Take a look - Peterborough’s Greek restaurant shows its colours

Chef and owner Milo Zenelaj put a stop to his lockdown takeaways a couple of weeks ago while the work has been carried out at Salamis Greek Taverna on Broadway - ahead of the easing of restrictions.

So when his customers are allowed inside once again on May 17 Milo - who is celebrating five years in charge at what used to be called Andrea’s - is hoping they notice the difference.

“The restaurant has been in this current spot for about 14 years and I am sure it has not changed in all that time,” said Milo, who was a customer long before he took up ownership and renamed it after the ancient Greek city Salamis on Cyprus.

“It has always looked a little dark so we have brightened the place up with a new colour scheme - blue and white - just like the Greek flag. I am sure people will notice right away that it looks a lot different to the last time they visited. I think it looks really nice.”

There will, of course, be restrictions on group sizes and the spacing of tables so the venue will be down to about 50 covers - half its pre-covid capacity, but Milo is certain the atmosphere Salamis is known for will remain.

“I will be having my Greek singer back providing some entertainment - he was always popular with customers and really got things going. People used to really enjoy themselves.”

The chef who has been in the catering industry for 15 years, took the bold step to open his own restaurant in 2016 and, despite the recent struggles through the pandemic, hasn’t regretted it.

“ I have a passion for cooking plus I used to love coming here to eat as a customer as it reminded me of home. Then when I saw it was for sale I jumped at the chance of buying it before someone else did. It did not want to lose the only Greek restaurant in Peterborough.”

Milo says the menu has pretty much stayed the same over the years although he has developed it with use of different ingredients and his cooking and presentation styles.

“Customers recognise the passion I put into my cooking and love the food, particularly the mezes to share - lots of different dishes to try, so it is not a quick meal.”