Six of One is a column dedicated to London restaurant recommendations. In each issue, six writers will share a restaurant, bakery, cafe or takeaway spot that they believe deserves to be better known. You can find the full Six of One back catalogue here.
Today’s recommendations are from Alex Mylonas, Nick Bramham, Shekha Vyas, Kelly Pochyba, Zayneb Al Asaadi, and Tomé Morrissy-Swan
To read all the recommendations, as well as the back catalogue, please subscribe below.
Before we start today’s newsletter: an exciting announcement! We’re delighted to be teaming up with Fitzcarraldo to put on our first large event for the re-release of London Feeds Itself. On April 17th, we are co-hosting a panel discussion entitled ‘Invisible Poles’ at Ognisko, the famous Polish club in South Kensington, and a central part of the essay The Club by Barclay Bram. After the talk, Ognisko will serve traditional Polish food – think cups of Barszcz, platters of pierogi and sledz.
For nearly two decades Polish people were the largest diaspora in the UK. They are now leaving – net migration levels for Poles have been negative since 2021. The panel will discuss the impact Poles have had on the London food scene: Why aren't there more visible Polish restaurants? Where is Polish cooking happening in the city, and why haven’t some of the new crop of talented young Polish chefs from Warsaw or Krakow tried to break into the London restaurant scene with an explicitly Polish concept? What does it say about the Polish diaspora, and their place in British society, that their impact on the culinary scene in London has been so muted when compared with other diasporas?
The panel will be moderated by Barclay Bram, author of The Club essay, and feature Jan Korybut Woroniecki, Pawel Glodowski and Kasia Tomasiewicz.
Tickets are £35 plus a booking fee and are available on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/invisible-poles-a-night-of-polish-food-and-conversation-tickets-873296010877
Greek Cypriots are no strangers to London. The first major wave to arrive settled in Camden in the 1950s. As the community dispersed, then recongregated in pockets such as Green Lanes in the 70s, and throughout Enfield and Barnet in the following decades, it left in its wake a trail of notable restaurants: Andy’s in Camden, the fabled Vrisaki on Myddleton Road and, one of its offshoots, Andy’s in Oakwood.
Extrapolating that northward trend across the M25 will take you to the next destination where the Greek Cypriot presence has become more noticeable over the past decade or so: Potters Bar. A trek to Hertfordshire was perhaps inevitable, given that there has been a small community and Greek Orthodox church in Brookmans Park since the 90s. Even Mr Vrisaki himself lives in the area.
When my grandparents moved to Potters Bar from Enfield 11 years ago, there were no Cypriot restaurants. Miraculously, one opened that very year… and there are now three: Tavernaki, Fig Tree Grill and, as of three months ago, another branch of Vrisaki. It was Tavernaki that first appeared, showcasing Cypriot classics, mezedes and wines. It’s hard to say no to the meze: a bottomless barrage of dips and hot starters, followed by fish and grilled meat. Although Cypriots rarely mix fish and meat in one sitting, the variety keeps everyone happy – meze is for sharing after all. I want to give a special mention to the chicken livers, which are braised in wine with onions: they arrive with a slightly sweet and glossy caramelised finish. I haven’t found this anywhere else in the UK.
It’s not just the execution of traditional Cypriot dishes that makes Tavernaki stand out; the souvla has also noticeably improved over time, particularly the lamb. Seasoned racks are slow-cooked on a rotating spit over charcoal to produce a perfectly crisp exterior while still maintaining optimal juiciness. If you’re unable to sit in then my advice would be to order a mixed souvlaki to take away (pork souvlaki and sheftalies in a Cypriot pita, or ‘pita mix’ as they say in Cyprus). It’s exactly as a classic Cypriot pita should be: meat, cucumber, tomato, onions and parsley with a squeeze of lemon. Right now, Tavernaki is the best Cypriot restaurant experience around north London –even if it is on the wrong side of the M25. Alex Mylonas
5 Southgate Rd, Potters Bar EN6 5DR
2. The Best Bánh Mì in London
I like to think I know my way around a good sandwich, and when I come across one that I think is basically unimprovable, well, people need to know. So here it is:
