Hovarda Soho

Hovarda takes its name from a word Greek and Turkish share for a generous host, and its two floors on Rupert Street are built around that idea. The kitchen cooks the Aegean over open fire grills, with seafood from British waters, meze from both shores and a wine list that leans towards Greece and Turkey.

The ground floor is the restaurant: a double-height room by the Spanish designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán, with a coffered ceiling, sea-green tiles, dark timber and mirrored cabinets, and counter seats facing the open kitchen. Above it, the first-floor lounge runs along a gallery that looks down into the dining room. It has a long backlit bar under a ceiling of bottles, sofas and low tables, and a DJ booth.

For a private event the house offers either floor: a seated dinner in the dining room with the kitchen in view, or the lounge for a reception that turns into a party when the DJs start. Across both floors it holds 80 seated or 130 standing.