Mr Greek restaurant in Newmarket gets off to flying start

A new Greek restaurant opened its doors in Newmarket on Saturday when staff were rushed off their feet with customers eager to find out what their menu had to offer.

Mr Greek is the venture of chef Thanasis Ntafis and his wife Marinella who moved from a town near the Greek border with Albania about six years ago and settled in Cambridge with their daughters Evrikleia and Elena.

Thanasis worked as a kitchen assistant in the Cambridge restaurants of the Italian and French chains Carluccio’s and Cote Brasserie while awaiting the opportunity to open his own business.

The couple took on premises in Valley Way, formerly occupied by Smithy’s café, and planned to open in January but the installation of new equipment and complete renovation were time-consuming and getting a gas supply caused a long delay.

On Saturday, it was all systems go and from opening for breakfast at 9.30am through to closing time at 8.30pm and again on Sunday the restaurant was busy with people eating in and collecting takeaways.

“We had some special opening offers and I think maybe people just wanted to see what our food was like but the numbers were more than we expected and took us by surprise,” said Evrikleia, who completed her masters degree after coming to England and now works as a research technician at Cambridge University.

Her sister studied early years’ learning and works at a nursery and both will be helping out in the restaurant at weekends.

During the day and into the evening, gyors, which are pitta bread filled with chicken and pork or vegetarian and vegan options, are popular.

There are also platters with chicken, pork or lamb chops served with roasted vegetables or salads with the traditional Tzatziki sauce made with garlic yogurt and cucumber or Thanasis’s own homemade sauce consisting of ketchup, mayo, mustard and spices, which is always served with chicken.

Desserts include orange or chocolate Greek-style pies, or Loukoumades which are Greek doughnuts served with chocolate sauce or honey.

Coffee and pastries are served all day.