Retsina

I stopped by at the Retsina, a long-standing Greek restaurant in Hampstead, for an early dinner and was the first customer of the evening. As soon as I sat down, they brought over a small plate of olives and carrot sticks, which was a nice touch. I’d been looking forward to trying their famous grilled octopus, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available that day. 😭 Since I’d skipped lunch, I went all in and ordered a few dishes—taramosalata, grilled sardines, grilled prawns, and a main of grilled sea bass. The taramosalata was honestly the best I’ve ever had—smooth, creamy, and packed with flavour. 😍 The seafood was fresh, well-seasoned, and grilled to perfection. Even though I was completely stuffed by the time I got to the main, the meal felt satisfying rather than heavy. The restaurant has been around for over 40 years, and apparently Gordon Ramsay has called their food “authentic and delicious.” 👍 The atmosphere was quiet when I arrived but had a cosy and welcoming feel, and soon it got busy after. The service was friendly throughout. I’ll definitely be back—hopefully next time I’ll get to try that grilled octopus! 🐙

Food was great and service was good. Lovely range and their seafood was all fresh. Lovely flavours and presentation. Only downside, was charged for a dish we never received.

The best Greek restaurant I have been to outside of Greece! I have visited so many times over the years and tried various dishes. I cannot fault this restaurant the slightest. The service is always excellent especially when it comes to the owners Zeta and Hary! The food is always obviously fresh and very tasty. The portions are generous and very filling. The only issue is all the dishes are so nice you don't know what to chose! If you are a seafood fan I highly recommend the baby calamari, grilled octopus and chargrilled prawns. These are a personal favourite. I am always amazed at how soft the calamari and octopus which are consistently cooked to perfection. A meaty personal favourite are the lamb cutlets always cooked precisely and are tender and juicy. If you are someone who would like to try many new flavours I would suggest trying the Meze options which is good value for money and also gives you a wide selection of the flavours. Highly, highly recommend if you like good food!

Nice place for dinner, good atmosphere and good food but it felt very busy. I was on a single seated table, and felt like staff were very busy with the other tables which had more people. At times, I had to wait a long time. So obviously I felt ignored. However, apart from that, food was nice although I though portions would have been a bit bigger. I had the lamb souvlaki and they gave pickles for free, which was nice! I'd love to go back, but this time maybe have a few more people join me!

Absolutely obsessed with this place, the food, the friendly atmosphere, attentive service. It feels like eating at a Greek friend’s family home and it’s so good!! Highly recommend 💯

5 Stars – A Hidden Greek Delight Just 20 Minutes Away What a wonderful find! Just 20 minutes from home, this Greek restaurant served up one of the best meals we’ve had in ages. The portions were enormous—we’ll be enjoying the leftovers for supper tomorrow, and couldn’t be happier about it. The squid was unbelievably tender and full of flavour—truly lipsmackingly good. The spanakopita arrived piping hot and crisp, and the louvi beans were so moreish we couldn’t stop. We shared a mixed grill that defeated even the hungriest appetite—he couldn’t finish it! Dessert was a few generous scoops of high-quality Swiss ice cream and a cup of strong but smooth Greek coffee—no bitterness at all. The service was friendly, helpful, and delightfully knowledgeable, which made the whole experience even better. We’ll absolutely be back—and we’ll be recommending it to friends. A five-star experience all the way.

Excellent Greek restaurant in the heart of Belsize Village. The food is superb and a very good selection of meze the traditional Greek food. The mixed platters are huge and for 2 people you will definitely eat well I ended up takign some home! It's a good choice of you like Greek and if you are looking for a nice place to eat with family and friends. Good wine list and lots of vegetarian options

We had a lovely time at Retsina! You can definitely feel its family-owned authenticity. We particularly liked the aubergine and the white beans.

My wife is Greek - so we fully appreciated the quality of Retsina's food - and it was outstanding! Hidden off of the high street, this seems to be a place known only to the locals of Belsize and Hampstead. The staff are very friendly and warmly invited us in to eat. We didn't make a reservation, which is unusual for us, but they were able to accommodate us on a Friday night anyway. We arrived at 7:30 - and by 8:00 the place was completely packed! The meal started with a nice selection of olives and fresh veggies. We then ordered spanikopita, a Greek salad, and lamb souvla. The spanikopita and lamb souvla were excellent. The meat of the lamb was so tender from roasting on the spit that I was able to hardly touch it with my fork and it fell apart. It also came with a nice portion of tzatziki to accompany the lamb. We also enjoyed the Greek salad - and raved about the fresh feta cheese that was used to make it. We concluded the meal with a sweet Greek coffee - and and complimentary Turkish delights! The Greek side of our family is coming to London in a few weeks. This will certainly be one of our first stops. I highly recommend!

Disappointing. Been wanting to come here for a while, since seeing it on one of Gordon Ramsey's programmes for good local restaurants and it is just up the road from me. I had octopus starter, good texture, but you could tell it was boiled in water, rather than in its own juices. It was then flame grilled, and had picked up the flavour of other meats from the grill, not really what I wanted to taste. Main was a massive T-bone steak, looked great, tasted ok. the salad that came with it was generous, but overly salty feta and heavy olive oil. The meal was slightly above average for a local restaurant but the bill was too high for what we received. Sadly, will not be returning.

I am debating between 4 and 3 stars. The food was good, as was the service, so I'll go with 4. I wouldn't trek across London to eat here, but if you are anywhere in the area, I'd say this is a safe and delicious bet. Erica U. and I were going to see a film at the Everyman Theatre, so we were in the area and decided to try this out. Things I liked/remember: -Grilled halloumi (pretty standard, but I always like salty cheese) -Grilled octopus (probably the best dish we had, not a huge portion though, and expensive, but worth it) -Spicy beef sausage (yum) -Roasted aubergine spread.... forget what its actual name was (very good) We shared a bunch of small plates (the above are just my favourites, not everything we ordered), and although not inexpensive, I did not find it to be overpriced for what it was. It was around £45 for the two of us, as I recall.

Authentic Greek restaurant with great food and delightful waiting staff. The mixed meze at £18.50 per person (minimum of two people required), offered a great selection of hot and cold appetizers; a tasty seafood selection of king prawns, calamari rings and small fish (just how I remembered having in Greece a few months earlier), and an abundant selection of grilled meats (all v. succulent and juicy) and accompanied by a huge Greek salad. Word of warning - come with an appetite!

A group of us went there for dinner and all loved it. It has a very friendly atmosphere and family buzz to it. We ordered a meze and were not dissapointed. The food just kept on coming. Really good, nice and relaxed ;-)

Very good food. Squid starter along with assorted hot starters and the aubergine dip were all very good. The pita bread could be improved, perhaps with some of that lovely turkish bread . Didn't try the house specialities and sea-food which were all £15+ but my lamb casserole with spinach and my partner's mixed souvlaki were first rate. For around a tenner each, the mains were excellent value.

It was very ridiculous!! I was the first come in and requested for a table, the waiter asked me to wait. Then he arranged the next couple to sit ( they were also walk-in, the same like me). Again he arranged the next group to site in. And then he turned to serve another table and asked me to wait 2 more minutes. I feel I was treated unfairly because I am a foreigner. What a shame on this restaurant!

Fresh, authentic Greek food in an upbeat, friendly space complete with the white table clothes and tile you'd expect at any quality Greek restaurant. Came here for a pre-Valentine's day dinner and started off with the meatballs. I had the grilled lamb kebab (original, I know) and my date had the slow-cooked lamb spiced with oregano and lemon. Of course we shared the dishes family style, and both were delicious and filling. Finished off with a cappuccino rounded out nicely with complimentary Turkish delights. Bliss.

this was really mediocre to poor quality food....the roasted potatoes were dry and old, the spanakopita was deep fried, menu stated it was baked. Dont waste your time.

Superb. Really friendly family atmosphere, generous portions and great food. We went on a Sunday and it was pretty busy; apparently bookings are essential at weekends. Enjoy!

We decided to go there on a Saturday night without booking. Waiters received us with a little attitude. Food is decent but overpriced in my opinion. Me and my girlfriend were seated in the back, next to the bar and next to who looked to be the patron of the place (looking around a lot and receiving complain from waiters). Not a horrible experience but wouldn't renew. A couple of advices: - if you can't receive customers politely, just tell them you can't receive them. - waiters shouldn't complain in front of customers. Besides those points. The food was good and the inside looks nice.

I have visited this restaurant on a number of occasions with work colleagues and with friends, and would definitely recommend it. It is a very friendly neighbourhood restaurant, family run with a nice welcoming atmosphere. The food is traditional Greek and comes in large portions. The moussaka and the calamari are two of favourite dishes on the menu, but the kleftiko lamb is also worth a try. The prices are slightly on the high side, but this is Belsize Park. They do a lunch special, which is more reasonable.

I had lunch at Retsina today and it is by far the best Greek food experience I have had in London. The food was delicious (try the stifado!) and the service was outstanding (they even offered us additional plates to try, on the house). I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to have Greek food in London and I will definitely go back very soon.

Wholesome food, plentiful portions and a bustling friendly atmosphere in this busy well run no frills Greek Taverna.

Simply one of the best Greek meals you will have in London . We try different dishes every time we go there and we have not been dissapointed . The meze is my favorite!!