We used to go to the original Stolen Lamb , round the corner, some years back when it served Greek Cypriot food and were disappointed when it closed. So, it was with some excitement that we heard it had reopened, albeit now serving a more generic Greek menu. We go to restaurants to have a nice meal and are not really too fussed about the decor. Of course, you do notice it from time to time. Sometimes for good reasons, others not. I suppose they’ve tried to give the room a sense of the rustic Greek taverna – wood trellis on the ceiling covered with a plastic grape vine. It didn’t work with the otherwise modern room and, to be frank, just looked cheap and nasty.
We took the menu’s advice and ordered three of the meze starters, to share between the two of us. It was the right decision, because portion sizes were quite restrained. There were three tomato fritters, single bite size (£6.50). Each looked like a slice of tomato, but seemed to be a paste of some sort, breadcrumbed and cooked till crisp. They were topped with a blob of white bean dip and half a cherry tomato. There was dressed crab, served on Chinese style spoons - two each (£8.50). Simplicity itself with the flavour of the crab shining through. And four nicely made and well flavoured small dolmades – vine leaves stuffed with lamb , rice and tomato, with a tomato sauce (£6.50)
Stifado is a classic Greek beef stew with shallots, carrots, red wine and spices (£19). And it was the spice that was the issue, with the flavour of cloves dominating the dish. It comes with a couple of slices of toasted baguette, which provided a bit of texture as well as carb. Kleftiko (£24) is the restaurant’s speciality and, apparently, means “stolen lamb” in Greek. It used to be a favourite dish at the old place so was always going to be ordered on this visit. Things have changed over the years and this was a slightly odd preparation. There’s long cooked lamb cooked so long that it’s a texture is like “pulled” pork, shreds rather than slices, as I remember it from years back. But the odd thing is that it’s not served on a plate or in a bowl but in a parcel of greaseproof paper. It made for a right faff in eating it. It’s just lamb (apart from a single stuffed vine leaf lurking in there). The menu had said there would also be roast vegetables but there were none to be seen. The server had suggested I’d probably want a carb. She was right – spuds in a tomato sauce did the trick (£4).
We didn’t fancy dessert so just got the bill. Service had been excellent. In fact, with food being only OK, service had been the best thing about our visit. Disappointingly, it’s not a place for us to rush back to. But, on a cold, wet September evening, it was doing a roaring trade so, hey, what do I know.
