A Kleftiko coup + other best British bites

The Greek dish called Kleft­iko — basi­cally lamb shoul­der or shank braised in white wine, stock and herbs — is one of my favourite cre­ations of all time. It orig­i­nated with ban­di­dos who cooked it under the ground so no one would know their where­abouts as they pre­pared din­ner while lead­ing a life of crime in the Greek countryside.

For a long time, I was con­vinced that the best ver­sion of this dish was the one at Lemo­nia: a won­drous Greek restau­rant near my mother’s Prim­rose Hill home in Lon­don, England.

How­ever, on my most recent trip to visit her ear­lier this year, I found a ren­di­tion that sur­passed even this delec­table cre­ation. Believe it or not, the ulti­mate Kleft­iko (admit­tedly I haven’t sleuthed it yet in North Amer­ica) is to be had at Retsina, a family-run Greek eatery in the same vicin­ity as Lemo­nia and one I dis­cov­ered when it was a final­ist on Gor­don Ramsay’s TV search for top neigh­bour­hood din­ing spots.

I highly rec­om­mend lunch or din­ner at Retsina. Although I will always order the huge and lus­cious Kelftiko, their sal­ads are superb as are the deep-fried Cala­mari. Don’t bother with the mun­dane desserts.

Still in the U.K., I always go to Brighton where my brother Jonny lives.

On a tip from a foodie friend, I checked out the amaz­ing Mock Tur­tle Cafe, hid­den in a back alley near the ocean board­walk, where they make deli­cious Rock Cakes, divine dough­nuts and excel­lent scones.

Nearby, Terre a Terre, where I’ve been mean­ing to eat for a cou­ple of years but cir­cum­stances have got in the way, looks won­der­fully wel­com­ing and has a top-rated, eclec­tic meat­less menu (the Observer has named it Veg­e­tar­ian Restau­rant of the Year more than once) that made me sali­vate. Watch this space for news on this after my next U.K. trip later this year.