Greek in Exmouth Market

 I haven't been to a Greek restaurant for quite a long  time, so I was intrigued to read a review of one by Jay Rayner  and when looking for somewhere to go with S&L we decided this was worth a try. The first challenge was booking a table, because Attica doesn't appear to have a website. Tip: the telephone number for its previous incarnation, Kolossi, still works.

Second, it's quite a long way from the nearest tube station. So we arranged to meet at The Eagle on Farringdon Road, part-way there. This has a well-established reputation for its food, but no-one mentioned that this means that the chef will be chopping herbs at the bar so vigorously that you couldn't hear yourself think. Combined with some loud punters and hard surfaces, this made conversation rather challenging. 

We've booked quite early - 7pm - but the restaurant is already fairly full, and soon they are turning people away. It's quite a small place, brightly done out in white and blue. The menu and wine list are both quite short - we do get an SB for £27. There are some mezze options, but we all choose  individually. From the "while you wait" section we order hummus, tsatsiki and tarama with flat bread, though this takes a while to arrive. 

Our starters arrive before we finish the dips. S chose the halloumi, and L the giant beans (gigantes), while our choice is calamari. The halloumi is very good, the beans interesting and the calamari fine, hot and not rubbery. And again our mains arrive before we have completely finished this course, so we're feeling a bit rushed. 

B and S both have the king prawn souvlaki, I have lamb souvlaki and L octopus. They are all good sized portions. My lamb is very tasty, not over-cooked, though the prawns look a little dry. 

We don't have dessert, and just two bottles of wine. That brings the bill to £188 without service, which seems about right. The service has been fine (apart from rushed) and the music (if there was any) is subdued, and not overly Greek. But overall, the feeling was a bit "meh". If it were at the end of your road, then you'd probably make a few visits, but it didn't seem worth the effort of crossing town for.