Asimakis Chaniotis

Coming Up

Sous-chef work in London gave the kitchen discipline first: repetition, pressure, timing, and the habits that service exposes quickly. In Asimakis Chaniotis’s early career, that foundation preceded the Executive Chef role at Pied à Terre in London, where technique and composure became daily requirements rather than abstract values. The cooking language that followed is built from two registers. French technique supplies order and precision; Greek memory supplies warmth, generosity, and identity. Chaniotis’s work sits between them, detailed without becoming detached, expressive without losing its roots. At Myrtos, that experience is now directed into a more personal restaurant built around place, hospitality, and Greek character.

Where They Are Now

Greek cuisine at Myrtos in South Kensington, London is framed as tradition with creative control, not adaptation for convenience. Chaniotis is now chef-owner at Myrtos in South Kensington, London, and since 2025 has been Executive Chef/Owner of Myrtos by Asimakis in London. The restaurant’s position is clear: Greek food can be contemporary without loosening its link to source, memory, and recognizable form. Philoxenia functions as a working principle rather than a slogan. At Myrtos, generosity, open-hearted hospitality, warm service, abundant food, and making guests feel like family shape both the room and the menu. In trade terms, the welcome is part of the mise en place: the food is served, but it is also offered. The menu’s signatures cover several registers of Greek cooking. Classic lamb moussaka gives the comfort structure; whipped taramasalata brings brightness; deep-fried hortopita carries the crisp, savory side of the table. Chaniotis also states the visual part of the work plainly: "I like to visualise what my dishes will look like when they’re finished – it’s fundamental to have a beautiful support for food, and I always want it to be something unique and cool." The plate is considered before the dish leaves the kitchen, with presentation treated as part of hospitality rather than surface finish.

Signature

Signature dishes include At Myrtos: classic lamb moussaka, whipped taramasalata, deep-fried hortopita, and dishes that anchor the restaurant’s Greek character while leaving room for Chaniotis’s creative control and polished technique.

In Their Words “My signature dish is cherry wood smoked French quail with celeriac rose, 63 degrees confit rich Italian egg yolk, 24-month aged Parmesan, black winter truffle and roasted Piedmont hazelnuts.” “I like to visualise what my dishes will look like when they’re finished – it’s fundamental to have a beautiful support for food, and I always want it to be something unique and cool.”

Honors

Asimakis Chaniotis has received Michelin Guide — Michelin star for his work as Chef de cuisine of L’Autre Pied Restaurant (2018). Recognition here belongs to a specific crossing of technique, geography, and cuisine. Asimakis's honors include Michelin star; first Greek chef to earn a Michelin star outside Greece and 30 people under 30. The distinctions mark work made between Athens and London, with French precision set against the wider grammar of Greek hospitality.