London’s Greek scene has got another brilliant addition
Opened by the same team behind Fantomas in Chelsea and Pinna in Mayfair, Krokodilos arrived on Kensington Church Street at the tail end of 2024 with very little fanfare. The restaurant seems to have quickly found its feet and a loyal set of customers as it was already really busy by the time we arrived for our Monday night reservation.
It’s a fairly big site, and in a new development too, but they’ve really done a number on the interior – it’s warm and inviting, with a big backlit bar at one end, an L-shaped open kitchen with a large table in front, a brick fireplace, and shelves filled with bottles of olive oil, jars of ferments and plenty of ceramics.
Eat This
Angelos Togias (ex-Connaught) leads the kitchen here and he’s definitely doing his own spin on Greek dishes. There are plenty of flavours and ingredients that you’ll recognise on the menu but put together in different ways, like the spinach, feta and dill from a spanakoptia served on a squidgy flatbread, and dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves) served in a silky avgolemono (egg and lemon) sauce.
The Greek salad is pretty traditional, made with winter tomatoes, aged feta from Angelos’ home village of Palaiomanina and capers from Santorini, showing that the kitchen can do the classics too.
There are a handful of great-sounding fish dishes on the menu but we’d say the barbouni – crisp-skinned fillet of red mullet with wild greens in a fennel broth – is the one not to miss. A perfect summer plate. The rabbit stifado, with its rich, spiced sauce and tender meat, is a complete contrast but no less brilliant. It comes with grilled sourdough so you can mop up the last of the sauce but get some fries as well just to be sure you don’t miss any.
We were actually planning to skip dessert on account of being too full but Angelos persuaded us to try the brand new pudding of semolina cake with saffron and yoghurt foam – and it was as light and refreshing as he promised.
Drink this
The drinks selection at Krokodilos takes inspiration from Athens’s cocktail scene and the diversity of Greek winemaking. There are some cracking cocktails made with Greek ingredients – the Athenian Spritz, made with Athens vermouth, kalamata bitter, sparkling rosé, strawberry and blood peach was a particular fave. There are bottles from across Europe and America on the wine list but when in Greece (or a Greek restaurant at least), you’ve got to go for a Greek wine. The crisp house white, a blend of Assyrtiko, Roditis and Savatiano, is a great entry point if you’re unfamiliar with wines from this region.
Why Go
There was a big Greek wave in London last summer, thanks to the opening of OMA (now Michelin-starred) and AGORA, and Krokodilos is here showing that our love for Greek food is still going strong. A beautiful room, excellent service and dishes that’ll have you dreaming of a Greek holiday…what more could you want?
Key Information
Address | 28a Kensington Church St, Lancer Sq, London W8 4EP
For more information | krokodilos.co.uk
