| Restaurant
Guide
Look! No broken
plates!
Jo Chipchase enjoys Greek fare without the clichés
Estia is a family-run
restaurant that opened at the end of May. It belongs to
the husband and wife team of Andy and Andreana Christou,
who grew up in the restaurant trade. Andreana’s mother
runs Seasons vegetarian restaurant in Lewes and the family
CV includes the one-time Grapevine in North Road, which
closed a couple of years ago. While Andy works in the kitchen
as head chef, Andreana looks after the diners.
Although some Greek restaurants haven’t moved with
the times, favouring cluttered décor and smashed
plates at the end of the night, Estia is sleek and modern.
The restaurant occupies the bottom floor of a Victorian
property which used to house the Gastronome, and it has
an open, airy ambience. They employ a number of Greek/Cypriot
staff, which appeals to Brighton’s Greek population
– a population which, according to Andreana, is diminishing.
The clientèle during our Friday evening visit was
predominantly smart, professional 30-pluses.
The menu offers a comprehensive selection of dishes with
a traditional feel and, commendably, all the meat is organic.
We started with the Méze selection for two (£12.95
weekends/£9.95 Mon to Thurs). This included olives,
tasty houmus, taramosalata and tzatziki dips, grilled halloumi
cheese, stuffed vine leaves, lightly seasoned meatballs
served on a bed of pilaf rice and warm pitta bread. The
procession of dishes was accompanied by Boutari retsina
(£11.95), a charismatic white wine that takes its
pungent flavour from the resin of the pine tree.
The méze deal also includes two options from the
main course. We selected Pork Souvlaki (£10.95) –
tender, free-range, skewered pork marinated in Boutari red
wine and mixed herbs – and Kleftiko (£11.95),
a slowly-baked, succulent lamb shoulder served with potatoes,
tomato, bay leaves, thyme and a Cypriot village salad. Our
main course was accompanied by Keo Othello (£14.75),
a full-bodied and fruity red wine that proved to be a sound
choice.
Although we were already well fed, we moved on to the dessert
menu. We opted for Aphrodites Chocolate Cheesecake (£4.95)
– which uses high-quality, organic Green & Blacks
chocolate and cunningly manages to avoid being sickly –
and Homemade Summer Fruit Crumble (£4.50) with vanilla
ice cream. Naughty but extremely nice!
Our verdict: Wholesome, tasteful, good value.
Essential Info:
Drinks: Good selection of wine, starting
at £2.75/glass & £9.95/bottle. Other options
include liqueur coffee (£4.25), organic tea (£1.50)
and a winter warmer cup of hot chocolate (£2.20).
Food: A comprehensive selection of méze,
salads, organic meat dishes and vegetarian choices.
Atmosphere: A civilised ambience with crisp,
white tableware and not a hint of broken crockery!
Opening hours: Mon to Sat, 12-2pm (lunch)
and 6-10pm.
ESTIA
3 Hampton Place, Brighton.
Tel: 01273 777399
copyright The Insight 2004
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