The Grapevine - Woodford

3:25pm Friday 23rd May 2008

SITUATED merely an olives throw from Woodford tube, The Grapevine opened earlier this month and seems to be very popular, if the crowds filling out every nook and cranny when I visited on Friday evening were anything to go by.

The inside looks pretty much the same as it did when it was the ill fated Vargo's.

There's a bar and small pre dinner seating area as you walk in, and tables laid out in orderly rows with unobtrusive lighting throughout.

The menu has all you would expect from a typical Greek taverna; for starters you can select from cold meze such as Tahini, Tzatziki and Taramosalata, or hot meze like deep fried Calamari or Keftedes- small pork meat balls with potato, onion and parsley.

Main selections include specialities like Mousaka, various Souvlaki's and Souvla's, vegetarian options and a tempting array of fish like Dover Sole, Monkfish and Sea Bass. For £22.50 per person you can order the Meze selection but there is a minimum of two people for this.

Our waiter ( in fact we had two ) seemed to be in a race to see who could be first to take our order, prompting us to order them to hang back a tad.

We chose for starters, portions of Hummus and Melitzanosalata- a fresh aubergine dip, together with a hot plate of Loukanika - grilled sausage with red wine and coriander.

A short time later, and just after we were delivered a bottle of red Cypriot wine labelled Othello', the food arrived.

I have to say that it was all wonderful; beautifully pureed chick peas and tahini with olive oil, lemon and garlic, plus refreshing aubergine were eagerly devoured with a plentiful basket of steaming hot pitta bread.

The sausage tasted fine too, and served on a bed of dressed lettuce, tomato and onion.

For main courses my girlfriend ordered Dolmades - pork mince with rice and herbs, wrapped in vine leaves and served with roast potatoes.

I ordered the Grapevine's Special Kleftiko - lamb on the bone.

If this wasn't enough we added a mixed salad with feta. The generosity of the starter portions were repeated for the mains, and that went for the salad too - a veritable feast was laid out before us.

My lamb fell off the bone at the slightest touch of the knife and was both beautifully tender and flavoursome.

The Dolmades could have benefited from more spice and seasoning but nevertheless was good, wrapped in soft vine leaves.

They do a terrific mixed salad here, tossed in a tangy lemon, olive oil and garlic dressing.

The music did get a little too loud which meant that at times we were having to shout at each other across the table, but it didn't spoil what was a great night out at a fantastic restaurant that deserves to do well.

We liked the little touches like a dish of tasty olives at the start, hot towels and toothpicks after the meal and Turkish Delight with the bill.

The waiting staff were quick and efficient and eager to please under the supervision of joint owners John and Spiros.

Our bill for the evening came to £50.It is advisable to book ahead particularly for the weekend.

The Grapevine
24 The Broadway,
Woodford Green,
Essex IG8 0HQ.
Tel: 0208 504 2545

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