We review Pyro, which has one of London’s best outdoor bars

Pyro, an expansive new restaurant and bar in Borough, might be inspired by Greece but you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled into an Ibiza beach bar when you arrive

The huge outdoor drinking area is an enviable summer drinking spot, dotted with olive trees, sleek wooden furniture, wicker lamp shades and a bar area shaded with a rough canopy of branches. And that’s just the Garden Bar. At the back is an indoor / outdoor dining room with an open kitchen, which is where you’ll be heading if you’ve booked into the restaurant proper.

Eat This

The kitchen is headed up by Greek chef Yiannis Mexis, who arrives at Pyro with an impressive CV, including stints at Elystan Street, The Ledbury, Petrus, and most recently, as Head Chef of HIDE. This clearly isn’t the kind of place where you rock up for some hummus and moussaka then – Pyro is an altogether more modern, elevated take on Greek cuisine.

Potato pitas (round, almost like crumpets) cooked on the hearth are, of course, a great start, together with a couple of dips: tarama with carob rusks was better than the smoked aubergine with roasted garlic, but both did their job nicely.

Spanakopita is a dainty little thing here, served as a little tart about the size of a pastel de nata, stuffed with herbs and barrel-aged feta. Pork or celeriac souvlaki are also great starters; we went for the celeriac cooked over embers with radicchio, prunes and sour apple.

The live-fire section is probably the star of the show, and where the restaurant gets its name. From here, we enjoyed the asparagus with slithers of smoked eel and topped with avgolemono, a Greek egg-lemon sauce; and the whole flame-kissed lobster with a deep fried crispy claw, mussels, fennel and roasted tomato orzo. Don’t miss the side of crispy layered potatoes either.

Drink This

There is strong pedigree in the drinks department too, with cocktails designed by Ana Reznik, previously of A Bar With Shapes for a Name, which are available in both the restaurant and the Garden Bar. The Midas – cinnamon-infused Reposado tequila, Aperol and spicy apricot – was a perfect pre-dinner cocktail, and there’s also some interesting Greek wines on offer too.

Why Go

With its outdoor space, Pyro is gearing up to be one of London’s best new al fresco restaurants and bars this summer, with a real holiday vibe. Think Greek taverna by way of Ibiza, plus a little London edge, and you’ve got it.