Lonsdale Road is Queen’s Park’s best-kept secret. The unassuming North West London thoroughfare, once a stable block for Hackney carriages, is now filled with flavoursome dining options and entertainment. The recent opening of Don’t Tell Dad entices with its seamless day-to-night offering and hazelnut brown-butter croissants, and just minutes away now sits Pyrá, a Greek and Spanish fusion spot led by head chef Mattia Caddeo, formerly sous chef at The Arts Club, Mayfair and Angela Hartnett’s Murano. Because why settle for one cuisine when you can have both Mediterranean favourites?
Wallpaper* dines at Pyrá, London
The mood: a kiss on both cheeks
Designed by the London-based studio House of Dré, Pyrá's interior favours warm, earthy tones that seek to lure guests in with a lived-in charm. The studio's founder, Andreas N. Christodoulou, used texture as a metaphor for the passage of time, selecting materials that would embrace imperfection and tell their own stories as they age. Hence, the choice of terracotta tile flooring, which patinas gracefully. ‘One of my favourite details is the little café curtain under the kitchen pass, hanging from an unlacquered brass rail that will slowly tarnish and develop character over time,' Christodoulou notes.
A rendezvous at Pyrá doesn’t begin and end on the ground floor – an inviting upstairs space features a vinyl, wine and cocktail bar called the Loft, available for private hire and DJ nights. ‘Flooded with natural light, it’s a bright and lofty space designed with flexibility in mind,' says Christodoulou. 'You could host an engagement party one night, then clear the furniture for a yoga class the next.'
The food: sharing is caring...or is it?
If there’s one thing the Greeks and Spaniards know how to do, it’s bringing people together over food. That’s exactly the spirit of Pyrá. The tapas-style sharing menu celebrates the best of Mediterranean cuisine and ingredients. This approach, combined with the warmth of fire-grilled specialities and the masterful use of spices and aromatic herbs, delights the palate – without the cost of a plane ticket.
While house specials include whole sea bass baked in salt crust and a 1kg Galician rib-eye on the bone, you’re more than allowed to indulge in the deconstructed gyros: slow-cooked lamb leg with flatbread, chips, chili dip, tzatziki, onion, and tomato salad. Ask for the cocktail of the day for the ultimate holiday refresher, and don’t skip the crème catalane with blood orange for dessert.
Pyra is located at 6A-8A, Lonsdale Rd, London NW6 6RD; pyralondon.com
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