Aphrodite Taverna

Being vegan, I thought I’d have a tough time getting something here. What with most Unilocalers waxing eloquent about their lamb and fish. But our host was the most pleasant man and fished out items from the kitchen that weren’t only vegan but also delicious!
To begin with, even without ordering anything, pitas, flava bean salad, and olives, which, by themselves, more than hold their own. The falafels are one of the best I’ve tasted in London. And the hummus was unbelievable. For mains, the dolmades were excellent. Even the roasted potatoes that our host offered, and which weren’t on the menu, were amazing.
Overall, the chefs and hosts at the Aprodite Taverna take real joy in feeding people. And I’d definitely go here again: for the food as well as the service.

The place looked quiet so we were apprehensive about dining here but it was great! The service was helpful and food was tasty. Recommended.

Simply my favourite Greek restaurant in London with excellent service, food and perfectly kitschy décor.

I came to London last week after 20 years and I was craving Greek food from my dear friend Pantalis, owner and Executive Chef of Aphrodite Taverna. The food took me back 20 years when I was a young boy studying in London! It is the best Greek food made from the heart by a very nice man! The Greek Salad, giant grilled mushrooms, and the lamb chops are out of this world! This food is so good it’s been on my mind all these years and finally I took my wife to experience this great restaurant with homemade traditional food!
Best wishes to Pentalis and his team!
Faisal

Aphrodite Taverna was an unbelievable find in the heart of London; the food is outstanding, the service is exceptional, and the prices are actually not that high; not sure why it’s listed as fairly expensive. Being Greek, I know good Greek food, and, let me tell you, Aphrodite has the best Greek food of any restaurant I’ve ever been to in the UK. And before you rush to judgment («what does this idiot from America know about the UK), let me say that I’ve been to the UK a total of 40 (yes, forty) times, of which 38 have been visits to or at least through London. On several occasions I was just passing through London and I arranged my travel so that I would make time to stop and eat at Aphrodite. It is just that good!

Overpriced — Expensive-​Not representative of Cypriot cousine
Be prepared to spend 25+ per person. Also being a Cypriot myself I don’t find the food quality and variety representative of our cousine.
Very small place so expect some queuing during busy hours.

Auf unserem Heimweg sind wir an diesem netten Lokal vorbeigekommen, um einen Blick auf die Karte zu werfen, als ein Gast aus dem Restaurant kam und es uns aufs Wärmste empfohlen hat. Leider hatten wir an diesem Abend schon gegessen und haben deshalb beschlossen am nächsten Abend wiederzukommen. Wir wurden nicht enttäuscht. Der Service war sehr zuvorkommend und das Essen war wirklich lecker. Besonders gut haben uns die Antipasti, die als Gruß aus der Küche gereicht wurden, gefallen.

With all of the places I’ve dined in London, Aphrodite is my dining home. I discovered this jewel when I first moved to London from the US. It was the only pure greek restaurant that I had found, and the fish was so outstanding that I made routine trips.
After a short time, the owners treated me like family. I started to get the family table in the back, and they anticipated my order as I sat down. I ordered a specialty meal 90 percent of the time, and it always came back flawless and quickly.
The food is heaven — beautiful fresh fishes that are right off the grill, fresh crispy greek salads with quality feta and olives, fresh wines to compliment the greek fare. Greek traditional dishes that are equally lovely, although I admit that I am soley interested in the fish.
Don’t miss this spot, its exactly the way a greek restaurant is supposed to be and the food, company, atmosphere is perfect. Its the perfect hidden jewel.
and good wine too.

Aphrodite Taverna in Bayswater is fab! I can’t see how you can get better Cyrpiot/​Greek food. The owner is also the chef and is proud and keen to please with his tasty home style cooking. He makes a lot of his own dips etc. He is also great fun and comes out to say hello to his guests. His wife is also lovely and friendly and the waiters are efficient and chatty too. They all remember their regulars and treat them like old friends, but always with respect. The restaurant has a lot of regulars and is always busy at the weekends and most week evenings. The fish platter is amazing and always fresh and the Kleftico is succulent and tender. Their olives, dips and roast tatties are to die for! A gem of a find and we will keep going back! It’s not the cheapest taverna but well worth every penny!

I havent’t been to the restaurant yet, but the café next door is very nice. I like to go for a breakfast or a coffee or just a snack (I like the lamb kofta). Especially nice when you can sit outside and watch people pass by.

Mezze until you can’t eat anymore! Greek restaurants I found a couple around Bayswater, but this is the best — all my friends agree! I often get visits from abroad and then I get challenged to find a new place to eat:
— A place which is an experience
— Has good food
— Is not over pricey
— Fits in a big group of 8 – 10
— Has atmosphere
We were a table of 10 and as the place is quite small, I had to make a reservation. However, always when I pass by, there are bigger dinner parties going on.
I remember that night my brothers were starving; they walked around London all day and had to watch their girlfriends shoe shopping. I knew, they needed to eat and a lot!
Now when I mention mezze, you might think these are a couple of plates served at the same time on to the table to be shared by everybody. Well my brothers were positive surprised! We ordered 5 meat mezze and 4 seafood mezze and one vegetarian. I remember starting of with the salad, humus, tzatziki, the wine leaves with rice, etc. Please do not eat too much bread, it would be a shame, because what follows is rich flavour of different platters of lamb, beef, chicken, meat balls, scampi’s, calamari’s, olives, breads, vegetables, couscous. It is a never-​ending fest and not knowing being in middle of London this could be paradise.
We ended up all paying £30, with wine and water. I would suggest ordering a mezze less then people; it is impossible otherwise to finish it all. Considering the amount we ate and the taste of food, this is what I call quality of life and when I have guest here, I take them there and we do nothing else then eating until midnight.
There are other dishes there as well of course, such as the best lamb shank I had and what I find unpretentious is to have a big bucket of salad on the table instead of on a little pâté. It makes you feel almost at home! This place is run by Greeks themselves, the mama comes out and makes sure everything is under control and their guests are happy.
We finshed the night with an Greek Ouzo!