The head chef at the Eagle Vaults hopes the sky is the limit as his team aims to fly high by providing the best breakfasts and lunches in Worcester at prices everyone can afford.
Nikos Gjo has been the head chef at Eagle Vaults in Friar Street in Worcester for the last five years and the city centre pub is beginning to make a name for itself as the place to go for breakfasts and lunches.
The 37-year-old aims to provide something unique in Worcester - traditional English dishes but with a Mediterranean twist, combining something from his roots in Albania and Crete with the flavours and traditions of his adopted home.
The English dishes are infused with herbs used in more Mediterranean climes for a 'more rich, more intense flavour' which Mr Gjo says 'really makes you want to reach more quickly for the next bite'.
Mr Gjo, who has now been 25 years in the trade, also understands the financial pressures his customers may be under and says he wants to make food that is both high quality but also affordable, something that is increasingly a challenge in the tough economic climate in which we all find ourselves.
This is why you can get a two-course lunch for £12.95 and a three-course meal for £15.95.
"We make everything in-house using locally sourced ingredients as much as possible. This is English cuisine but with a Mediterranean twist," he said.
He said he hoped he and his two chefs produced dishes which were good 'across the board', although he says it is in the domain of breakfasts and lunches where they are forging a strong reputation for excellence. This is reflected in the 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor after 239 reviews and a 4.4 rating on Google reviews (after 464 reviews).
One of the dishes they have earned high praise for are their steaks, specially sourced from a 'secret' butcher including 35-day dry-aged steak.
Mr Gjo said: "We have amazing breakfasts and lunches but we're also trying to make it affordable. We want people to have high-quality food but for a reasonable price. It's very good value. We are certainly aiming to provide the best breakfasts in Worcester and we have received a lot of recommendations."
Breakfasts are served from 9am to 3pm Tuesday to Saturday and between 10am and 3pm on Sundays. Lunches are served Tuesday to Sunday between noon and 3pm while dinners are served Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm to 9pm.
Mr Gjo lived most of his life in Crete and worked as head chef at Fiesta del Asado (the Argentinian Steakhouse) in both Solihull and Birmingham.
He also worked as a chef at Creta Palace, a five-star hotel in Crete, for nine years working his way up to sous chef. But his experience with food began when he was just 12 years old, working in his godfather's kitchen on Crete, washing plates and helping prepare food.
He said: "I believe the quality of the food is unique and also our standards. Normally when people come, they're surprised and wowed by the quality of the experience that they have."
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Breakfast meals include the full English for £11.95 which includes homemade sausage, smoked bacon, crispy and herb potatoes, Portobello mushrooms and roasted tomatoes infused with garlic and thyme, Heinz baked beans, sourdough bread, and an egg of your choice.
Other breakfast options include a full vegetarian English breakfast (with a vegan choice also available); a variety of omelettes (chorizo, ham, Mediterranean vegetables, mushroom, cheese); Eagle Avo Mash; Egg Benedicts; egg Florentine; American-style pancakes.
The lunch and dinner menu includes pork or chicken gyros, 10oz ribeye steaks, grilled salmon and a wide range of pasta and pizza mains, salads and starters from mixed olives to pan-fried king prawns.
A full range of teas and coffees is also served and there are desserts from sticky toffee pudding to citron lemon tart.
