Someone has taken a chill pill at the Michelin Guide.
I like to think I know the types of restaurants that are generally awarded a star by the tyre people.
And Oma isn't it.
It's a brilliant restaurant that serves flavour-packed and fairly priced modern Greek cooking. And it's a lively and informal place with down to earth service and delicious house wines that cost just over a fiver a glass.
In summary, it's everything that so many Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK aren't.
I’m sure there's a certain breed of restaurant snob who’ll visit Oma and be disappointed by the lack of a library-like atmosphere or the absence of dishes that have been tweezered to within an inch of their lives.
But I digress. Oma has been top of my London list of places to visit for a while, ever since a good friend said it would be right up mine and Mrs G's street. Furthermore, it's owned by the immensely talented, David Carter, the man behind the brilliant Smokestak and Manteca.
Located upstairs from its sibling restaurant, Agora, on the edge of Borough Market, Oma was buzzing on the Sunday lunchtime we visited. The menu, whilst Greek-centred, is unlike those at any of the tavernas we visit whilst on holiday. Head chef Jorge Paredes has elevated classic Greek flavour combinations and thrown in a few global influences too with dishes like tuna ceviche with citrus ponzu (£16) and salt cod XO with labneh (£6).
Despite having a sizeable 400 bin wine list, Oma’s house wines cost a mere £5.50 a glass. Both their white and their red from Kokos Estate were excellent, a light yet aromatic Savatiano-Roditis blend and a berry laden blend of unnamed grapes.
Having bickered over what to pick from Oma’s extensive dip selection, we compromised and ordered two. They were both as delightful as each other.
Silkily potent taramasalata (£6) was studded with cubes of pickled cucumber and nuggets of crisp and roasty carob biscuit.
Creamy labneh (£6) was pepped up with sweet and throat warming hot honey and crispy chickpeas.
Dipping tools were just as well-considered. A super light and squidgy bagel-shaped açma verde (£3.50) was lightly soaked in garlic butter.
Wildfarmed laffa bread (£3.50) was pleasingly soft with a slight stretchiness.
Onto the small plates, and impeccably fresh and meaty seabass crudo (£13) was dressed with ladolemono, a punchy mix of lemon juice and olive oil, as well as crispy fronds of deep-fried leek.
Oma's signature dish is their spanakopita gratin (£15) and it's a properly naughty bit of comfort food. They've taken a classic dish and turned all the dials up to artery clogging levels. A tongue scorchingly hot pot of creamed spinach, studded with nuggets of salty feta, was delicious spooned over flaky and fatty paratha-esque malawach flatbreads. The effect was unmistakeably spanakopita like.
We ordered two of Oma’s larger plates. A whopper of a squid skewer (£28) had a lovely lick of char and vibrancy from a green herb, za’atar and confit garlic dressing. Most of the bits of squid were commendably tender but a couple were verging slightly towards the chewy side.
We followed it up with their oxtail giouvetsi (£29), another big flavoured and indulgent bit of comfort food. A clay pot of meaty orzo oozed with melted cheese and was topped with stupidly tender bits of oxtail and a crisp bone marrow crumb.
A fragrant and fresh fennel and herb salad (£6) was an essential order to balance the giouvetsi’s richness. The crisp and citrusy dressed vegetable was tumbled with handfuls of mint, parsley, basil and dill.
We had a superb lunch at Oma and it's another fabulous Borough Market restaurant alongside two of our other recent favourites, Rambutan and Kolae. As long as the Michelin Guide are feeling chillaxed, I reckon they should crack on and hand them a star each too.
The Details:
Address - Oma, 3 Bedale Street, London SE1 9AL
Web - https://www.oma.london/
Telephone - 020 8129 6760
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