Limonia - a great Greek restaurant in the Primrose Hill area near Chalk Farm Station

Problem
We wanted a reasonably priced restaurant near Chalk Farm station for a family gathering (two in the centre of London, two travelling into London from the suburbs.

Answer
We found two restaurants in the area, an Italian, a bit dearer, and this one. Our relatives opted for this one. A great choice.

Story
We printed off the map, left our car at Edgware Station car park (as described in a previous post) and travelled to Chalk Farm station on the Northern Line.

Up the hill and there it is on the corner, an a grand old building, all white and green. The name livonia means lemon and their symbol on the business card is a lemon tree. The husband and wife on the counter facing you as you walk in are the Cypriot Greek owners.

I looked around at the plants separating the main front room from a raised side area and a back room with ceiling windows. I asked the waiter, 'Where's the lemon tree?"

He grinned, "In Greece!"

Our waiter was Albanian. So we had a jolly chat about how British comedian Norman Wisdom had been popular in Albania.

The slate board on the wall had the daily specials. We opted for the cheapest of three set meals, only £11.90 for a there course menu. You could have dessert or coffee. We opted for the dessert and ordered Greek coffee as an extra.

My starter was a chickpeas in tomato sauce - or chickpeas in soup, hard to tell which. Very good. Full of flavour and filling - which applied to all three courses. My main course was chicken and okra (also commonly known as ladies fingers). We did sharing plates (sometimes called Jewish ping pong). So I got to taste the casserole with aubergines, stuffed peppers with a centre filled with rice. Very nice. No potatoes. You can't have everything.

Desserts were only a choice of two, rice pudding or yogurt with honey, so we had one of each. As usual the dollop of Greek yogurt, which stood up by itself yet was 'liquid' not set, proved very more-ish. Both desserts had a raspberry in the centre to provide decorative colour and extra flavour and to add to the feeling that we were eating healthy fruit and vegetables.

I had had a glass of prosecco as my wine. (The others chose to share retsina, which was milder than the rough retsina I remembered drinking years ago at the La Plaka wine district uphill in Athen,s Greece.)

I could have had a dessert wine of sweet red or white. Unfortunately no room. Next time.

Tips
Have the chickpea starter.
Choose the front room if you like a street view, the back room for more privacy.

Afterwards
Look around the shops and restaurants and look for the three blue plaques. (See my previous post on Primrose Hill.)

Address:
Lemonia Restaurant
89 Regents Park Road, London NW1 8UY,
tel:020 7586 7454.
info@ameraproperties.com
Open for lunch and dinner.
(photos to be added shortly)
Nearby station: Chalk Farm on the Northern line.

Photos of Limonia Restaurant by Angela Lansbury.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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Primrose Hill, Sylvia Plath and Engels

Problem
Where is Primrose Hill? How do you get there? Why is it called Primrose Hill? Why should I care who lived there? Why should I go there?

Answer Primrose Hill, I imagined was named after springtime primrose, which means first roses. Alas, Wikipedia tells me the area is not named after primroses but after a man.

Story
I associate Primrose Hill with suicidal American poet Sylvia Plath, who married Ted Hughes, one of the UK's great poets. For many years I regarded his history with suspicion. He had the misfortune to lose two young wives. (As Oscar Wilde said, in the Importance of Being Earnest, "to lose one parent is a misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness.") Yes, Ted Hughes married two women who both committed suicide. The area certainly has an interesting history.

Blue plaques
The area has blue plaques for three well known people who lived in the area
1 Poet Sylvia Plath,
2 Engels who encouraged Karl Marx, and
3 Poet Yeats.

Tips
Finally, where exactly is it and how do you get there?
Chalk Farm station is on the northern line (one end is Edgware). The station is is opposite the legendary Round House theatre. From the Round House walk uphill to Primrose Hill, crossing a pedestrian bridge with murals.

To learn more about the poets and people of Primrose Hill:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primrose_Hill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assia_Wevill (Second wife of Ted Hughes)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Engels

The Round House theatre.
Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 2016.

Action
Book lunch at Al Limone restaurant. (See next post)

Author
Angela Lansbury, author and travel writer, speaker.