A new Mediterranean restaurant serving up huge steaks, seafood and souvlaki has opened its doors in Moseley. Soufi, in Alcester Road, is the realisation of Harry Constantinou’s lifelong dream to bring Greek Cypriot cuisine to Birmingham.
Harry and his family have run chip shops in the city for 50 years and previously owned a restaurant in Cyprus. Soufi specialises in Greek Cypriot cuisine, such as souvlaki, fish and seafood, plus an impressive range of steaks – including a £65 32oz tomahawk.
Owner Harry, 42, is confident his souvlaki will be the “best in Birmingham”. He said: “My family has run a few food businesses such as chip shops in Birmingham and we had a restaurant in Cyprus.
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“I’m a huge foodie and I’m from a family that likes our food – my family are Greek Cypriots from Cyprus. We had a restaurant over there for several years but I’ve always wanted to bring Greek Cypriot food to Birmingham. That has always been my main ambition.
“There are a few Greek kebab shops in Birmingham that sell gyros but no traditional restaurants serving proper Greek Cypriot food like souvlaki on a skewer and good quality meat cooked over hot coals.
“There’s a big Greek Cypriot community in Birmingham so there’s definitely a gap in the market for something like this. We’re doing Greek kebabs, souvlaki, fish and sea food and Greek salads, but also steaks and chops, so there’s something for everyone. We’re importing quite a few of our ingredients from Cyprus, such as our halloumi and spicy sausage, so you know it’s authentic. The rest has been sourced locally.
“It’s all organic meat, the best quality we could buy, so it’s all really tasty food. We’ve gone big with the steaks – we’ve got a 32oz tomahawk and a 20oz T-bone on the menu – I thought why do things by halves?
“We’ve also got sheftalia which is a traditional sausage from Cyprus, it’s a bit of a rarity. But our main dish is souvlaki – we’ve got chicken, pork and lamb – I’d say it’s the best souvlaki in Birmingham. Souvlaki is like gold dust to the Greeks so I wanted to bring that to Birmingham.”
Also on the menu is a seafood sharing platter made up of calamari, red mullet and tiger prawns, the ‘Big Sou’ mixed grill platter featuring a mix of chicken, pork and lamb souvlaki with sheftalia and salad, plus a range of Mediterranean starters, including Cypriot pitta bread, olives, Greek salad, dips and grilled halloumi.
Soufi launched on Thursday, April 21 on the ground floor of the Moseley Central apartment development, following a £500,000 refurbishment. It adds to a growing number of restaurants and places to eat across the city.
The eatery will be open from 5.30pm to 10.30pm Tuesday to Thursday, 5pm to 11pm Friday to Saturday and 3pm to 9.30pm on Sundays. Search Soufi on Facebook.
