Greek wine in London is having a moment, and this month proves it. Eataly has just announced a two day Italian wine festival on its first floor on 29 and 30 October, the Oktoberfest tents are up from King’s Cross to Clapham this weekend, and in between, on Monday 19 October, forty wineries from Greece and Cyprus pour their bottles on the South Bank. This guide covers which grapes to look for, where the tastings are, and which Greek List restaurants in central London take their wine list seriously.
The easiest way into Greek wine in London is by grape, not by region, because the names are the thing most people trip over. Assyrtiko is the white from Santorini that grows in low baskets on volcanic ash and tastes of lemon, salt and stone, the bottle that converted most London sommeliers. Malagousia is softer and more floral, and Moschofilero from Mantinia is light, grapey and perfect with meze.
On the red side, Xinomavro from Naoussa is the one wine writers compare to Barolo, with tomato leaf, dried herbs and firm tannin that loves slow cooked lamb. Agiorgitiko from Nemea is the crowd pleaser, plummy and smooth, and it works with almost everything on a Greek table. And if someone offers you retsina, do not pull a face. The modern versions are dry, lightly resinous and nothing like the bottles your parents remember.
When you are out, ask what the Greek pour of the night is. The restaurants below rotate their by the glass list and the staff are proud of it.
The headline date for Greek wine in London this October is Great Greek Wines London 2026 on Monday 19 October at OXO2, the event space inside the OXO Tower on the South Bank. Forty wineries from Greece and Cyprus pour from midday until 5pm, after a morning masterclass on Greek terroirs led by Yiannis Karakasis MW. The catch is that it is for the wine trade and press only, so if you run a restaurant, a deli or a bar, this is the day to leave someone else in charge and go. Details are on the Greek List event page.
If you are not in the trade, two options. The first is the Greek wine tasting at Franklin’s Wine on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill on 28 October, an evening built around Paros and Crete with five wines from grapes you will rarely find on a London list. The second is to go Italian for one night: Secret London has the full rundown of Eataly’s wine festival on 29 and 30 October, with token bundles from £30 and a glass to keep. Taste, then come back to the Greek bottles with fresh eyes.
Getting there: OXO Tower is five minutes on foot from Blackfriars or Southwark station, along the Thames Path.
Paddington Street in Marylebone is the closest thing London has to a Greek wine street, with two serious Greek wine lists a few doors apart. Kima at number 57 is a modern Greek seafood restaurant, and its list is built around Assyrtiko in all its forms, from fresh young bottles to oak aged versions, to show how versatile the grape is next to fish. There are international labels and even a sake selection, but the point of coming here is a bottle from Santorini and a whole fish from the counter.
Across the road at number 10, Opso has been flying the flag for modern Greek wine in London for over a decade. Its list mixes the best contemporary Greek producers with the older names of the country’s wine heritage, and there is a floor to ceiling wine fridge by the curing chambers if you want to see the bottles before you choose. It is also the easiest place here for a long Sunday lunch with a bottle of Xinomavro.
Getting there: Baker Street station, then five minutes down Marylebone High Street to Paddington Street.
On Store Street in Bloomsbury, behind the British Museum, The Life Goddess is a Greek deli that also happens to be one of the better places to buy Greek wine in London by the bottle. The shelves mix Greek cheeses, honey, olive oil and preserves with wines the owners pick themselves. Eat in and have a glass with a plate of saganaki first, then take two bottles home for the weekend.
Seven minutes west, on Percy Street in Fitzrovia, Elysée has been a Greek institution for decades. It is a restaurant on the ground floor and a rooftop bar above, open until the small hours most nights, and the place for a glass of Greek wine with live music over the rooftops of Fitzrovia. It also hosts the Greek List Halloween party on 31 October.
Getting there: Goodge Street or Tottenham Court Road station, both under five minutes from Store Street and Percy Street.
Greek stop nearby: The Life Goddess at 29 Store Street for wine by the bottle and a deli lunch, and Elysée at 13 Percy Street for a glass on the roof. Both are Greek List members.
Order by grape rather than by producer when you are unsure, because a good list will have one Assyrtiko and one Xinomavro and the staff will know them. If you are buying Greek wine in London for home, our guide to Greek supermarkets and delis in London lists the shops that keep a proper wine shelf. And if wine is the excuse for a long weekend meal, our Greek Sunday lunch guide covers the tables that do it properly.
Greek List keeps the most complete list of Greek events in the UK, and listing your own event is free. Here is what is on in the next ten days:
The restaurants and delis 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. If you run a restaurant, a wine shop, a bar or any business that serves the community, a listing puts you in front of the people looking for exactly that.
Where do you drink Greek wine in London? Tell us in the Facebook group Ellines sto Londino.
