Greek Sunday lunch in London is the answer for anyone who loves a long weekend table but would rather have grilled lamb, a proper salad and a carafe of Greek wine than gravy. October is when the city starts reserving its Sunday roasts, and Secret London’s October guide says there is no better month to start booking them. Greeks have their own version of that ritual. It starts later, lasts longer and almost everything arrives in the middle of the table.
In Greece the Sunday table, to kyriakatiko trapezi, is the main meal of the week. The family gathers after church, nobody sits down much before two, and the dishes are shared: a salad, something from the oven, something from the grill, bread to mop up the oil.
Below are five neighbourhoods where a Greek Sunday lunch in London fits around a walk, a market or a park, each with a Greek List member that is open on Sundays. The hours are the Sunday hours shown on each Greek List listing at the time of writing, so check the listing and book ahead.
Bayswater is where the old Greek Sunday still makes the most sense. The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia on Moscow Road was designed by John Oldrid Scott, held its first liturgy in 1879 and was consecrated in 1882, built by the Greek merchant families who had settled around Paddington, Bayswater and Notting Hill.
From the cathedral it is about ten minutes on foot to Leinster Terrace, with the fountains of the Italian Gardens in Kensington Gardens just across Bayswater Road for a walk before or after you eat.
Getting there: Lancaster Gate (Central line) for Leinster Terrace and the Italian Gardens. Queensway and Bayswater stations are closer to Moscow Road.
Greek stop nearby: Halepi on Leinster Terrace (number 18), run by the Kazolides family since 1966. The menu runs from fresh fish to lamb, with Greek wines, and children are welcome. Sunday hours on the listing: 12pm to 12:15am.
Not every Sunday lunch has to be a three hour event. Paddington does the casual version. Behind the station, the towpath of Paddington Basin leads round towards Little Venice in ten to fifteen minutes. Wrap first, then walk it off along the water.
Getting there: Paddington station (Elizabeth line, Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, plus National Rail). Praed Street runs along the front of the station.
Greek stop nearby: It’s All Greek To Me on Praed Street (number 101), the Paddington home of a Greek street food group founded here in 2016. Souvlaki and gyros are the heart of the menu. Sunday hours on the listing: 11am to 12:30am.
Marylebone has the best Sunday rhythm in central London. The Marylebone Farmers’ Market sets up every Sunday from 10am to 2pm on St Vincent Street and Aybrook Street, a couple of minutes from Paddington Street. Browse first and sit down when the market packs up, exactly when Greeks like to eat.
For a Greek Sunday lunch in London with a seaside feeling, this is the street: grilled fish, a bottle of Assyrtiko and no rush.
Getting there: Baker Street (Bakerloo, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City) is about six minutes on foot.
Greek stop nearby: Kima on Paddington Street (number 57) cooks Greek seafood with a fin to gill approach, with a Greek wine list built around Assyrtiko. Sunday hours on the listing: 12pm to 11pm. A few doors along, Opso (number 10) opens at 10am on Sundays for brunch and stays open until 11pm with modern Greek sharing plates.
The Brunswick Centre is one of London’s great pieces of modernist housing, a listed concrete terrace with shops, a cinema and restaurants along its open central street. Russell Square is around the corner, and the British Museum with its Parthenon galleries is about ten minutes away. For more ideas, see our guide to Greek restaurants in Bloomsbury.
Getting there: Russell Square (Piccadilly line) is next to the Brunswick Centre.
Greek stop nearby: Nostimo at 9 Brunswick Centre. The name means delicious in Greek, and the kitchen works from recipes its families have used for generations. Sunday hours on the listing: 11:30am to 11:30pm.
South of the river, Sunday belongs to the park. Crystal Palace Park has lake paths and the famous Victorian dinosaur sculptures, which have been under restoration, so check the Crystal Palace Park Trust website for current access. This is the lighter kind of Sunday: a warm pie and a freddo, a walk under the trees, and a bag of Greek shopping to cook with later.
Getting there: Crystal Palace station (London Overground and Southern), then about ten minutes uphill to Westow Street.
Greek stop nearby: Kamari on Westow Street (number 25) is part kafeneio, part bakery, part Greek deli. Expect spanakopita, tiropita and bougatsa, freddo espresso done properly, and shelves of barrel aged feta and Greek olive oil. Sunday hours on the listing: 6:30am to 6pm.
Book for groups. Roast season fills every Sunday table in the city, Greek ones included. For six people or more, call ahead.
Order like a Greek. Start with salad and a few small plates in the middle, add one dish from the grill or the oven for every two people.
Cooking at home? A Greek Sunday lunch in London can also happen in your own kitchen. Source of Life Bakehouse at 258 East Barnet Road is open on Sundays from 6am to 2pm according to its listing, for the bread. For feta, olive oil and the rest, see our guides to Greek supermarkets and Greek bakeries in London.
One Sunday exception. The Life Goddess on Store Street is normally closed on Sundays, but on Sunday 11 October it opens for a Greek List party with an unlimited Greek buffet.
Planning the week around your Greek Sunday lunch in London? Greek List events is the most complete list of Greek events in the UK, and listing an event is free. Coming up in the next ten days:
The restaurants, cafes and bakeries featured 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, in the newsletter and in the Ellines sto Londino Facebook group, and Greek List listings rank first on Google.
Where do you go for your Sunday table? Tell us in the Facebook group Ellines sto Londino and share your favourite spot with the community.
