Greekman’s is a hidden gem in a Silver Lake strip mall. Shelby Moore

There are plenty of places in Los Angeles to sip on a glass of skin-contact wine, but only one spot in Silver Lake where the house list runs more than 80 bottles deep and is made up entirely of imported Greek varietals. Greekman’s is not a wine bar, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a de facto Greek wine oasis and, strangely, one of the only places in the city devoted to vintages from the Mediterranean country. 

In fact, it’s not even the first restaurant to occupy the dimly lit bistro space hidden away in a seedy, ‘80s strip mall. The precursor to Greekman’s was Freedman’s, an instant classic Jewish-American deli from first-time restaurateur Jonah Freedman, which opened at the end of 2017. Brisket was served tableside with bone marrow, and the martini was laced with pickle juice and Aquavit; the beloved deli landed Freedman spots on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Bon Appétit’s best new restaurants of 2018. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and its owner discovered that tableside brisket didn’t lend itself particularly well to takeout. 

Greekman’s was his solution: launched in 2021, it featured a simple souvlaki menu that felt appropriately summery and was easy to order in or eat on the patio outside the Freedman’s space. It was supposed to be a temporary pop-up necessitated by pandemic restrictions on indoor dining, but somewhere between the lamb and wagyu kefta and feta baked in phyllo and sprinkled with pomegranate arils, Greekman’s grew so popular that it felt natural to move it to a permanent space. The blue-and-white parking lot patio decorated with green vines eventually had to be taken down, and Greekman’s moved into the now-closed Freedman’s space, with its polished vintage dining room, mahogany wood bar and stately built-ins.

Greekman’s took over the former Freedman’s space once indoor dining was brought back after the pandemic. Shelby Moore

In the midst of all these changes, Freedman decided the best way to christen his new menu was to pair the cuisine with native wine. He traveled to Greece several times as the transition to Greekman’s became official, connecting with prominent winemakers, visiting ancient vineyards and curating a singular wine list solely focused on one country. The resulting list is one of the most comprehensive Greek wine collections in Los Angeles. 

“You can throw a stone one block in any direction and get a bottle of French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese wine,” Freedman tells Observer. “But very few people had Greek wine on their list when we started, if any, and I was drawn to it because it automatically worked with the food. After traveling to Greece with an importer, I was able to visit a producer called Glinavos, who makes Paleokerisio, which is probably the most popular Greek wine in America. It’s a semi-sparkling, amber wine that sort of drinks like a cider.” 

This wine works as the fulcrum for Greekman’s list, and after trying a glass during a recent dinner, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the slightly sweet effervescence contrasted with snacks like earthy zucchini chips and mild sea bream crudo. An Ioannina sparkling wine made using ancient techniques, Paleokerisio is more herbal than some skin-contact styles and less tannic, which makes it great for pairing with food. “It’s a half-bottle, so people are really obsessed with it,” Freedman says. “They love the size, it’s fun, really easy drinking, and references an old style of winemaking.” 

Paleokerisio, a semi-sparkling Greek wine, pairs well with most of the items on the menu. Shelby Moore

Even if the wine bar scene in Los Angeles has exploded, and interest in weirder and more natural wines is finally taking root in the U.S., many diners are still hesitant about trying new-to-them vintages. The familiarity of orange wine establishes a baseline for guests and helps convince them to branch out into unfamiliar varietals with hard-to-pronounce names. Because of this, Freedman’s initial impulse was to limit the wine list to 10 or so offerings that were available by the glass or by the bottle, “taverna style,” as he puts it. He wanted to keep things simple and straightforward, like the snacky skewers and salads on the food menu.

But as repeat trips to Greece deepened his knowledge—both of the north-of-Athens alpine regions renowned for red varietals, completely unknown to many Americans, and the effortless pleasure and diversity of island white wines—the bottle list grew exponentially. “I’ve actually visited about 70 percent of the producers on our list,” he says. “It really does change the way you talk about and think about the wine. We have 80 to 100 bottles, which is significant for a restaurant of our size, of about 50 covers. I wanted to build the wine list from those 10 original wines into what it is now.”

The resulting assortment is a sprawling, eclectic collection of bottles that hits every single style, from sparkling and white, to orange, rosé and red, plus a couple of dessert wines and a selection of large-format offerings for groups or experts.

Exploring the whole list would take multiple visits, but that can be part of the draw for wine lovers and amateurs alike. Every new meal unlocks another level of knowledge, and potentially, a new favorite grape. Some Greekman’s regulars come in now just to have a glass or a bottle, skipping food altogether. Glasses are priced under $20 and will pair nicely with the food regardless of the order, so the stakes are relatively low. And to help make the list more accessible, especially from a value standpoint, there’s also a special offering every Wednesday.

“There’s unbelievable quality to be had in Greek wine, especially for the price point,” Freedman says. “Still, it’s hard for people to take a gamble on these wines and varietals, especially when it comes to cost. To address that, we started Wine Wednesday, where all our bottles are 50 percent off. It helps people access our higher-end bottles and explore more easily. We really want people to experience and taste these wines that we’re so passionate about, and make it feel possible to people.” 

If it’s not Wednesday, going for a glass instead of a bottle doesn’t mean forgoing quality wine either. During my visit, a standout by-the-glass pour was a rosy-pink Corinthian wine, ironically called “Reddish,” a direct press of the most-planted Greek grape, Agiorgitiko. Served chilled, and tasting of strawberries and velvet, it was a fantastic match for the lamb burger, served with feta and cucumber, plus a side of herby, salty fries. 

“I typically want to provide two options for reds by the glass,” Freedman says. “There’s one lighter style, often chilled, the glou-glou style wine. Right now, that’s Reddish, which is a juicy, tart red fruit style that’s poppy and bright. It feels like a quintessential red summertime wine. The other, Kokkymelo, is made from a grape called Xinomavro. If there was a noble red grape of Greece, it would be Xinomavro, which is grown in the north, in Greek Macedonia.” 

Lamb chops at Greekman’s. Shelby Moore

Scan the red section of Greekman’s bottle list, and this varietal comes up again and again. Freedman compares it to red Burgundy or nebbiolo, thanks to the strong tomato, black olive and cherry notes. Both the Kokkymelo and a pick from the bottle list, Domaine Oinea’s Arkouda, showcased the varietal’s grippy tannins and high acid. A well-balanced wine with savory, herbal notes and a really nice fruit character, it’s a fantastic companion to smoky sirloin skewers or the gaminess of lamb. Xinomavro deserves to be a star in America. It was memorable enough that when I got home, I looked up where to get a bottle in L.A.—alas, most domestic wine shops lean lighter. 

In truth, white wine has a much more prominent place in Greek vinification, thanks to the popularity of Assyrtiko grapes grown in Santorini—in Freedman’s estimation, “the most notable wine-growing region in the country.” North American drinkers are usually more familiar with Grecian whites than reds, and it doesn’t hurt that the salty cheeses, fresh salads and citrusy flavors in the cuisine just pair better with a crisp white. Salinity coming off the ocean influences the grapes, and the Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers naturally draws the palate toward lighter styles like white, orange and rosé.

Assyrtiko has a strong presence on Freedman’s list, but since that grape is more familiar to me, I opted to try a Tsaousi by the producer Sclavos, a biodynamic Greek wine made from 70-year-old vines and grown in mountainous limestone soils. Like any Greek restaurant worth its salt, Greekman’s offers a flaming saganaki cheese appetizer, served with crispy bread and honey (off-menu, so consider this your heads up), and the lemon and white flower notes of the Tsaousi were excellent with this, with a block of feta crowning a pile of tomato-y gigantic beans. 

Greekman’s. Shelby Moore

There’s a whole world of wine awaiting inside Greekman’s, and though he’s still learning, Freedman is thrilled with what he’s been able to accomplish so far: “It feels like such an honor to be able to showcase these incredible producers,” he says. So whether you’re in the market for a skillet of flaming cheese and a biodynamic white, a lamb burger and a chilled red, or just a glass of sparkling orange wine to take the edge off, half the fun is the thrill of finding it all in an unassuming Silver Lake strip mall.