Greek kitchen esti (a play on ‘estiatorio’, the Greek word for restaurant) is taking up residency inside TT Liquor in Shoreditch. With esti, founder Kostas Vais is blending Greek dining with Australian hospitality – with some British produce and ingredients from Down Under thrown in – where the menu is heavily influenced by the cooking of his mother and grandmother. It’s one of those menus where you’ll want everything but don’t miss the pork souvlaki with its tender meat and tzatziki in a soft pita (not like the carboardy ones you get on the supermarkets); the white tarama livened with zhoug and served with impossibly crispy potato skins for dipping; the smoked aubergine with tahini and brown butter giving nuttiness; and the superb braised octopus, cooked down with Aussie bush tomato and orzo. And instead of the traditional chips, esti is doing big slices of fried potatoes, with plenty of surface area for aleppo pepper and manouri cheese to cling to. If you’ve ever had galaktoboureko, the classic Greek custard dessert, before, you’ve got to try this one – it’s served hot so you get extra crispy filo with soft, rich custard underneath, it’s a gamechanger. esti will be in residence at TT Liquor from Weds – Sun, with terrace cookouts on Sundays, and there are already plans to move somewhere permanent come the autumn. 

Photo credit: Joe Howard