Wine list of the week: Krokodilos
Douglas Blyde visits the Greek-leaning Krokodilos, finding "a level of refinement and intent still largely absent" from other Hellenic restaurants in London. The post Wine list of the week: Krokodilos appeared first on The Drinks Business.
Douglas Blyde visits the Greek-leaning Krokodilos, finding "a level of refinement and intent still largely absent" from other Hellenic restaurants in London.
Krokodilos – the latest outing from George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev, the minds behind Wild Tavern, Wild Corner, Belvedere, Fantomas, and Pinna – is, per Grace Dent, “a sleek, moderately fancy celebration of all things from Athens to the coast of Crete,” albeit with fewer fishermen and far pricier fittings.
The fit, applauded by Premier Construction News – a title seemingly destined for inclusion as a guest publication in the missing words round on Have I Got News For You – includes “Sissy”, a handmade tapestry by Danila Polyakov, who calls himself “the first international male top model from Russia.” It hangs “loosely” against dark brickwork, warmed, in every sense, by a fireplace – a recurring signature among Krokodilos’ siblings.
The Nudge drolly admired the “snappy name”, while TripAdvisor’s Eleanor C rhapsodised about “beautiful food” and “attentive and careful service”, before noting “two eyelashes on plates” and a not-unfamiliar “300% markup on wine”, adding: “We felt so honoured to be here but ripped off.”
Google’s Kevin Coleman was simpler still: “Thank you for treating our family like your family” – indeed, this does appear to be a restaurant which enjoys feeding regulars.
“Greek authenticity as best we can in London – homely, generous, and made to remind you of grandma’s table, but with a modern twist,” says Bourne, enacting the meal’s most brilliant match: Magoutes Vieilles Vignes, a Macedonian field blend interpreting Xinomavro in negative - a white wine from a red grape - bringing a super savoury, “tomato-leaf” herbaceousness and pronounced salinity to a remarkable Greek salad, featuring 72-hour fermented sourdough croutons, Santorini caper leaves, and Palaiomanina feta – “only available here outside Greece,” Bourne notes.
A second discovery comes from the same producer: a rosé composed of 80% Xinomavro and 20% of the “über rare” Moschomavro – a peach-scented, spontaneously fermented rendition, barrel-aged, and barely boozy at 11.5%. Its oeil-de-perdrix hue mirrors the charred prawns with which it is partnered, though the accompanying orange salt and timid aioli feel unnecessary.
With a 35-day aged ribeye, crowned with Greek-style chimichurri, Bourne pours two reds with a degree of development blind: the elegant Domaine Porto Carras 2015, a blend from a Bauhaus-designed winery famous for helping rescue Malagousia while also achieving acclaim with international varieties; and Alpha Estate One 2018, marrying Xinomavro and the unlikely Montepulciano into a deft, acid-driven whole.
Lunch culminates with a nest-like Ekmek Kataifi pudding, layered with pistachio and mastiha, an off-menu Negroni lifted by bergamot and Greek bitters and served over “K”-branded ice, and a delicate, limpid Espresso Martini reimagined with Beluga Noble Vodka, decaffeinated coffee, and clarified Greek yoghurt for texture - a long-held idea from general manager, Sergejs Gubars, finally realised.
Krokodilos – the latest outing from George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev, the minds behind Wild Tavern, Wild Corner, Belvedere, Fantomas, and Pinna – is, per Grace Dent, “a sleek, moderately fancy celebration of all things from Athens to the coast of Crete,” albeit with fewer fishermen and far pricier fittings.
The fit, applauded by Premier Construction News – a title seemingly destined for inclusion as a guest publication in the missing words round on Have I Got News For You – includes “Sissy”, a handmade tapestry by Danila Polyakov, who calls himself “the first international male top model from Russia.” It hangs “loosely” against dark brickwork, warmed, in every sense, by a fireplace – a recurring signature among Krokodilos’ siblings.
The Nudge drolly admired the “snappy name”, while TripAdvisor’s Eleanor C rhapsodised about “beautiful food” and “attentive and careful service”, before noting “two eyelashes on plates” and a not-unfamiliar “300% markup on wine”, adding: “We felt so honoured to be here but ripped off.”
Google’s Kevin Coleman was simpler still: “Thank you for treating our family like your family” – indeed, this does appear to be a restaurant which enjoys feeding regulars.
Drinks
The wine list – bound in expensive-smelling leather and printed on recycled paper – marks an assured debut for Jessica Bourne. Once set for a life among microscopes and research abstracts, Bourne veered off course after a formative visit to Ca’ del Bosco’s art-drenched winery in Lombardy. At Wild Corner, where she poured Petrus by the glass, Bourne first encountered the elemental wines of Tinos – shaped by schist, salt, and sea spray – sparking her own vinous Aegean odyssey. Her mentor, operations manager Crispen Sugden, alumnus of Goodman, Beast, Pitt Cue and, as he wryly puts it, “loads of other places to pay for airfares and 50 pence a night accommodation”, helped hone her craft. Greece leads the way by the glass, although the journey begins further north, with a Muscadet sur lie from Domaine de la Portardière (£12/175ml) in the Loire. This is followed by a cooperative Robola “San Gerasimo” from Kefalonia (£19) - named after the island’s patron saint of healing - and reaches a peak with a Mavrotragano from Clos Stegasta on Tinos (£41/125ml), a wine which evokes a volcanic pool at dusk, bevelled with a rasp of tannin. By the bottle, options include Macedonia’s 2022 Brut Cuvée Spéciale from Domaine Karanika (£75) which Bourne insists “wakes you up”, and the 2019 Vintage Collection Saten from her beloved Ca’ del Bosco (£170), rising to 2012 Comtes de Champagne by Taittinger (£350). Still bottles commence at £45 with the 2023 Notos Retsina, and deepen through Gaia’s orange-hued “Clay” 2020 (£100) to 2015 Château Porto Carras - a red Bordeaux-style blend from Halkidiki. Beyond Greece, “Neighbours” include 2023 Welschriesling from Ferovino, Slavonia (£65), and the elegant Ridge Monte Bello 2012 (£600). Large formats are handled confidently – three litres of Vega Sicilia 2018 Alion (£1,000) ideal for sharing with your best filoi by the fire. Behind the bar, Adam Radon – in his “first time working with Greek spirits” – presents Tsikoudia, Ouzo, Mastiha, amidst a poised carte of cocktails. Chief among them, the Greek 75 - a riff on Wild Tavern’s Amalfi 75, itself based on the French 75 - fuses coriander-led Old Sport Greek gin, own lab-made Mastiha, and sparkling Xinomavro. Even the mineral water, Ydor from Greece’s Anthemountas basin, has been chosen for its terroir, though one wonders whether such a robust magnesium character flatters the wines it accompanies.Dishes
Chef Angelos Togias began his career at Costa Navarino, before progressing through Ting at Shangri-La at the Shard, Jean-Georges at The Connaught, the Birley Clubs, and The Ned, before laying anchor at Krokodilos. Under his guidance, everything which can be made in-house is: spice blends, pickles, preserves, and yoghurt fermented over thirty hours - all composed with meticulous precision. A soulful Greek olive oil tasting is offered, perhaps featuring the textured Nikitas from Sparta and the more grassy Charisma from Crete, alongside bread cosily studded with smoked potato segments.
“Greek authenticity as best we can in London – homely, generous, and made to remind you of grandma’s table, but with a modern twist,” says Bourne, enacting the meal’s most brilliant match: Magoutes Vieilles Vignes, a Macedonian field blend interpreting Xinomavro in negative - a white wine from a red grape - bringing a super savoury, “tomato-leaf” herbaceousness and pronounced salinity to a remarkable Greek salad, featuring 72-hour fermented sourdough croutons, Santorini caper leaves, and Palaiomanina feta – “only available here outside Greece,” Bourne notes.
A second discovery comes from the same producer: a rosé composed of 80% Xinomavro and 20% of the “über rare” Moschomavro – a peach-scented, spontaneously fermented rendition, barrel-aged, and barely boozy at 11.5%. Its oeil-de-perdrix hue mirrors the charred prawns with which it is partnered, though the accompanying orange salt and timid aioli feel unnecessary.
With a 35-day aged ribeye, crowned with Greek-style chimichurri, Bourne pours two reds with a degree of development blind: the elegant Domaine Porto Carras 2015, a blend from a Bauhaus-designed winery famous for helping rescue Malagousia while also achieving acclaim with international varieties; and Alpha Estate One 2018, marrying Xinomavro and the unlikely Montepulciano into a deft, acid-driven whole.
Lunch culminates with a nest-like Ekmek Kataifi pudding, layered with pistachio and mastiha, an off-menu Negroni lifted by bergamot and Greek bitters and served over “K”-branded ice, and a delicate, limpid Espresso Martini reimagined with Beluga Noble Vodka, decaffeinated coffee, and clarified Greek yoghurt for texture - a long-held idea from general manager, Sergejs Gubars, finally realised.
Last sip
Drawing from a cellar marked only by a poster promising “WINES FOR CURIOUS MINDS”, Bourne – her accent lightly brushed with Stoke-on-Trent – together with Gubars, Sugden, Radon, and Togias, have delivered a level of refinement and intent still largely absent from London’s Greek restaurants, where ambition is too often measured by the number of filo pastry layers rather than anything so tiresome as provenance. In doing so, they have not merely raised the bar for Hellenic dining in London – they have suggested that, in the right hands, Greek food and wine can be as thrilling, as exacting, and as grand as anything the city has to offer. Stay tuned for winemaker events as the year wears on.Best for
- Greek wines, spirits, cocktails
- Food from the fire
- Chic, relaxed atmosphere
- Knowledgeable, characterful team
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