The Real Greek (Putney)

My wife and I went to the Real Greek on Sunday and were very dissappointed, it is nothing like a 'real Greek' restaurant that I have ever been in either in Greece or the U.K or indeed Paris.

To be fair the service was attentive and the starters from the meze menu were o.k but the Souvlaki were extremely dissappointing ,we shared a selection for 2 consisting of a pork, chicken and lamb souvlaki, four pieces of tasteless meat on each wrapped in flat bread, I was expecting skewers of meat. The Greek salad was the smallest greek salad I have ever been served in a restaurant consisting of 3 olives, tasteless tomato,possibly 6 half pieces of cucumber, some onion and a cube of feta cheese.

For the cost I thought the meal was extremely poor value and would not recommend the real Greek.
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Colin
3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Monday, May 10, 2010

I went for lunch to The Real Greek on Sunday 21 Mar 2010. It was my first and also very last time. Me and my friend we had to wait for 40min to get the food. Staff didn't even apologise for long waiting. When asking after 25min when the food will be on our table, we only got a response 'It's coming...' well, not sure where, definitely not to our table. We had wraps, the chicken was completely burnt outside and wasn't edible. Chicken wrap was full of black burnt pieces. Absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND this place. There are so many places you can eat in Putney, would definitely avoid The Real Greek... I have to say I had better food at Nandos.
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Anna, Wimbledon
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, March 22, 2010

I think its a shame that some of these reviews have been so dissapointing....we have been there several times and are planning to go back soon. Always good service, lovely flavours and general positive ambience.

I would however, agree with small portions.
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, March 12, 2010

Just come back from "The REAL GREEK" and my advice, dont go there. Staff is nice and welcoming but the food is the worst I have had for a long time. The Greek Salad had one piece of Feta on Top with three olives surrounded and no dressing, no herbs, just a little olive oil. Souvlaki was disgusting. The whole thing was wrapped up in a 2inch thick wrap, soaked in a funny tasting brownish sauce. Flavourless, smelly and greasy isnt what I expect from a REAL GREEK!! As there was not a hint of Tzatziki anywhere, we ordered some on the side. £3.75 for a little bit of sauce on the side. I complaint but nothing happened. Just a smile from the Waitress. No Manager anywhere around to look after those few guests they have. Its a shame, the name promises more than what they have on offer and we wont go there again. Sorry to say but this needs to be communicated to others, so "The REAL GREEK" will have to change some basics.
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Thomas Crown
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, September 20, 2009

In principal this place has the right ingredients to be very good. However it's the execution that let's it down. We had very attentive service but it was let down by a poor delivery from the kitchen. Food came out quickly but some of the hot dishes where cold and others unevenly cooked on the grill. Some good sauces and tasty octopus suggested much better could have been acheived. The Greek salad is functionary and the warm flatbread was good but you don't really feel you're getting your moneys worth. Would only recommend if they smarten up their act in the kitchen.
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Sean
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Saturday, May 02, 2009

My family and I had an absolutely awful experience here. We were seated right in the corner, despite the fact that they were fairly empty, and were forced to wait nearly half an hour before our order was taken. Our waitress had no grasp whatsoever in regard to the menu and then proceeded to bring us the wrong food... However, the biggest horror that we experienced was that in a "Real Greek" restaurant, they served a greek salad without Feta Cheese and, upon inquiry, informed us that they had run out. Ours was not the only table outraged by this. The manager was beset by complaints from across the restaurant. The quality of the meat was dire and the portions were very mean. Also, the fast-food wraps around the souvlaki were tacky. Definitely a restaurant to miss, even if it's on the house.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Sunday, April 19, 2009

I was disappointed by this restaurant.We were a group of six and although the restaurant was nearly empty we were seated at the back in a corner by the disabled toilet. away from the main area. This may explain why after the initial order we were completely ignored.After about half an hour the lights were turned right down -too far we thoughtThe vegetarian meze selection was good but the kebab selection was flavourless , the meat was tough and the portions were small.To order desserts and again to pay the bill I had to walk across the restaurant to find a waiter.I felt the food was overpriced even with the 50 per cent discount voucher I had downloaded.
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JC - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 2
Thursday, March 19, 2009

Having taken my fiance for a meal at the RG Putney we were appalled by the standard of the food and service. We were seated by a pleasant waitress when we first arrived and felt welcome. Once seated we didn't see a waitress for 10 minutes and nobody asked whether we wanted a drink. Having managed a restaurant in the past, profit margins are made through drinks and was therefore amazed how difficult is was to order a drink. It wasn't until I waved my arms frantically at the waitress (who was talking to another waitress) that we were able to get some soft drinks. We thought we'd skip the wine as we couldn't wait anymore for another drink.

We then ordered 2 Souvlaki and some dishes off the Meze menu. One of them was the calamari. The food came in good time but when it arrived the plate of calamari had 2 table spoons of calamari which my fiance finished in 2 mouthfuls. The Souvlaki was wrapped in a fast food style wrap. The bread was heated up, thick and doughy and had no resemblance to a traditional Greek Souvlaki. The meat was tough, tasteless and there was no salad to speak of. All this for a stunning £6.25 each.

The calamari was £5.75 or £2.87 per mouthful. We were going to order more food as we were starving although having tasted the food and feeling ripped off by the portions we decided to settle the bill and go across the road to the Wagamama for a decent meal.

The Real Greek isn't real, nor is it Greek. I suggest that the business model is fundamentally flawed until the quality of food is addressed.

Your website mentions "Theodore continues to consult with us and inspires our team of chefs on new dishes and menu evolution. He is also the author of the series of The Real Greek Cookbooks." I suggest that he samples the Souvlaki. There was no fresh food on offer and no lemon with the Souvlaki. Greeks eat lemon with everthing and didn't see a lemon. Greeks pride themselves on fresh bread and to heat bread in what I think was a microwave is unacceptable.

Hope Clapham House survives the Credit Crunch! The GBK brand is good and Tootsies is a great family brand but I can safely say that my fiance and I will never return to the not so Real Greek.
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Shaun
1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 22, 2009