The Athenian started as a humble food market stall, and rapidly grew into a small network of locations. It’s won awards for its high quality food, and unfussy execution, as well as gaining a loyal customer base in the meantime. The restaurant was founded by Tim Vasilakis, who looks to take over the world one gyros at a time, after growing up in Athens and wanting to share the experience with the rest of the world. Moving to London and falling in love with the city’s vibrant street food scene gave him a chance to notice a gap in the market for authentic Greek food. Just a year later, The Athenian was born after Tim set up a market stall in North London for a queue of hungry Londoners, and it’s remained a fan favourite ever since.
The highest priority here is the flavour, considered to be the Athenian way, with only the best ingredients used, and everything's made to order. Produce is sourced from suppliers in Greece as well as those local to the restaurants, to ensure only the finest are used.
The Athenian have perfected their craft, and offer either gyros wraps, souvlaki boxes or ‘naked’ options that come with greek salad but no pita or fries. You can choose from either ground lamb, beef, chicken, pork or halloumi, and it’s paired with lettuce, onion, parsley, tomatoes, sauce and oregano fries. Along with this, there are a selection of sauces, such as babaganoush, Tzatziki and Athenian sauce - a mildly sweet sauce. The drinks list is teetotal, with favourites like coca cola, as well as some Greek options such as Green Orangeade.
The Athenian is authentic, accessible, and packed with flavour, and works as a great representation of Greek street food.