NIKOS (Modderfontein)

Food

Nikos was established in 2017 and now boasts restaurants across South Africa. They serve up proudly Greek, homestyle food in generous portions with family at the heart of what they do.

You can look forward to Greek taverna favourites such as yiro and souvlaki, Greek home-cooking such as lamb kleftiko and moussaka and delicious seafood specials such as grilled tiger prawns and kingklip.

The tiger prawns special is a real highlight. Huge tiger prawns cooked just long enough and seasoned perfectly served with lemon butter and a spicy butter sauce. At R399 for 1kg of tiger prawns it’s very worth it, although it must be noted that sides must be ordered separately. You can also order small dishes to share as part of the meze experience. The fried calamari is crisp outside and soft inside with a light seasoned batter.

The restaurant is a bit on the pricey side for casual dining but the portions are generous. The prawn and calamari pasta is also a winner. Fresh, tender prawns and calamari tubes served in a white wine, cream and Napoletana sauce with thin, Greek spaghetti is moreish and indulgent. Go to Nikos for the perfectly cooked seafood and meze plates. Unfortunately, while there are vegetarian options, the range is quite small. Notably Nikos would be a good option for couples as they have date night special with multiple dishes making up a Greek feast and two glasses of Spier wine at R399 per couple.

Drinks

Nikos has a relatively good wine menu with a satisfactory range of reds, whites, rose and bubbles at affordable prices. The restaurant also has quite an extensive cocktail menu, spirits and beers, as well as beers on tap.

Service

The service at Nikos is satisfactory. The servers are polite yet not particularly engaging nor knowledgeable of the menu or ingredients.

Ambience

Nikos is designed to look, appropriately, like a Greek taverna. The space is bright and airy and has an amazing view of a bird sanctuary. Definitely a feast for the eyes and stomach at the same time. The restaurant is perfect for big family dining or lunch with friends.

The acoustics and soft background music encourage conversation. The bathrooms are neat and tidy and fit in very well with the taverna theme too. The table for four is rather small for meze dining though so you may need to ask for a bigger space.