‘London’s first Greek Michelin Star’
DALL·E, The Spirit of Greece, 2025.
Evening of Monday 10th February 2025. Big news. Michelin crowns Oma with (quote, unquote) “London’s First Greek MICHELIN Star”.
Let’s set some context using the words of the Michelin Guide Inspector: “There are people in Britain who have been waiting years for a restaurant like OMA to come along. Greek food is beloved by so many people, such is its delightful combination of heartening and refreshing dishes – plus its innate ability to transport you back to that sunny Mediterranean holiday you went on last year. And yet, the UK has never before had a MICHELIN-Star Greek restaurant.”
First of all, congratulations to Oma, to the chefs, and the team, who have obviously put in a great deal of work to arrive at this substantial achievement; the food is great.
Is it a Greek restaurant, though?
You decide.
Here’s the maths. At the time of writing and the time of the award, there are 27 items on the menu at Oma (which, although a sample menu that is subject to change, largely reflects what the menu has been about since its 2024 launch – we have been following). Only 4 of the items are identifiably Greek: 1) the tarama dish, 2) mussels saganaki, 3) oxtail giouvetsi (which does look amazing), 4) a salad with galomizithra and carob rusks that might resemble something between a Greek (‘village’) salad and Ntakos salad. Let’s be kind and include the ‘spanakopita gratin’ (5) which doesn’t resemble a spanakopita by any stretch of definition of the term ‘pita’, but is served with Jewish/Yemeni flatbread. Even then,
5 / 27 = 18.5%
18.5% of the menu, then, resembles Greek cuisine. Now, does that constitute a Greek restaurant? It would certainly be interesting to be let in on Michelin’s working definition. It also makes you wonder: what makes a restaurant ‘Greek’? Where do you draw the line? And do words meaning anything anymore?
It’s difficult to understand the insistence on branding this restaurant as ‘Greek’, when the restaurant itself clearly has no intention of restricting its menu to something that reflects that label. Oma’s journal references a trip to Istanbul in 2023 as the inspiration behind one ‘Turkish bagel’ dish on the menu, for example.
Given that the menu at Oma draws most of its inspiration beyond the remit of Greek cuisine also raises questions as to why the press are so hellbent on forcing the ‘Greek’ marker. Let’s compare with some of London’s other Michelin-Star newcomers: AngloThai is quite clearly, honestly, self-explanatorily, about British cuisine, spiced with the bold flavours of Thailand; Emily Roux’s Caractère doesn’t appear to force any labels; and Korean-inspired Dosa’s menu unambiguously showcases Korean cuisine.
So why the determination to force the Greek label on Oma? In contrast, if you look at the menus of two other Greek Michelin-Star restaurants – Paris-based Mavrommatis and The Zillers in Athens – you see a running thread of references to Greek ingredients and Greek cuisine throughout, as opposed to merely a handful of isolated snapshots.
The star at Oma might well be well deserved. But has “London’s First Greek Michelin Star” really arrived? You can decide.
What’s interesting is that ‘Oma’ is named after the Greek word for ‘raw’, ‘not matured’. You could say that reflects London’s current understanding of Greek food. The other meaning of the word is to do something bluntly, without sensitivity.
Are we guilty of that too?
p.s. here’s our menu predictions for the next mainstream Greek restaurant to open in London.