Greek-Cypriot mezedakia, off the coals.
Forty years of Charlotte Street, rebuilt around a charcoal grill and a Mykonos bar in the basement. Small plates, Cypriot wine, one long table after another.
ουσία
“Ousia has no single translation. It is the essence of a thing.”
The name was the hardest part. Andreas Restaurant fed this street for four decades before the family closed it in 2017 for the biggest change in its history. What reopened kept the essence — the produce, the welcome, Andreas himself on the floor — and changed everything around it.
Off the grill
Six plates that keep people coming back
Halloumi & Marida Χαλλούμι
Charcoal grilled goat's cheese, whitebait fried hard and fast.
Kleftiko Κλέφτικο
Lamb knuckle, slow roasted until it gives way to a spoon.
Souvlaki Σουβλάκι
Banham chicken, marinated in yoghurt, straight off the coals.
Kefalograviera Saganaki Σαγανάκι
Pan fried cheese, toasted sesame, a thread of honey.
Loucanica Λουκάνικο
Marinated pork sausage, charcoal grilled, lemon on the side.
Spanakopita Σπανακόπιτα
Spinach and feta folded into filo, crisp at the edges.
The room
Copper, chocolate wood and a great deal of noise
The building was taken back to its bones in 2017. The staircase moved, the basement opened up, and the ground floor bar was rebuilt with a copper top and chocolate planks — positioned so it can actually serve the room.
The wine list came out of a trip off the beaten track: Greek and Cypriot growers, chosen to sit alongside charcoal rather than overpower it.
Two rooms
Find us
Ousia Charlotte St.
The original room, with the Mykonos bar downstairs.
Ousia Muswell Hill
The neighbourhood table, north of the park.