Meraki - Fitzrovia, London

The Waney brothers have left an indelible mark on the capital's restaurant scene, opening a litany of London's most sought-after and difficult-to-book restaurants, including the Arts Club, Zuma, Roka, Oblix, Coya and Peyote, to name a few. Not content to sit on their hands, they've found a new cuisine to put in the limelight. Choosing a site on Great Titchfield Street in Fitzrovia, Peter Waney's new restaurant pays homage to a neighbourhood which has historically hosted scads of Greek residents and tavernas - with the lustre you'd expect from the top shelf.

Occupying the space that formerly housed Efes, the restaurant straddles the corner of Great Titchfield and Foley Street, and has been refitted to channel the glamour of the Cyclades. It's rather easy on the eyes - favouring a white and cream colour schemed with starkly contrasting black beams and iron gantries. The latter props up glass cases with various urns and amphora. The walls feature exposed brickwork with crumbling whitewash, and the off-white tables are hemmed in by powder blue banquettes and mauve buttonback chairs. Suffice to say, it falls in line with the design-forward dining rooms of Waney's other resaturants. On a Wednesday night a bevy of well-to-do and winsome youngsters were enjoying the ambience. 

The kitchens are captained by Dimitrios Siamanis, who plied his trade at Zafferano, The Square and The Dorchester Grill before Meraki. The drinks list focuses on small-batch Greek wines and craft beer. Guests are encouraged to choose a plethora of small plates from the mezze section. Large king prawns swaddled in kataifi pastry were crisp and juicy, complemented by a tureen of Saganaki sauce. Taramosalata with a white cod roe emulsion was served on ice to retain its freshness and its strong garlic flavours found a friendly foil in crunchy olive oil crackers. However, our favourite selection by far was the deep-fried squid, lightly coated and served piping hot with fresh lemon. 

For our main we enjoyed the catch of the day - sea bream grilled simply, filleted at the table and garnished with lemon and olive oil. We complemented this with steamed potatoes and a simple salad of lettuce with buttermilk and graviera cheese from the isle of Naxos.  For dessert we enjoyed a house-made chocolate bar impregnated with a smooch chocolate and hazelnut mousse atop a sponge layer. Walnut cake with coffee namelaka cream and tonic ice cream was a beautiful dish to finish on.