Really fantastic setting and service (Chelsey was our main contact and was awesome) with food to complement, from the guys behind Tattu (which is also worth a visit), writes Elliot.
First things first and to get it out of the way, I’ve had better food. If you’re absolutely looking for Michelin Star food, go and find somewhere with a Michelin Star. The food is good here and very nice, but it’s a whole package deal and the aesthetic provides a lot. Presentationally, it’s also definitely more on the rustic side. In style, the food is elevated Greek but without being tw*tish. By this, I mean you can recognise a chicken gyro somewhere in there for the chicken starter on the lunch menu (they called it a souvlaki I think, though that’s not really what comes – it’s shredded).
Either way, it’s pretty good stuff. ‘Elevation’ seems to be done with the addition of dressings / espumas without messing too much with the heart of what you’re expecting – which personally I’m a fan of. If you order beef short rib or a lamb shank you expect to be able to loosely see that on the plate in most places (molecular gastronomy aside).
Homemade, fresh pitta breads are a lovely touch and please, please, for the love of God (or Gods, or humanism, depending on your creed) order the Choc Ice. It’s neither overly chocolatey nor frozen, but is magnificent.
What really makes the place though, and why we would definitely come back again, is the setting and service. The inside really does feel like you are in a Greek…cave…and it’s a lovely aesthetic. Never have I seen more staff on hand (it’s noticeable but not in a bad way) and they work together excellently.
Cocktails & Wine
Cocktails are really good – I had an Apollo’s Lemonade which tastes like it sounds, and Kirsty had a Virgin Pina Colada. The menu has some really interesting stuff on it and there is a bar downstairs that looks like it’s worth going to in its own right.
The wine list is also interesting (a lot of Greek) and I think looks slightly expensive because of it – but I suspect all the glasses are at least mediums though, so it’s not overly bad. There is no £5 / £6 a glass “house wine” type thing though to be clear – it’s a tenner a glass by and large. I had a glass of Vidiano, a Cretian grape, which felt right in the setting but not sure I’d be rushing out to buy a case of it.
Pricing
Lunch menu is about £35 for pita, starter, main and that feels like good value. But, add on some cocktails, wine and a dessert (we shared the Choc Ice) and it mounts up – we covered £145 for two people.
Dinner, there are a few different options for multi-course taster style menus which looked cool, and of course a la carte. These range from about £70 to about £140 from memory but check the website.
In Summary
All in all, Fenix is definitely worth a lunch visit – and I think we’ll be going back for dinner at some point. It feels like the type of place you’d go for a very instagrammy meal with a load of mates rather than somewhere I’d take my 65 year old, professional chef father, if that helps.
