You’ll find Hera, named after the queen of the Olympians, on the backside of Stratford Cross – past Westfield, past the newly opened Everyman and just opposite the new V&A East Storehouse. As soon as you think you’ve gone too far, there it is; a corner restaurant with tall glass doors and windows that make anyone who’s wandered this far want to peer in.
Inside, there’s a bar with an illuminated liquor shelf as tall as the ceiling. If Beauty and the Beast’s Belle had a penchant for booze over books, she’d roll her ladder from one side of the bar to the next in search of her top-shelf favourites.
Even more impressive is Hera’s gloriously vast dining room with chandeliers, elaborate foliage and plush booths. In the kitchen, chef Mario Salimis whips up a classically Greek-inspired menu with modern twists. The melitzano salata, diced aubergine with honey and balsamic, is a savoury delight, more so when spread thickly across any of the assorted breads at the table. The fried calamari has a perfect squid-to-batter ratio, and slivers of seabass carpaccio are fresh and silky smooth, though quite oily. Better still is the seafood orzo, one hell of a dish, with plump prawns and vibrant-orange mussels.
Cocktails are interesting, too. The Arriani is Greece in a glass, with feta gin, Greek yoghurt, fig cordial. Meanwhile, the Helen of Spice is basically a mango marg with a kick.
But the finest moment – as basic as it sounds – is the Greek salad. Chopped cucumbers, onions, olives, peppers, capers, rusks and feta cheese surround a bed of gorgeous, juicy tomatoes, as red as can be, drizzled with olive oil and ground pepper. No notes. A refreshing delight.
End the night with Hera’s plate of loukoumades, fried, cinnamon-covered dough balls with a sugary syrup and heap of chopped pistachios. They’re sweet and simple – proof that you don’t always need a show-stopper of a dessert to end a meal the right way.
The vibe: A high-energy, high-flavour place, tucked away from the Stratford crowds.
The food: Classic Greek fare with modern twists and elegant plating
The drink: Great Greek wine and cocktails with names inspired by the gods.
Time Out tip: Visit on the last Friday of the month for an evening of live music, dancing and plate-smashing, with special set menus.