I’m a real fan of Greek food, having spent many happy holidays on Cyprus and on one Greek island or another. This year though, foreign holidays have been cancelled in favour of paying the bills; so when I saw a Greek Cypriot restaurant was opening in Huddersfield, I was really excited.

Zeus is within easy reach of the bus and train stations, being just below St Peter’s Church close to the Huddersfield Hotel and with level access means Zeus is easy to find and easy to get into.
Booking by phone was easy and the person taking the call was polite and friendly – as was the person who met us on arrival and showed us to our table. He made us feel welcome and left us to make up our minds about our order without rushing us.

The menu was typically Greek Cypriot with a range of dishes to suit all tastes. There were several vegetarian dishes including a particular favourite of ours, spanakopita (filo pastry with spinach, feta and mint). Greek staples were on offer including kleftiko, stifado, various souvlaki and several fish dishes, along with a full range of starters and salads including hummus, tzatziki and taramosalata. A specials board offered four extra choices. The wine list was reasonably priced and the Pinot Grigio we ordered served promptly and nicely chilled. A jug of water was also provided.

The starters included grilled haloumi but, knowing my favourite Greek starter is fired cheese, my wife asked the waiter if he could ask the chef to turn this into cheese saganaki for me instead. The waiter did not hesitate in saying this was possible – and he even gave me a choice of two Greek cheeses. My wife ordered one of the ‘specials’: goat’s cheese bruscietta. Both starters arrived quickly and were superbly presented with freshly prepared salads and dressing, on large and tasteful crockery.

Our mains followed after a brief yet welcome pause; we’d ordered a lamb moussaka and a chicken souvlaki. The moussaka was fresh, huge and piping hot. The souvlaki was also generously portioned, tender and not over cooked. Both meals included only the best ingredients and were without fault! We also had a Greek salad, which was superb.

Being the nosy people we are, we noted the quality of the meals being served around us – lamb dishes appeared to use some very nice on-the-bone joints and the fish dishes such as the sea bass looked very well presented and of a nice size. The waiter, noting our interest happily paused at our table to show us a couple of dishes, which was a lovely friendly gesture. We overheard several other diners praising their meals. One declared her lamb dish to be ‘absolutely delicious!’
Our table was booked for 7.30pm on a Saturday evening and, by the time we left at 9.30pm, the place had filled up considerably. The restaurant had only been open for a week or so, but with word getting round about the excellent food and service, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got busier.

As the restaurant filled up, the atmosphere became more congenial, typical Greek music played and one lady persuaded the waiter to dance with her – he obliged but I’m not sure dancing will be a regular feature and I for one prefer to concentrate on the food. However, I think if anything, the staff just wanted the diners to be happy and to go away with good memories of the night.
At the end of our meal, I had a lovely coffee but we were far too full to enjoy a dessert, which was a shame as the baklava looked excellent and the ice cream looked to be served in generous amounts. As we allowed our meal to settle we took in the decor. The proprietor has done a good job of recreating a Greek Cypriot restaurant; the decor, murals and shell-filled fishing net on part of the ceiling might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is authentic. All you needed was a few stray cats wandering around outside (and perhaps a view of the Med) and the image would be complete.

We felt that the toilets let the place down a little bit, though they were very clean and serviceable they could do with refitting to just bring the whole experience up to an excellent standard throughout. However this is just a minor niggle. The loos were down a flight of stairs and I didn’t see a sign for loos for less able bodied diners – so if you are a wheelchair user or find stairs a problem I’d ring ahead and enquire.
The prices were spot on: olives, two starters, two mains, a side salad and a coffee came to just over £41, a decent bottle of wine took the bill to a little over £53.

Overall, I thought the service struck the ideal balance between friendly and attentive whilst not rushing the client. The food was superb; well presented, generous in portion size and cooked to perfection. The atmosphere and surroundings were pleasant and authentic. Overall I loved it and ‘yes’ we will be definitively be calling again – that lamb looked gorgeous!

To see this restaurant on Virtual Huddersfield click here > Zeus

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