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Newcastle upon Tyne
Simply Greek Tavern

Simply Greek is a slice of Greek heaven. A delightful little tavern perfectly located in the pulsating heart of Newcastle's Bigg Market, this friendly restaurant has a traditional family feel and is perfect for everyone owing to its charming and informal ambience. At weekends you can enjoy lively performances of traditional Greek music, but on our visit the atmosphere was more relaxed and the food was the evening's main focus. The blue and white decor is bright and cheery, echoing picture-postcard images of the Greek Islands, and serving as a reminder of sunny holidays.

The menu is bursting with mouth-watering, authentic Greek specialities such as kleftiko, stifado and moussaka, but the trick is to sample the fantastic traditional meze selection, offering you a true taste of Greek gastronomy. Reasonably priced at £17.50 per person, this allows you to sample a wide selection of dishes from the menu. The meze selection includes starters of juicy Kalamata olives, feta cheese drizzled with olive oil and herbs, creamy tzatziki, the best hummus I've ever tasted and an amazing aubergine dip (melitzanosalat) made of roasted aubergines and peppers. My partner and I enjoyed all this with a special treat of fresh home-baked bread and a generous salad. Next we tucked into a wide selection of cold vegetable meze plates, including butter beans in tomato sauce, garlic mushrooms and stuffed vine leaves. Such a varied selection of non-meat options makes Simply Greek an ideal place for vegetarians, although meat lovers are certainly not left wanting. The melt-in-the-mouth kleftiko - a lamb joint slowly baked in the oven and flavoured with herbs and garlic - was superb, as was the moist and tender charcoal-grilled souvlaki chicken. Another highlight of the menu is the cinnamon and clove-spiced stifado - a rich, warm and comforting winter stew of slow-cooked beef in a red wine sauce with shallots.

With a great wine list featuring a selection of Greek wines and spirits to complement your meal, Simply Greek represents excellent value, offering authentic home-style Greek cuisine coupled with the friendliest service.

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