Harpenden has a new taste of Greece. Kalimera Greek Bakery Café has opened at 14b Leyton Road, opposite Leyton Green, serving handmade Greek pastries, breakfast, lunch and coffee in a café decorated in Aegean blue and white.

Its name means “good morning” in Greek, and the menu follows suit: freshly baked filo pies and cakes, Greek breakfast plates, bowls, pittas and yogurt bowls, plus generous hot and cold sharing plates for lunch.

A little piece of Greece on Leyton Road

Step inside and you could be on a Greek island. The café has blue and white walls, a bougainvillea mural, rattan lampshades, bistro tables and a cosy corner of cushioned benches. It sits in a ground-floor unit on Leyton Road, facing Leyton Green, the pedestrian route between the High Street and the Amenbury Lane car park.

It is an easy stop on the way to or from the station, and adds a Greek bakery to Harpenden’s café scene.

Handmade Greek pastries, baked fresh daily

The heart of Kalimera is its counter of handmade savoury and sweet pastries, made fresh each day from traditional Greek recipes. Each is £4.95 to eat in or £4.45 to take away.

• Spanakopita: hand-folded layers of filo filled with spinach, herbs and creamy feta
• Leek pie: slow-cooked sweet leeks with cheese and herbs, wrapped in pastry
• Galette with spinach: hand-formed pastry baked with spinach, herbs and melted cheese
• Bougatsa: the classic Greek filo pie, in savoury (cheese or meat) or sweet versions
• Portokalopita: a syrupy Greek orange cake made with filo

Breakfast, bowls and pittas

The all-day menu leans on fresh Greek ingredients, with several gluten-free (GF) dishes. Highlights from the opening menu include:

• Classic Greek Breakfast Plate (GF), £10.95: free-range eggs, feta, olives, Greek sausage, fresh vegetables, bread, and yogurt with honey
• Eggs and Feta Plate (GF), £8.95: free-range eggs, feta, tomato and extra virgin olive oil on toasted sourdough
• Avocado and Salmon on Sourdough, £12.95: with an optional poached egg
• Chicken Halloumi Bowl (GF), £12.95: quinoa, chicken, halloumi, olives, tzatziki and warm pitta
• Chicken and Orzo Bowl, £12.95: roasted chicken, orzo, feta, olives and tzatziki
• Dakos with Chicken and Avocado, £11.95: a traditional Cretan barley rusk topped with tomato, feta, avocado and chicken
• Pastitsio, £14.50: traditional Greek baked pasta with a rich meat sauce and béchamel
• Pittas and sandwiches, £8.95: halloumi pitta, a Greek chicken sandwich with garlic, or feta and roasted vegetables
• Greek yogurt bowls, £7.50: thick strained yogurt with toppings such as honey, banana and walnut, or citrus, pomegranate and granola

Greek sharing plates and meze

For a long lunch with friends, Kalimera offers two sharing platters, each served with warm pitta or grilled flatbread:

• Cold Sharing Plate, £24.95: hummus with olive oil, tzatziki, taramasalata, dolmades and a horiatiki Greek salad
• Hot Sharing Plate, £27.95: halloumi grilled with lemon and oregano, spanakopita, saganaki (fried cheese with lemon), marinated grilled chicken, loukaniko Greek sausage and roasted peppers
• Build your own Greek meze: choose any three for £9.50 or any five for £13.50, from tzatziki, feta, halloumi, olives, hummus, roasted peppers, feta saganaki, pitta, cherry tomatoes and cucumber

What early visitors are saying

Kalimera has made a strong start, with five-star reviews on Google from its first customers. Visitors have praised the friendly, chatty and knowledgeable owners, the clean and welcoming space, the cakes and pastries and the lunch sharing menu, along with the Greek-style iced freddo cappuccino. As with any new opening, there were queues in the first few days while the team settled in.

How to find Kalimera

Kalimera is at 14b Leyton Road, AL5 2TQ, opposite Leyton Green and a minute’s walk from the High Street. Harpenden station is about 0.2 miles away, and the nearest parking is the Amenbury Lane car park, reached on foot across Leyton Green.

Hungry for more? Read about Bread Ahead opening on the High Street, or browse every bakery in Harpenden.

Photos: Kalimera Greek Bakery Café. Prices are from the opening menu and may change.