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Looking for somewhere to eat this weekend? Well I have the perfect suggestion for you especially if you are a meat lover. Greek food is so tasty but has simple ingredients; it’s all about cooking with passion and buying good meat, herbs and vegetables. Most of their meat is grilled, just seasoned slightly with spices with olive oil and lemon juice and a few other things, but it tastes so good and is very healthy.

If you go to Camden there are three Greek restaurants within half a mile radius of each other, and they have been there a long time, which is always a good sign. I headed to Andy’s Taverna, when I entered they asked if I had a booking, I didn’t and it was already busy at 7pm, but they were able to accommodate. You could smell the grilled meats from outside! The restaurant has been open around 60 years and is known for it’s traditional values. They even get their seabass from Greece every two days.

As we settled into our seats and ordered house white wine that was good wine for house, we set our eyes on the menu. As we weren’t super hungry we decided to share a starter and a main. Choosing grilled aubergines (£4.50) to start, which I have to admit are my favourite vegetables and I love the simplicity they are cooked which just a little bit of olive oil and oregano. They were so buttery and soft and tasted fantastic, as well as being good for you! Can’t go wrong. I was going to choose the spanakopita, which is my favourite Greek dish that is is a spinach and cheese pastry.

For the main we opted to go for the Bifteki, which is a ground minced meat pattie at under £10. The portion was very generous and I’m glad I was sharing it as I hate wasting food and I wouldn’t have been able to eat this on my own! It came with a large Greek salad on the side and we ordered fresh bread to eat with it too. The meat was sumptuous and moist and was bursting with delicious flavours such as a bit of garlic, oregano, thyme, mint, onion and olive oil.

The six good-sized patties were served topped with grilled halloumi and a grilled slie of tomato. It was literally like heaven on a plate! The Greek salad was fresh, crunchy and delicious but for me was missing onions. Everything else was perfect.

It’s no wonder Andy ,which has many celebrity diners as well, has been here for 60 years. The service is friendly, the atmosphere is relaxed and the food is to die for. I almost forgot to mention as well they gave us complementary after dinner drinks and sweet pastries at the end of our meal which is always a plus. It’s very hard to find authentic Greek food in London but I truly recommend this and will definitely be back soon.

Where to find

81-81A Bayham Street, London NW1 0AG     020 7485 9718      www.andystaverna.com/