I tried Leicester’s new Greek restaurant – and it was better than expected

Greek food can be very hit and miss in the UK – and for a Greek guy like myself, it is hard to recreate home’s loveliest dishes. I grew up in the Mediterranean eating the best food everyday, meaning anything I eat here has a very high bar to compare to.

As a general rule, I tend to stay away from restaurants trying to re-create the dishes I enjoy back home, but that tends to go out the window when I get homesick and all I can think about is devouring a souvlaki or two. For those unlucky few who might not know what a souvlaki is, its a popular Greek fast food dish which sees meat, chips and vegetables wrapped up in a pitta, typically with a good amount of tzatziki.

The thought of its deliciousness got me very hungry, so rather than hop on a flight home, I headed to Sparta Greek’s restaurant in Leicester city centre. It’s fair to say the Charles Street restaurant’s offerings was better than expected.

The restaurant has a large Greek flag on its back wall
(Image: Leicester Mercury)

So far my track record of trying Greek food in the UK is not a good one, as most places either use ingredients which let the whole meal down, or are stupidly overpriced. And let’s be clear, one of the great things about a souvlaki is that it tends to cost around three to four euros back home, unlike the cheapest one I’ve had in the UK costing £8.50.

The first observation that I had for the Sparta restaurant was that the decorations inside were lovely, with bright blue colours recreating that Aegean sea feeling and boasting a large Greek flag. Unfortunately, I quickly found that I was the only Greek person in there, as the people behind the counter couldn’t speak the language, which to me tends to set off an alarm about the food I’m about to eat.

Despite that fact, I was happily surprised with their chicken gyros and lamb souvlaki being full of flavour, with the chicken one costing £8.50. The lamb was not too chewy but instead was tender with good chunks of meat, which trust me is a difficult thing to get right and for the price of £9.50, it was worth it.

The lamb souvlaki had good chunks of meat in it which were cooked well

The pork gyros on the other hand were a bit burnt in my opinion. Costing £8.50, the pork was not the best at Sparta and that has more significance that it might seem, as a souvlaki shop in Greece is only as good as its pork gyros, almost like a fish and chip shop having bad fish.

On the aspect of sides, the Greek salad, although it tends to be an easy item to whip up, was of good quality with the feta being tasty. However, it cost £9.50, which for what it is, is extortionate. The tomatoes, which for me are the most important aspect, were flavoursome and the ratio of red wine vinegar to oil was spot on, with the only thing missing being bread to dip into the salad.

The Greek salad was full of flavour with great tasting tomatoes
(Image: Leicester Mercury)

Things went slightly downhill when it came to the store’s tirokafteri, which cost £5.50 and in my opinion tasted store-bought. The dish is a traditional dip in Greece, which is made primarily with feta cheese, hot peppers, and olive oil. Unfortunately, this one was too runny, which I have never experienced before and made me wish my Yiayia (Grandmother) was in the store to shout at the person in charge of making or buying it.

Overall, a chicken gyros, pork gyros, lamb souvlaki, a Greek salad and a tirokafteri came to a total of £41.50. I’d say that despite a couple of hiccups, my overall experience was good at the restaurant, as far as Greek food outside of Greece goes. I mean it was not great but not bad either, which for me says a lot as I tend to be very critical of eating food from my homeland in the UK.