Greek events in London this November come thick and fast: Evangelia at XOYO, folk revival in Brixton, two Greek sets at the London Jazz Festival, free exhibitions and talks at the Hellenic Centre, a rebetiko jam in Hackney and a charity ball at The Peninsula. Around them, London switches on its Christmas lights and opens the ice rinks. This guide puts the two calendars side by side, with a Greek List member to eat or drink at near each venue.
The headline dates: Evangelia on 5 November, Gidiki on 6 November, Naxatras on 12 November, two Greek jazz sets at Cadogan Hall on 20 November, the Oinoussian Ball on 21 November, Thracian dance and 1000mods on 29 November. Secret London has its 27 things to do in London in November; this is the Greek take, and the live list of Greek events in London is always at greeklist.co.uk/events.
The month opens with Evangelia at XOYO on Thursday 5 November, the only UK date of the Parea Tour after shows in North America and Athens. The next night, Friday 6 November, folk revival band Gidiki play Brixton Jamm, their only London stop. Thessaloniki psych rockers Naxatras bring their fifth album to Dingwalls in Camden on Thursday 12 November.
Then the EFG London Jazz Festival gives Greek music two slots at Cadogan Hall on Friday 20 November: pianist and composer Tania Giannouli with Nils Petter Molvaer, and tenor saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos with Paul Edis in Feels Like Home. The month closes loud with stoner rock band 1000mods at The Garage in Highbury on Sunday 29 November.
Getting there: Old Street for XOYO, Brixton for Brixton Jamm, Camden Town for Dingwalls, Sloane Square for Cadogan Hall, Highbury and Islington for The Garage.
The Hellenic Centre on Paddington Street in Marylebone is the anchor of Greek events in London every autumn. Two free exhibitions are open: Fernweh, or Nostalgia for Unknown Lands, 17 works from the Irene Panagopoulos Collection, runs until 7 November, and A Different Kind of Pop, the first big UK show for pop artist Giorgos Ioannou, runs until 19 November.
The talks follow one after another: photographer Christos Dikeakos on 29 October, Georgia Metaxas with the V&A on 5 November, a panel on femicide and the Greek media on 19 November, a free Vasilis Panayi tribute on 23 November, a piano recital by Costas Fotopoulos on 26 November and Electra and Medea upside down on 28 November.
Getting there: Baker Street or Regent’s Park, then five minutes on foot to 16 to 18 Paddington Street.
The party side of Greek events in London starts this Saturday. The Greek List Halloween Party takes over the Elysée rooftop bar on Percy Street on Saturday 31 October from 10.30pm, with DJ Avgoustinos and Akamood on the decks. Further north, Opa Opa Greek Night, the Winter Special returns to Enfield on Saturday 14 November with live music, DJ and plate smashing.
The formal date of the month is The Oinoussian Ball at The Peninsula London on Grosvenor Place, Saturday 21 November, the annual fundraiser of the Oinoussai Benevolent Fund for the island of Oinousses. The same day, Cyprus House on St James’s Square hosts Discovering Ancient Cyprus.
Getting there: Tottenham Court Road for the Elysée, Hyde Park Corner for The Peninsula, Piccadilly Circus for Cyprus House, Enfield Town for Opa Opa.
Greek stop nearby: Elysée at 13 Percy Street, Fitzrovia, hosts the Halloween party and has live Greek music on other nights too. For The Peninsula, Chill House Coffee at 10 Shepherd Street in Mayfair is five minutes from Hyde Park Corner for a freddo before the ball.
Not every Greek night needs a ticket. The Rebetiko Lounge jam sessions at 324 Hackney Road are free, on Wednesday 28 October and again on Wednesday 25 November, bring an instrument or just sing along. The same Wednesday, Franklin’s Wine on Westbourne Grove runs a Greek wine tasting that goes well beyond Assyrtiko.
Two more for the diary: Ypogeia Revmata at the GRis Festival at Bush Hall on Friday 30 October, and the Thracian Dance Seminar with Dimos Prantsidis at The Stowe Centre, 258 Harrow Road, on Sunday 29 November, with live music and a glenti to finish. Ivy and the Wolf in Crystal Palace hosts a guided poetry evening in the Orpheus series on Wednesday 4 November.
Getting there: Cambridge Heath for Hackney Road, Bayswater for Westbourne Grove, Royal Oak for The Stowe Centre, Crystal Palace for Ivy and the Wolf.
Greek stop nearby: It’s All Greek To Me at 101 Praed Street, Paddington, is a ten minute walk from The Stowe Centre and serves until late, and Halepi at 18 Leinster Terrace, Bayswater, is the classic Greek Cypriot dinner near Westbourne Grove after the wine tasting.
Between the Greek events in London, the city does its own November thing. According to Secret London, Carnaby Street switches on its Christmas lights on 4 November, Knightsbridge on 10 November, Marylebone Village on 11 November and Covent Garden and Bond Street on 12 November, Christmas at Kew opens on 13 November and Winter Wonderland on 19 November.
The ice rinks follow: Leicester Square from 31 October, Battersea from 6 November, Somerset House from 11 November, Greenwich from 18 November and Hampton Court from 20 November. The Ally Pally fireworks run on 7 and 8 November, and the rest are in our guide to Bonfire Night in London for Greek families.
Getting there: Oxford Circus for Carnaby, Bond Street for Marylebone Village, Covent Garden for the piazza, Alexandra Palace rail for Ally Pally.
21Soho hosts a Greek language talk and workshop on Saturday 28 November, listed on the events page under its Greek title. And if you are planning a December party, book now: the venues in our Greek Christmas party guide fill up once the lights are on.
The Greek List events page is the most complete list of Greek events in London and across the UK, and listing an event is free. The next ten days:
The restaurants and cafes in this guide are Greek List members. More than 100,000 Greeks and Cypriots in the UK read Greek List every month on the site, through the newsletter and in the Ellines sto Londino Facebook group, and Greek List listings rank first on Google.
Going to any of these? Tell us which one in the Facebook group Ellines sto Londino and share your photos from the night.
