Owner Minas Mina, left, with his mother Zeta Mina and head waiter Vassos Koutris

Can't go wrong with this Greek

ON the day of its official opening I visited Retsina. This picturesque area of NW3 with its triangle Piazza is already known for a variety of restaurants and shops and this new Greek restaurant promises to contribute to those going to the area seeking a good meal.
If you look from the outside through the newly refurbished large windows you see two long rooms with the exhibition kitchen at the end of one and a bar on the side of the other. Once inside, the beige walls and floors give it a sense of space and tranquillity. It is modern and therefore you could be in any type of restaurant except for the music and the friendliness of the Greek personnel.
Alcoves make the sitting cosy and break the positioning of the tables into smaller areas. The original quarry tiles took hours of cleaning to restore them to their original beige colour. The basement has its own bar and sits 50. It is ideal for private parties.
Minos, one of the owners, heads a large staff team whose faces I recognised as having been in the industry for many years. A good omen as both the food and service were of the highest quality.
A good wine list with a selection from around the world as well as Greece and Cyprus. Their fine selection is fine indeed: A Puligny-Montrachet ler Cru at £60 and my favourite Chateauneuf-de-Pape Jacques Mestre 2000 at £38. We had their house white (French) which was excellent at £3.50 per glass. And I must mention the black olives brought on arrival together with carrots and pickled chillies. One of the best olives I have had: tasty and juicy.
Everything is fresh and made at the premises. In fact, seeing the veal chop in the brightly lit exhibition fridge prompted me to choose it for my main course. It came perfectly charcoal-grilled with mushrooms, a grilled tomato and sautéed potatoes. At their recommendation, Bill had the roasted chunks of lamb and we shared some beans with green vegetables (£26, main courses).
From the large selection of starters we ordered the king prawns in garlic sauce (£7.50). Delicious. For dessert we shared a portion of Baklava and Kataifi – the typical Greek sweets made with filo pastry and honey. (£5.40 for both).
It is worth knowing if you wish to have it on your first visit, that Retsina offer some house specialities such as suckling pig, roast or casserole pheasant, roast rib-eye steak, hare stefado, grilled or baked lobster and baked whole sea bass. Prices are on application and 24-hours notice is required.
Two gentlemen were celebrating a special occasion with Retsina’s food to compliment the bottle of Scotch they had brought with them. I wonder what the corkage may have been on this special £350, 1960 bottle of Scotch.

48, Belsize Lane, London, NW3 5AR                                 Click here to book restaurants     

Tel: 020 7431 5855                                                  click here to go to Restaurant home page

Click here for two for one restaurant offer....enter "camden" when prompted