Good Food Society Add Third Restaurant to Their Portfolio [Updated]

The Good Food Society, who operate Yosma on Baker Street and Frescobaldi in Mayfair, will open Hovarda — an Aegean bar and restaurant — on Rupert Street in Soho on Friday 17 November.

The menu — created by Yosma’s Hus Vedat — is “inspired by the Aegean Sea, with freshly-caught fish served each day alongside a more extensive menu based on the flavours of the region” — a coastal region which takes influences principally from Greece and Turkey. There will be an emphasis on seafood; the restaurant will operate with a daily-changing menu determined by day boat catches from British seas.

Dishes will include:

• Marinated sea bream, fennel, saffron
• Wood fire beetroot, orange, Galomitzithra
• Grilled smoked eel, fava, radishes, caper leaves
• Crab borek, lemon sauce
• Kleftico, slow roasted Ryeland lamb, lamb fat potatoes, oregano (for two)
• Desserts include metaxa baba — a take on the classic Rum Baba; and Lokma, (syrupy deep fried dough balls) with spiced ice cream, honey and walnuts.

The term ‘hovarda’, which is used in both Turkish and Greek, is said to refer to “a generous host with a free spirit.” Hovarda, the restaurant, will make efforts to bring that spirit to their first floor cocktail bar and ground floor restaurant. The space, designed by Lázaro Rosa‐Violan, will feature a large open kitchen and counter dining overlooking open fire grills.

The 74-cover bar will serve an expansive list of spirits and classic cocktails and a wine list which will include a section devoted to Greek grape varietals, as well as a diverse range of European vintages. In the evenings, the bar will invite regular and guest DJs to perform.