With his main goal to showcase authentic Greek street food to Liverpool, owner of Laros Nikolaos Fylladitakis opened his first restaurant on Bold Street in May 2021.
Since then, Nikolaos and the team have expanded to open another venue on Storrsdale Road in South Liverpool, a dark kitchen in Manchester City Centre, a pop up in Hotel Anfield and will be launching another exciting venue very soon.
Sharing authentic Greek street food dishes and ingredients, Nikolaos is passionate about showcasing what he and his family eat in Greece and shedding light on traditional dishes at the heart of Greek cuisine.
From gyros wraps to souvlaki skewer boxes, fresh Greek salads, an entire Laros Green vegan menu made up of fresh, all-natural ingredients, Nikolaos, who moved to Liverpool in 2014, has created a hybrid restaurant and takeaway where guests can enjoy fast food that’s freshly made, in-house each day.
Laros is a place where people can enjoy the ease of street food, whilst also experiencing the essence of fine cuisine.
Importing the majority of Laros’ ingredients directly from Greece including its meat, dairy and drinks such as Greek wines, beers and soft drinks, Nikolaos is committed to bringing a taste of authenticity to Liverpool.
He explained:
“I’m originally from Crete and we eat fresh, delicious dishes each day. Laros’ core values are built on sharing authentic Greek street food with the North West, and I’m passionate about showcasing a taste of Greece and traditional flavours with our guests.
“To do this, I’ve always imported the majority of our ingredients from Greece, working directly with independent, high quality suppliers to deliver the freshest and best dishes that we possibly can. This can be a challenge when it comes to logistics and costs but this will always be paramount to Laros and what it stands for. We are committed to delivering the finest of Greek products and guarantee to never cut corners.”
For Nikolaos, celebrating Greek cuisine in terms of everyday dishes is really important, but so are Greek traditions and in March, Laros will celebrate Tsiknopempti.
Greek Carnival and Tsiknopempti are two calendar dates that are part of Apokries – a month-long event across Greece that celebrates all things indulgent in the run up to Lent including lots of wine and grilled meat.
Following the Apokries celebrations, Greeks go into Lent abstaining from meat and embark on a cleansing period. This is very similar to how many people give certain things up for Lent.
This year, Tsiknopempti falls on Thursday 7th March and Laros will celebrate with Greek music, bright colours and in shop deals.
Nikolaos said:
“Tsiknopempti is an exciting, colourful celebration in Greece. It’s not very well known in England but it’s our ambition to share Greek traditions with our community so that they can experience key calendar events and the joy that comes from this special time of year. We’re looking forward to welcoming all of our guests throughout this time and we hope you love Tsiknopempti and Greek Carnival as much as we do!”
READ MORE: FACES BEHIND THE BUSINESS – NIKOLAOS FYLLADITAKIS – LAROS
