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The birds are chirping and the sun is beginning to glimmer through the trees, which means one thing only; it’s pop-up season. And it’s also roof terrace season, which is lucky, because new Greek-Australian restaurant Esti does both.
Esti is running for six months only, and has pitched up at the back of cocktail bar TT Liquor. This means the drinks are as good as you’d expect, but the space itself is perhaps its biggest asset – a warehouse-like room with industrial decor, huge windows, hanging plants and wooden tables under huge bulbs. If the weather allows, there’s a covered and heated terrace one floor up. Esti is trendy and sleek, but cosy too. Just the place where you want to start your BSNO (Big Shoreditch Night Out).
In true Aussie spirit, Cornflakes make an appearance, in the form of a coating for deep-fried ossobuco.
There’s a huge Greek population in Australia, so these two cuisines are no strangers. Much of the wood-fired menu, inspired by founder Kostas Vais’s heritage, is recognisably Greek – souvlaki and saganaki feature – and full of meat and fish, though there are veggie options aplenty. In true Aussie spirit, Cornflakes also make an appearance, in the form of a coating for deep-fried ossobuco. Bar some mini souvlakis, which are served on what looks like a cute little toast rack, all the plates are to share, and they’re good sized portions. We sample a few cocktails, which were all nicely punchy and different, and there was some very nice-looking orange wine being quaffed at the next table down.
We start with tarama and potato skins, which were everything you want from a starter, equal parts crunchy, salty and fresh, with a herby, spicy Middle Eastern zhoug. The saganaki toastie was glorious, bearing no resemblance to a traditional slab of cheese but shining in its own special way, hidden between crunchy pan-fried bread. It was crispy and sweet, coated in sticky blossom honey and topped with preserved rainforest lime. Usually a self-proclaimed preserved citrus hater, I welcomed these little lime bits, which decisively cut through the cheesiness.
The cabbage with chorizo was nice and soft, but the tzatziki on the side cannot save you from how salty it was. Catch of the day was delightfully tender, buttery sea bream with a crispy skin. But also quite salty. Pass the tzatziki, please. A standout dish was the lamb chops, which came served with an innocuous ‘desert dust’, which was basically a very nice spice mix. They were nicely charred, tender and satisfyingly fatty, pulling from the bone with ease and complemented with sesame and yes, more tzatziki.
Where £20 felt very reasonable for the lamb, £18 seemed a little wild for a singular smoked half-aubergine, which came with browned butter, tahini, peanuts and pomegranate molasses, but tasted mainly a little burnt, and erred on the bad side of too mushy.
The octopus, served in a clay pot with tomatoey rice and lots of parsley, looked spectacular, but ached for a bit of something – a texture contrast, for sure, some citrus perhaps, and ironically, some salt.
One dessert, a galaktoboureko (Kostas’s mum’s recipe), was delightfully sweet and sticky offering of filo pastry drenched in syrup and butter. Sure, it was a bit eggy and difficult to finish, even between two, but you can feel the love that went into making it, and the pashmak (an Iranian candyfloss) on top is fantastic. The more rogue pudding choice, the olive oil parfait, is a must-order if only for its uniqueness, garnished with sweet pops of lemon aspenberries.
The food at Esti is beautiful looking, the drinks a delight, the waiters lovely and the space fantastic. The plates are expensive and don’t all hit the same, but to start off your BSNO, it’s well worth it.
The vibe An Shoreditch dinner out with friendly staff and a poppin’ playlist.
The food Greek classics reimagined as trendy sharing plates with Australian influence.
The drink A good wine list and even better cocktails.
Time Out tip Get the saganaki toastie. Just do it.