Get him/her to the Real Greek

At home eating is leaving me thoroughly under-whelmed at the moment with so many amazing new eateries and restaurants joining us in Southampton City Centre.

The latest to tickle the taste buds of this Food Blogger is The Real Greek. Alongside Thaikhun, it offers something a little bit different to Southampton's range of dining out locations, serving, as you can probably guess - Greek Food!

I was invited along to their launch night last week, and honestly it was probably the best launch night I've been to in my time as a blogger. Instead of being the normal, tasters and drinks, The Real Greek offered a full sit down meal* with your choice of drinks from their, quite frankly, outstanding menu. And cocktails *fist pump*.

Now the food is served in a meze style, or like Spanish tapas, but well Geek (duh!). The menu is split into hot and cold plates, with the cold ones served first, and the hot ones arriving as soon as they are cooked. It's recommended to have between 3 and 4 dishes per person (at between £3 - £7.50 per dish which if you consider it as a starter and main all one it is a very competitive price) so I chose:

Spicy Feta Dip (HTIPITI) - served with Greek Flat Bread - probably the best thing from the meal. It's a blend of feta and red peppers with a little chilli and it was so simple, but so satisfying.
Grilled Kalamari - proper griller kalamari twists with dill and lemon - no battering here!
Lamb Meatballs - golfball sized and perfectly seasoned with a little sauce.
Greek Salad - chunky and shredded with just the right amount of dressing, and a slab of feta on top - can you tell I love feta?

The dishes arrived stacked (apart from the spicy feta dip which arrived early) in a tower, like a Greek afternoon tea, which ultimately saved a lot of space on the table. Everything was presented beautifully and tasted fresh and excellently put together.

I also got the chance to speak to the lovely (and stunning) Tonia Buxton who is the celebrity chef behind the Real Greek, who injects authentic Greek foods, ingredients and traditions into the menus and brand. Probably my favourite part of the night (apart from the food) was hearing her story of going in the sea at Brighton in October - obviously a very different climate to her one back home in Greece.

The Southampton restaurant also has it's own cocktail menu and bar - yep a special cocktail bar called the Santorini Bar. Not only are the Greek cocktails delicious - I had the mojito and it was lush - they also serve free bar nibbles too, part of their authentic Greek hospitality. I can already tell they're going to be an absolute hit in the Summer months - like we needed another excuse to wish the winter away.

So would I go back?!? Hells yes.
It's the perfect location for a meal with lots of girl friends, ordering a pile of food, and lots of cocktails in the most beautiful of settings (the Santorini mural is stunning), and is likely to be a very popular hangout this Summer.

You can find more information on the restaurants, including menus and other locations on their website, or tweet them.

FYI:

Set Lunch Menu on offer for £8.95pp, available Monday to Friday, 12-5pm. Not available on Bank Holidays or with any other offer.

£11.95pp. Athenian Set Dinner Menu  available Monday - Thursday after 5.00pm and all day Sunday. Not available on Bank Holidays.

Free Kids Meal for every £10.00 spent by an adult on Sundays.

25% off the food bill for Students
15% off the Athenian Set Dinner Menu for Students (Monday – Thursday after 5pm, and Sunday all day)
15% off food from Lunch Menu for Students (Monday – Friday, 12pm – 5pm)

*meal offered in return for review and social coverage - all opinions, as always, are my own.