About Nostos

Our Story

How Nostos came alive and what’s in it for you.

Our story starts here

The story of Nostos started 20 years ago in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, one of the culinary capitals of Greece, with a diverse and multicultural food scene.

That was the meeting point of Alex, our experienced head chef, and Kyriakos. Both being passionate about authentic, delicious food, it was not long before the idea of opening a restaurant together developed.

After both friends moved to the UK, Brighton and Hove’s unique atmosphere provided the right backdrop against which the idea of Nostos was materialised.

We firmly believe that a restaurant offering modern Greek gastronomy was missing from the city and thus aim to provide an authentic Greek culinary experience.

There is a lot of love for good food in our story and we look forward to continuing our pursue of exquisite food and seeing what the future has in store for Nostos.

Our Vision

To serve authentic, wholesome food, as it should be. Honouring our culinary heritage while taking inspiration from local ingredients to create a varied menu that includes iconic dishes as well as lesser known gems of Greek cuisine.

To prepare everything on site daily, guaranteeing freshness, mouth-watering taste and commitment to the best quality ingredients.

To keep our concept fresh and contemporary and continue to get inspiration from both the rich Greek culinary heritage and the high quality locally available ingredients.

OUR GUIDING STATEMENTS

Our aim to provide our customers with the best culinary experience of authentic Greek food lies at the core of our values. We achieve this through using carefully selected ingredients, following traditional family recipes and taking inspiration from our personal culinary journeys and roots.

This is combined with our commitment to sustainability, visible in both the restaurant’s design and decoration (use of reclaimed tiles, non-animal tested paints, recycled aluminium external sign and wool-alternative felt-look upholstery fabric) and its dishes (made with responsibly sourced local fish and premium quality meat sourced from Sussex farms where welfare is of an extremely high standard) to name a few examples.

Finally, our discerning menu with a wide variety of healthy, vegan and vegetarian options that does not compromise on quality, taste and authenticity, makes us stand out in Brighton and Hove’s restaurant scene.

Nostos Story | The Greek Restaurant in Hove & Brighton

WHAT DOES NOSTOS MEAN?​

Nostos (Ancient Greek: νόστος) is a theme used in Ancient Greek literature which includes an epic hero returning home by sea.

In Ancient Greek society, it was deemed a high level of heroism or greatness for those who managed to return.

This journey is usually very extensive and includes being shipwrecked in an unknown location and going through certain trials that test the hero.

The return isn’t just about returning home physically but also about retaining certain statuses and retaining your identity upon arrival.

The theme of Nostos is brought to life in Homer’s The Odyssey, where the main hero Odysseus tries to return home after battling in the Trojan War.

Odysseus is challenged by many temptations, such as the Sirens and the Lotus-eaters. If Odysseus had given into these temptations it would have meant certain death and thus failing to return home.

Nostos is used today in many forms of literature and movies, and now in food as well!

Source: Wikipedia