OMA

High quality cooking

David Carter (of Smokestak and Manteca fame) is a dab hand at opening dynamic contemporary restaurants that know how to put on a show where it matters – on the plate. He’s gone all out with his latest opening. Part of a two-tiered operation in Borough Market, Oma sits above its more casual, non-bookable sister Agora, and echoes of the rawness and cacophony of the action at street level add to the vibrancy of the perfectly pitched dining room and covered terrace. Jorge Paredes (ex-Sabor) heads the open-plan ‘live fire’ kitchen, delivering dishes that are Greek in spirit but also draw inspiration from the southern sweep of the Mediterranean basin. He achieves striking results, attracting hordes of punters intent on grazing on some seriously inventive dishes (booking is a must). The breads are a highlight – believe your server’s enthusiasm, they really are delicious. We teamed some Wildfarmed laffa (hot, fluffy flatbread) and açma verde (a green-flecked bagel-shaped bun) with a creamy mound of labneh topped with salt cod XO, while a serving of smooth houmous came topped with whole, crispy chickpeas, green zhoug and plenty of sumac. Gilthead bream ceviche in a spiky green tomato and apple aguachile was another knockout dish – likewise squid-ink giouvetsi (squid ragù and orzo pasta), impressively rendered in a prawn-bisque stock to a state of almost criminal lusciousness. But the standout, by a whisker, proved to be spanakopita gratin – a bowl of melted sheep’s and goat’s cheese with spinach, accompanied by malawach (a flaky, Yemeni flatbread). To conclude, a beguiling combination of olive-oil gelato and fennel pollen with extra olive oil made the perfect finale. The well-considered, 450-bin wine list has treasures in abundance to match the kitchen’s cavalcade of flavours, although there is precious little under £40 a bottle. Still, £5.50 will buy you a 125ml pour from the house selection.

Housed upstairs from AGORA, the Greek taverna concept that serves as a casual counterpoint to OMA’s more premium sensibility, David Carter’s newly-starred restaurant juxtaposes a crudo bar (the name coming from the Greek word for raw) with a live fire kitchen that delivers a host of truly knockout dishes. Though billed as being inspired by the serenity and simplicity of the Greek isles, OMA explores a far broader dining spectrum, which encompasses the vivid flavours of the Levant and further afield. The menu is tight, but expansive. Sections dedicated to breads and dips begin the meal before moving onto small and large sharing plates that demonstrate a fresh and punchy vitality that shows the breadth of Carter’s ambition. While much of food changes with the seasons, some dishes have marked themselves out as long-term signatures including the spanakopita gratin with malawach; and the oxtail giouvetsi with bone marrow that’s topped with beef fat pangrattato. With a 450-bin plus list, OMA is billed as a wine-led restaurant. Around 60% of the restaurant’s wine is sourced from Greece and, interestingly, is largely arranged by proximity to the sea with sections including ‘surrounded by the sea’ (island wines); ‘influence of the sea’ (coastal); and ‘further inland’ (encompassing mountain, valley and rolling hill vineyards). The restaurant’s look, meanwhile, takes its cues from the rugged landscapes of Greece, employing colour schemes of eucalyptus, stone and dark wood, and finishes utilising natural materials throughout.