06/09/25

Brougham Street, Edinburgh

6, Brougham Street has been a special place for us ever since we moved to Edinburgh. Back in 2015, when we first ate there, it was My Big Fat Greek Kitchen, a decent enough venue, though we observed at the time that the food was somewhat let down by its presentation. In 2017, it took a major step up when it became Taxidi, owned by chef Dimitri, and offering a remarkable selection of traditional Greek dishes at great value prices. In 2024, Dimitri went for a major transformation with Mitsos: Serial Griller, changing the format completely, but triumphing once again with a strikingly different approach to Greek cuisine, all freshly cooked to order on a giant grill.

Now the premises is under new ownership, has been rebranded as Nixos, and looks very different. The premises have been beautifully redecorated, making the place feel lighter and roomier than ever before. It keeps the Greek theme but puts the emphasis firmly on street food, centred mostly around the Gyros (pronounce eros): a combination of freshly-baked flatbread, filled with your choice of meat, cheese or vegetables, mixed with salad and tzatziki, then liberally augmented with fries. The idea is to pick up the entire thing and wolf it. Dainty eaters should be warned that the cutlery here is of the disposable wooden variety, so it’s best to conquer your inhibitions and chow down.

We order two different gyros. Susan goes for chicken and I opt for halloumi and, it turns out, the service is lightning-fast. Our meal arrives almost before we’ve had a chance to draw breath.

Okay, so this isn’t the place to come for a long, relaxing meal – we’re all done and dusted in half an hour – but the food is undeniably delicious, the halloumi wrap in particular generously stuffed with large chunks of perfectly grilled cheese. (Gyros are difficult to photograph. Our attempts really don’t do them justice.) We share a bowl of kalamata olives, which are spot on and we also sample a couple of Greek soft drinks in lemon and sour cherry flavours, but beers and wine are available for those who indulge. There’s currently no sweet menu (something which I’m told the owners are thinking about) and we cannot argue with the bill which comes in at less than £30 for the two of us.

We will doubtless eat this food again, but perhaps next time as a takeaway, a tastier (and healthier) alternative to pizza – unless of course, that sweet menu happens to make an appearance. If you haven’t yet sampled the handful of heaven that is a gyros, here’s your perfect opportunity.

4 stars

Philip Caveney