FIND US

OUR JOURNEY

Hello!

We are Efthymios and Neofytos, two Londoners born and raised in Athens and Cyprus. We launched The Athenian at the end of 2014, AS a small street food venture offering freshly made souvlaki prepared in the healthiest, most authentic way possible. 

What is souvlaki? 

Ask any Greek and they will be sure to tell you that souvlaki is our nation’s favourite food to eat on the go. A quick, healthier alternative to fast food, it consists of a pita wrap filled with grilled meat  - or cheese as a vegetarian alternative & mushrooms as a vegan one - and served in a way we love. The name souvlaki comes from a medieval word, meaning ‘little skewer’, after the cooking method. 

OUR INSPIRATION

The inspiration for our own pursuit of cooking began in the remote mountain village of Vamos on the island of Crete. It was here that a local lady, Mrs Koula shared her own secret recipes with us. We were so blown away by Mrs Koula’s culinary skills that we wanted to recreate that unforgettable experience here in London. 

On moving to the UK, we realised that Greek cuisine was being somewhat misrepresented here. We were often disappointed by out-dated, unappetizing dishes and our search for lovingly-made, mouth-watering souvlaki was nearly impossible.

That’s how The Athenian came about: we wanted to introduce something new to the people of London and Bristol, with an updated image of Greek cuisine. By paying us a visit you will find souvlaki the way it is meant to be made: simple, fresh and authentically Greek.  

OUR VALUES

WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE: HERE AND IN GREECE.

By creating our own little business, we help support people back home in Greece by sourcing our products from small, independent producers and farmers as well as local businesses here in the UK. We aim to keep our carbon footprint low where we can, without ever compromising on the authentic Mediterranean  experience we want to bring to our customers. 

We are proud to say we can trace back all of our carefully selected ingredients:

Our pitas are like us - Athenian. Our suppliers can trace their origins back to 1950's and the original conception of the modern day Greek pita. The flatbread is handmade in Athens and we import it directly to our shops.

The halloumi we serve hails from Messinia in Southern Greece and actually has another name, Talagani. Compared to traditional Cypriot halloumi, Talagani has a deeper and creamier taste, with a delicate mint undertone and is handmade in small batches.

The perfect growing conditions of mountainous Karpenisi give us our  aromatic Oregano and Thyme.

A staple of a healthy mediterranean diet, olive oil features in all our dishes. The oldest olive tree in the world is on Crete, so where better to get ours? Our pitas are grilled on a light layer of extra virgin olive oil.

Kalamata, southern Greece gives us our distinctive wine colored olives.

Our feta is from the Peloponnese, where grazing for the sheep and goats that provide the milk for this cheese is rich and varied.

Our unique dips - tyrokafteri, tzatziki, souvlaki sauce and melitzanosalata - are all lovingly handmade in our kitchen.

OUR LOGO

The Little Owl

In Greek mythology, a little owl represented or accompanied Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom. The city of Athens took its name from Athena and her little owl was printed on its ancient currency. It is still used today on our one Euro coin.  The Athenian’s logo has been created by the Greek-Italian Nicola Zamboni and the Brazilian illustrator Fernando Volken Togni. 

If you have a question we're happy to answer it! Please use the email below and we will get back you!

hello@theathenian.co.uk