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Oma review: 'already one of the openings of the year'
This restaurant with an 'industrial feel' offers a twist on classic Greek dishes
From David Carter – of Smokestak and Manteca fame – comes a double whammy of Greek-inspired dining at the heart of Borough Market. On the ground floor sits Agora, a walk-in only, buzzy grill inspired by the streets and markets of Athens, which we might get to in due course. And on the first floor is Oma (which roughly translates from Greek as "raw", apparently). This is the only slightly more formal, mostly sit-down, buzzy, wood-fired restaurant. It is inspired, according to its website, "by the serenity and simplicity of the Greek isles, with the bold flavours of the Levant and further afield."
The interior
(Image credit: OMA)
There is certainly simplicity in the vaguely industrial feel of Oma, which overlooks Bedale Street on one side and Borough Market on the other.
However, serenity is notably absent due to the restaurant being filled with enthusiastic diners and a knowledgeable front-of-house team guiding people through the not-so-recognisable items on the menu.
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As modern London restaurant spaces go, Oma is suitably low key, with a colour scheme of "eucalyptus" and "stone" according to the press release, and "sort of beigey" according to my notes. It is, however, bathed in natural light for the duration of our lunchtime visit, which is very pleasing, not least for the effect it has on your Instagram photos.
One thing that is not low-key, however, is the open kitchen, with its regular flashes of flame and billows of wood-fired smoke. As centrepieces go, it's a doozy and means the stools at the counter (held back for walk-ins) are the best seats in the house.
The drinks
There's a short, but creative, cocktail list topped by the premixed Oma negroni and clementine gimlet (available in two sizes, "small" and "not small"). The latter is gently refreshing but the negroni – pomegranate, chamomile, Callicounis vermouth – is superb.
The cocktail list, however, is soon overlooked in favour of the "450+ bin" wine list, broken down into sections titled "Influence of the Sea" (coastal wines), "Surrounded by the Sea" (island wines), and "Further Inland" (wines made on mountains, in valleys and rolling hills"). It's remarkable, if baffling, reading, with many a grape variety I've never heard of…
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Happily, the wine team is superb and we're steered toward some excellent, crisp, clean Greek whites by the glass which, in my bemusement and amusement, I neglected to write down.
(Image credit: Gilles Draps / OMA)
The food
Food, however, I did document, via pen and paper and camera although several dishes are going to be hard to forget. Like most of my great meals of 2024, however, for all the obscure language on the menu – "masabacha" anyone? "giouvetsi"? – there's a simplicity to most of the menu, which allows the ingredients to shine. And shine they certainly do.
Carter has assembled a hell of a team to make this happen, with Jorge Paredes, formerly executive chef at Sabor, running the kitchen, Nick Molyviatis, formerly head chef of Kiln, helping with menu development, and Eyal Schwartz, founding head baker at E5 Bakehouse, helping to create the house-made bread recipes. We try both breads – the bagel-like açma verde, the more pita-like wild-farmed laffa – smeared with salt cod xo and labneh, plus babaghanoush, tahini and Jerusalem artichoke crisps, from the "Spreads" section of the menu. Both are, frankly, perfectly valid reasons to return to Oma on their own: rich yet ethereal, texturally perfect, and with bags of flavour.
Somehow, they're not even the best things we eat. The spanakopita gratin arrives in "deconstructed" form, a bowl of molten cheese and spinach, served with yet another bread – malawach – alongside, covered in more grated cheese. I show a photo to two Greek friends and they nod approvingly that this is exactly the right amount of cheese for the dish. Possibly even better is the skewer of grilled squid, garlic and za'atar oil. It's so simple, so perfect, so beautifully cooked. And then the wild red prawn giouvetsi (basically a stew with orzo), with deep-fried prawn butter arrives. We're instructed to remove the heads and squeeze the insides into the orzo base. It looks like a crime scene but tastes like heaven.
Dessert doesn't seem physically possible but if you can resist the billing of "olive oil ice cream, fennel pollen, even more olive oil" then you're a better man than I or, indeed, silly, because it's delicious – like a creamy soft-serve with a peppery warmth and a hint of salt.
(Image credit: OMA)
The verdict
There are many declaring Oma "already one of the openings of the year" and it's hard to disagree.
The simplicity, the value, the approachability, the attention to detail, the theatre, the brilliant front-of-house team… it all adds up to something very special indeed.
