In London’s Soho is a little Greek nugget of a restaurant, INO Gastrobar.
Anybody who has traipsed Athens’ graffiti-tickled streets to dine at any
number of its modern wine bars will find it transportive – a busy, warm
space with fun service and a punchy menu.
I first visited in 2021, when INO, which derives its name from the Greek word for wine – ΟΙΝΟΣ – was fresh on the scene. Today I find it a little perplexing that it’s not more talked about. After all, it was opened by the same team who run OPSO in Marylebone and the questionably named but extremely hot two-star Funky Gourmet in Athens.
The idea behind INO is to be casual, to drink – begin with a cocktail or two
before moving on to a bold list of Greek wines – and to watch chefs busy themselves over the psistaria open fire grill on which many of the dishes are prepared.
Octopus tacos, for example, super modern, and which come with tomatoes and crispy onion. Or charred broccoli with Greek yoghurt, labneh and superb olive oil. The sausages, known as loukaniko, are typically flavoured with hints of orange peel and fennel, a snack well suited to a heavy night of beer or wine. The lamb chops arrive on what appears to be an entire garden of rosemary and are admirably juicy and charred, and the souvla is moreish to the point of gluttony.
There is a wonderful deconstructed spanakopita, too, the spinach happily metallic between crisp filo, mottled by crumbly feta cheese. And then there is a lustrous taramas spiked by bottarga and cured egg yolk. It was created by INO’s executive chef, Nikos Roussos, and must be scooped up lovingly with good pita bread. At INO, there is a lot of it.
Taramas is a glorious dip, reliant only on cod’s roe, old bread, oil, garlic, lemon juice and the like. I’m not convinced anything tastes more Mediterranean, and as the weather warms, there are few happier sights
than admiring a Greek spread of a picnic, hummus and tzatziki alongside. Here is Roussos’ recipe for taramas.
TARAMAS SPREAD
SERVES 2
FOR THE TARAMAS:
60g taramas egg roe
180g 2-3 days old rye bread, crust removed
45g extra virgin olive oil
400g sunflower oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
14g lemon juice, strained
330ml water
Pinch of salt
Zest of half a lemon
Salt to taste
FOR THE SPREAD SET-UP:
Generous pinch of parsley, finely
chopped
4 olives pitted, cut in small pieces
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
METHOD:
Soak the bread in water. Squeeze to remove all water.
Mix all the ingredients in a blender until creamy.
Transfer the mixture in a bowl over iced water.
You can reserve in the fridge in a container for up to 2 days.
For the spread, put 180g taramas on a plate and top with the olives and parsley.
Finish with some olive oil.
