by the cosy interior and decor.

We were seated by the waiter straight away and the menus came quickly afterwards. We didn't have to wait long at all before we were served. The menu itself is quite extensive, and reads pretty much like any Greek restaurant's menu would. Indeed, I couldn't quite be sure if there were any exclusively Cypriot dishes on the menu. Nothing stood out as such.

To drink, I opted - naturally - for a bottle of the Cypriot beer, Keo. Elle did the same.

For starters, I picked the dolmadakia - vine leaves stuffed with minced beef, tomatoes, rice, herbs and tomato sauce. Elle went for the haloumi (sliced then char grilled).

I asked for the lamb kleftiko (slow-cooked lamb shank) for my main dish, something I really enjoyed earlier in the month in Corfu. Elle opted, surprise surprise, for the mixed kebab. I might actually go back and count how many times she has gone for the "selection of mixed meats" option so far during this project. I reckon at least 40% of the time!

We were upsold some pitta bread too. Usually we would politely decline, but the waiter's upselling tactics, although subtle, were effective!

The interior of the restaurant was quite quirky. But seemingly authentic. Vines and hanging baskets adorned the walls and ceiling. Lighting inside the restaurant was modest - not invasive but also not too dark. Greek music played.

As we waited for the first of our two courses to come, a complimentary dish of carrots, green olives and green pickled chillis (like those you get on the top of a doner kebab) arrived at the table, which was a very nice touch.

The starters arrived promptly. My vine leaves were steaming hot and clearly very freshly prepared. The meat was beautiful and not too dry at all. The flavours were fantastic, as was the tangy tomato which was poured above and below the vine leaves. This was an appetiser in the truest sense, as I really anticipated the main meal as soon as I had finished the starter!

Elle's sliced haloumi was well grilled, which really added positively to the flavour. The texture of the cheese perfect. Not too rubbery or squeaky. No gimmicks or fancy stuff with this dish. Just four generous slices, and some fresh cucumber and tomato on the side.

It has to be said at this point the bread, which we were pitched earlier, was fantastic. Clearly freshly baked on the premises and a great addition to the starters.

To the mains. And one of the best lamb dishes I have ever had. And this was after saying the same about the same dish in Corfu just a few weeks prior to this. The lamb was incredible. Just fell off the bone into gorgeous melt in the mouth chunks. The shank is roasted for at least four hours, and you can tell. So amazingly tender. It didn't really come with any gravy or sauce, but the lamb was so succulent that there was nothing dry about this dish. The chipped potatoes on the side were also very enjoyable. Really tasty choice of potato and delicately salted, which went perfectly with the meat.

Elle's main was, as always is with her regular choice of grilled meats, very dry. Something which didn't help this was the fact that half the plate was rice. Dry rice. But the dish is what it is. The selection of meat was very good. The meatballs were very very tasty. The grilled pork was smoked and very flavoursome indeed. The small spicy sausages were excellent. The chicken kebab was standard. Nothing special. The slice of lemon with this dish was a good touch. It was certainly a very filling selection, with no surprises.

By the time we had finished dinner, the restaurant had filled quite nicely. Despite there only being one last table available, the waiting staff were in no real rush to clear our plates. With hindsight, they were probably being run off their feet. Otherwise, the service was generally excellent. I'll forgive the fact that they didn't wish us goodnight as we left!

Overall, this was a very good experience. One of the most pleasant restaurants we've been to recently, with friendly service and fantastic food to match.