London chain The Athenian has won the top award, Restaurant of the Year, at Deliveroo’s second Restaurant Awards last night.
Founded by two Londoners born and raised in Athens and Cyprus, The Athenian started off as a small street food venture serving freshly made souvlaki.
With a 40% plant-based menu, The Athenian quickly gained a cult following for its authentic, fresh and nutritious food, and expanded to seven locations in London along with locations in Bristol, Birmingham, Brighton, Cambridge, Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester and Reading.
During Covid, the Athenian supported Deliveroo’s NHS initiative to donate over 2,500 meals to NHS heroes and on top of this, made a 50% discount available to all NHS staff. They also launched a weekly parcel for their employees to ensure they had all the necessities during the pandemic and launched a ‘Walk to Work scheme’, paying their employees to walk to work rather than getting the tube.
From showing an amazing commitment to delivery throughout the pandemic, keeping all staff employed throughout the peak of lockdown, running virtual cook-a-long’s on Instagram during lockdown and investing in delivery-only, they’ve gone over and above this year to support the community.
This award was decided by a celebrity panel of judges, including TV presenter and DJ Maya Jama, broadcaster and DJ Vogue Williams, reigning Celebrity MasterChef champ Riyadh Khalaf and Deliveroo’s CEO Will Shu. The other deserved nominees for the top spot were Pizza Pilgrims, Atis, Oro, Rosa’s Thai Cafe and Dishoom.
Efthymios and Neofytos, Founders of The Athenian said, “We are so humbled to have won Deliveroo’s Restaurant of the Year award, after what has been an especially challenging but rewarding year. There were some incredible restaurants nominated this year who we want to thank for doing their bit too, along with our amazing staff and loyal customers.”