Restaurants

Vine Leaves provides the Uxbridge Road’s multicultural rainbow of restaurants with its Greek hue. Complete with vine-ensconced bar, its design subscribes to the authentic village taverna look. Service is friendly, but the cooking needs refinement. The menu runs the breadth of Greek-Cypriot dishes, with a selection of hot and cold starters, oven-baked pastas and meat, and fish mezédes including a shellfish platter of deep-fried scampi, kalamári, prawns and crab claws. Oil-drenched olives, smoky loúntza and warm pitta bread arrived promptly. The melitzanosaláta was bland and had too much tahini and too little aubergine or lemon. The roast potatoes were actually chips, with a crisp and fluffy texture; these arrived with a bowl of comforting tomato rice garnished with coriander. A main course lamb soúvla was a let-down; it was actually lamb chops, and the meat was overcooked, unattractive and bland. The super-size king prawns in garlic and chilli were better, and arrived in generous portions. There may be better-quality dishes at Vine Leaves, but our choices proved the menu to be over-ambitious.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008