Halfway between those two most British of institutions, Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe, you will find The Real Greek, whose name bears testament to its mission statement: to provide authentic Greek cuisine.

The Venue
Inside, it's about as far from a traditional Greek taverna as it’s possible to get. It takes up two units on Bankside’s valuable Riverside Walk and is dominated by a long bar running half its length. At one end, there are comfortable banquettes, with the rest of the seating a mixture of benches with high stools and more common-or-garden tables and chairs. Charming sepia murals of whitewashed Greek villages adorn the walls.

The Atmosphere
Early on a Friday evening, one end of The Real Greek is booked solid. Tellingly, it is the end furthest away from the live music… which can get rather loud. Jolly conversation babbles above the band, as everyone, in pre-weekend high spirits, bellows to make themselves heard.

The Food
It is easy to see why The Real Greek is so busy. As well as being lively and fun, it serves lovely food with a healthy dollop of charm. The menu is divided into hot and cold mezze and includes a dizzying array — your waiter will be happy to make suggestions. The food is brought to your table on a tiered cake stand, which saves a lot of room, and empty plates are whisked away and replenished at warp speed.

Seven or eight small dishes are about right for two people, but make sure you include some of the Greek flatbread — it’s served hot and is very good indeed. It’s excellent for mopping up the baba ganoush (£4.25), a classic dip of aubergine with tahini (sesame seed paste) and garlic. The Real Greek’s version is very smoky and somewhat grainy in texture. The texture of the gigantes — large butter beans — however, is just right, yielding gently in their robust tomato sauce (£4.15). More of that flatbread is advisable here, unless you want to wear the sauce rather than eat it.

Highlights among the hot mezze are tiropitakia, flavourful little filo triangles of leek, spinach and feta (£4.75), and juicy, plump prawns cooked with garlic and chilli (£6.25). It’s fine for romantics so long as both of you are happy to consume industrial quantities of garlic. First prize for unadorned simplicity must go to the salt cod, home-cured and dipped in beer batter (£6) — it’s nowhere near as salty as its name might suggest. Aficionados know that the salt is rinsed out, leaving silky white fish enrobed in crunchy batter. There are more complex flavours to be found in the Greek sausage or loukaniko (£5.25), which is infused with fennel seeds and finished with lemon and oregano, although it is a little on the dry side. More successful are the yiaourtlou, hand-made lamb patties served with yoghurt and a tangy tomato relish (£6).

Don’t worry too much about the tongue-twisting Greek names, The Real Greek helpfully prints phonetic hints on its menu. Or you could just point… It also provides calorie counts for each dish, but it’s probably best not to look.

The Drink
As you would expect, Retsina appears on the winelist, but it tends not to travel, so a good option would be a fruity rosé, such as the Petit Papillon grenache (£17.25). It goes beautifully with pretty much everything on the menu — or, come to think of it, on its own. Both house wines are Cretan and offered as a 500ml carafe (£11.35) as well as by the bottle (£15.50) and 175ml (£4) or 200ml (£5.75) glasses. Wines from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand and South Africa feature as well. There is also a prosecco, which looks good value at £22.95.

The Last Word
The Real Greek offers great food and a fun atmosphere. But if live music is not your thing, book the far end of the restaurant or go on a different night, so you don’t have to try to drown out the Greek chorus.

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