Items ordered:
Olive…read moreoil rosemary focaccia, cod roe, cultured butter
Tiger milk bread
Tzatziki, cucumber, dill
Okra on charcoal, smoked tomato, sherry, basil
Octopus stifado, black-eyed beans, sherry vinegar shallots
Bucatini pasta, red praws, clams
Lamb shank, mushroom trahanas
Bone in beef short rib slowly cooked, beef sauce
As part of our London family vacation, we went to Opso for modern Greek cuisine. It was right next to where we stayed in Marylebone, in a nice neighborhood location. The ambience and service were good, but the food was a bit disappointing to me, especially for the price that we paid. I will note that our kids absolutely loved the place, but I think that's more about the types of items that we ordered, rather than the execution of the food itself.
We started with some bread and tzatziki. The bread was really good and fresh, but you really don't get much for 5 GBP. The tiger milk bread is really just a roll. At least the focaccia came with some interesting butter and some cod roe. The tzatziki had a lot of strong flavor and was very rich and thick.
Next, we got the smaller dishes. The okra was ok, but over sweet. In general, I think this restaurant leaned too heavily on sherry vinegar, as this was also a heavy flavor in the octopus later. The bucatini pasta was for the kids, and they absolutely loved it.
For the main protein entrees, I'll start with the Octopus, as it's probably the dish I had the most challenge with. I just feel like the dish relied too much on the sherry sauce. I also think that octopus and sherry is a pretty weird flavor combination, and I didn't think they went well together. The octopus itself was cooked very well, and eating it alone was fine. Also, the accompaniment of blacked-eyed beans didn't really go with the rest of the dish, and they also didn't have much flavor or seasoning (although good, firm texture).
The lamb shank was also disappointing. It wasn't as tender as expected, certainly compared to what we've gotten at other Greek or Mediterranean restaurants. The seasoning was also uneven within the lamb, with many bites actually dull in seasoning. It also didn't seem to have any particular flavor beyond just natural lamb and salt. Contrast that with the mushrooms that are part of the dish, which I felt were overly seasoned. The couscous was very good.
Finally, the beef short rib was my favorite dish of the night. It was unctuous and rich. But what really separated it from other good short ribs that we've had is the crispy and textured sauce on top, which had some breading, chives, and especially these nice crispy pine nuts.
