Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Book early. This Michelin star is earned.
OMA earned a Michelin star within months of opening in April 2024, and the recognition is warranted. Jorge Paredes runs a live-fire kitchen above Borough Market that goes well beyond Greek cooking — think salt cod XO labneh, squid-ink giouvetsi, and a 450-bin wine list that won Star Wine List UK Best Newcomer 2025. Booking is near impossible; start planning the moment you decide you want to go.
OMA is not a casual Greek restaurant that happened to get lucky with a Michelin star. It is a serious, technically accomplished restaurant that happens to feel like a party — and that combination is exactly what makes it worth the booking effort. Opened in April 2024 above its walk-in sister AGORA in Borough Market, OMA earned its first Michelin star the same year and took the 2025 Star Wine List of the Year UK Leading Newcomer award. At £££, it sits at a price point where expectations are high and the kitchen, led by Jorge Paredes (formerly of Sabor), meets them. Book as far ahead as you possibly can — this one is near impossible to secure.
The most common misconception about OMA is that it is a neighbourhood Greek taverna operating on Borough Market charm. It is not. The room sits above the noise and energy of one of London's most visited food markets, and that proximity gives the covered terrace a kinetic, almost live quality , but what lands on the table is cooking that draws from the full breadth of the Mediterranean, executed over live fire with the kind of precision you associate with fine dining, not sharing plates. Expect to work through the menu rather than drift through it.
David Carter , the operator behind Smokestak and Manteca , has a track record of opening restaurants that perform on the plate rather than just on the reservation waitlist. OMA continues that pattern. The ground floor AGORA operates as a non-bookable, more casual entry point to the same kitchen philosophy. OMA upstairs is where you go if you want the full version: a bookable room, a covered terrace overlooking Borough Market, and a 450-bin wine list that the Star Wine List judges ranked first in the UK for newcomers in 2025. The list skews coastal and Mediterranean, and while there is limited choice under £40 a bottle, you can access the house selection from £5.50 per 125ml pour , useful if you want to range widely across the menu without committing to full bottles.
The food is Greek in its structural DNA but the kitchen does not stop at Greece's borders. Paredes pulls from the wider Mediterranean and beyond: laffa flatbreads made with Wildfarmed flour, açma verde (a green-flecked, bagel-shaped bun), labneh topped with salt cod XO, houmous finished with crispy chickpeas, green zhoug and sumac. Gilthead bream ceviche arrives in a green tomato and apple aguachile. Squid-ink giouvetsi , squid ragù with orzo pasta cooked in prawn-bisque stock , is one of the kitchen's most discussed dishes for good reason. The spanakopita gratin, a bowl of melted sheep's and goat's cheese with spinach served alongside malawach (a flaky Yemeni flatbread), is the kind of dish that reconfigures your reference points for what Greek-inflected food can do. Dessert leans into olive oil territory: a combination of olive-oil gelato and fennel pollen that closes the meal cleanly rather than heavily. The breads across the board are a genuine highlight , the kitchen's enthusiasm for them is warranted.
Borough Market is one of London's most visited food destinations, and OMA benefits from and contributes to that density. The covered terrace gives diners a perch directly above the market's permanent activity, which means the atmosphere is rarely flat. This is not a room for a quiet, contemplative dinner; the energy level is part of what the restaurant is offering. The service team is described consistently as warm and well-paced rather than formal, and the kitchen's timing is noted as one of the room's genuine strengths. For food-focused travellers looking for the most concentrated version of what London's current restaurant moment has to offer, Borough Market as a base positions OMA alongside a cluster of serious operators rather than as an isolated destination.
For comparison with other Greek options in London, Mazi in Notting Hill and Krokodilos offer different points of entry into Hellenic cooking in the city , Mazi at a more accessible price point, Krokodilos with a distinct neighbourhood character. If you want to benchmark OMA against Greek cooking in other capitals, Mavrommatis in Paris and Akra in Athens are the relevant reference points. OMA's approach , live-fire Mediterranean cooking with Greek foundations and a serious wine program , occupies a position none of those fully replicate. For wider UK dining context, see our guides to The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood.
Reservations: Near impossible , book as far in advance as the reservation system allows; this is among the hardest tables to secure in London since its Michelin recognition. Walk-ins are available downstairs at AGORA if OMA is fully committed. Address: 3 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL (above Borough Market). Hours: Monday–Friday 12 PM–3 PM and 5:30 PM–11 PM; Saturday 12 PM–11 PM; Sunday 12 PM–10 PM. Price range: £££. Wine by the glass from £5.50 (125ml house pour); the broader list has limited options under £40 per bottle. Dress: No formal dress code is confirmed in available data, but the room's energy and price point suggest smart-casual is the practical standard. Format: Sharing plates, live-fire kitchen. Terrace: Covered terrace overlooking Borough Market available.
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| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| OMA | Do not underestimate this casual, buzzy restaurant. OMA exploded onto the London dining scene in April 2024, receiving a Michelin star alongside the 2025 Star Wine List of the Year UK Best Newcomer aw...; David Carter (of Smokestak and Manteca fame) is a dab hand at opening dynamic contemporary restaurants that know how to put on a show where it matters – on the plate. He’s gone all out with his latest opening. Part of a two-tiered operation in Borough Market, Oma sits above its more casual, non-bookable sister Agora, and echoes of the rawness and cacophony of the action at street level add to the vibrancy of the perfectly pitched dining room and covered terrace. Jorge Paredes (ex-Sabor) heads the open-plan ‘live fire’ kitchen, delivering dishes that are Greek in spirit but also draw inspiration from the southern sweep of the Mediterranean basin. He achieves striking results, attracting hordes of punters intent on grazing on some seriously inventive dishes (booking is a must). The breads are a highlight – believe your server’s enthusiasm, they really are delicious. We teamed some Wildfarmed laffa (hot, fluffy flatbread) and açma verde (a green-flecked bagel-shaped bun) with a creamy mound of labneh topped with salt cod XO, while a serving of smooth houmous came topped with whole, crispy chickpeas, green zhoug and plenty of sumac. Gilthead bream ceviche in a spiky green tomato and apple aguachile was another knockout dish – likewise squid-ink giouvetsi (squid ragù and orzo pasta), impressively rendered in a prawn-bisque stock to a state of almost criminal lusciousness. But the standout, by a whisker, proved to be spanakopita gratin – a bowl of melted sheep’s and goat’s cheese with spinach, accompanied by malawach (a flaky, Yemeni flatbread). To conclude, a beguiling combination of olive-oil gelato and fennel pollen with extra olive oil made the perfect finale. The well-considered, 450-bin wine list has treasures in abundance to match the kitchen’s cavalcade of flavours, although there is precious little under £40 a bottle. Still, £5.50 will buy you a 125ml pour from the house selection.; Star Wine List #2 (2025); Star Wine List #1 (2025); Find the subtle little sign and then head upstairs to this lively, hugely fun restaurant serving thrilling cooking from Greece and beyond. This is the spot that the capital’s Hellenic food enthusiasts have been crying out for, with utterly delicious sharing dishes that include spreads and breads, tuna in various forms, plenty from the charcoal grill and standouts like spanakopita and giouvetsi. The covered terrace overlooks Borough Market, the pacing from the kitchen is spot on and the young service team are both warm and helpful. The list of coastal wines is great too.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | £££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between OMA and alternatives.
Lunch is the smarter move for first-timers. OMA serves the same kitchen across both services, but Saturday lunch runs continuous from noon to 11 PM, giving you more flexibility if your booking window is tight. Dinner tends to be louder and more atmospheric given the Borough Market backdrop, but neither service changes the menu format, so the decision is mostly about how much you want to spend on wine — the list is extensive and prices climb quickly in the evening.
There is no stated dress code, and OMA's positioning above the casual sister site Agora signals an intentionally relaxed room. The Michelin star and £££ price point suggest put-together rather than dressed-up — think the kind of outfit you would wear to a serious neighbourhood restaurant, not a jacket-required dining room. Overly casual works against you here given the quality of the cooking and the effort needed to secure a table.
Book as far out as the reservation system allows. OMA received a Michelin star in 2024 within months of opening, which put it among the hardest tables to secure in London almost immediately. If you have a specific date in mind, check for last-minute cancellations at opening time — but do not count on it. Planning 4–6 weeks ahead is a minimum; more if you want a weekend slot.
OMA is a sharing-plates format built around live-fire cooking — the menu reads Greek but pulls from the wider Mediterranean, so expect dishes like squid-ink giouvetsi and spanakopita gratin alongside more familiar labneh and houmous. Michelin reviewers single out the breads as a highlight worth ordering without question. The wine list runs to 450 bins but has very little under £40 a bottle, so factor that into your budget alongside the £££ food pricing.
OMA is set up for sharing plates, which suits groups well in terms of format. However, the room's capacity and the difficulty of securing any reservation at all makes large-group bookings genuinely hard to arrange — the 12-seat counter dynamic at comparable restaurants applies here. Parties of 2–4 will have an easier time securing a table than groups of 6 or more. If group dining is the priority, the non-bookable sister site Agora downstairs is the more practical option for larger numbers.
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