As the East Mediterranean bar and restaurant brand welcomes its first Wharfers, we sit down with co-founders Alex Large and Tasos Gaitanos
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For Wharfers who’ve been around the sun a few times, catching its rays on the terrace with a pint of bad lager outside The Slug And Lettuce in Reuters Plaza was an essential – if oft messy – rite of passage.
Tucked away to the right of the main exit from Cabot Place and Canada Place shopping malls en route to the Jubilee line, it was an ever-present temptation – a detour via dependable, if not luxurious debauchery.
Swept away in the project to refresh the building above – now YY London, soon to be home to unicorn Revolut – the space it once occupied has been in chrysalis mode for a few years just waiting for May 28, 2025.
Coinciding with the publication of our latest print issue, it’s now that Brother Marcus spreads wide is metaphorical butterfly wings to welcome Wharfers through the doors – taking this prominent corner of the estate from the ridiculous excesses of the Slug to the sublime of its future.
Founded the best part of a decade ago by three school friends – Tasos Gaitanos, Alex Large and Arthur Campbell – the incoming brand now operates across six sites with branches in Spitalfields, South Kensington, Borough, Angel and Covent Garden.
Spearheading that growth are Alex and Tas, with Arthur having since stepped away from the business, although not the friendship.
Connection is important and any significant time spent with the co-founders makes it clear where their priorities lie.
“We’re in a people business and that’s the end of it,” said Tas.
“We have one rule. Our job is to bring joy to our guests, but you can’t do that without bringing joy to the whole team and everyone needs to be on board with that.
“That’s how we’ve created something that resonates with people.”
channelling creativity into hospitality
Both Tas and Alex initially embarked on artistic careers before becoming involved in hospitality.
Alex trained as an actor and trod the boards in the West End, notably in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Noel Coward Theatre.
Tas spent about four years in Edinburgh, “taking my photography career incredibly seriously”.
But freelance cycles of boom and bust saw both drawn to the world of food and drink.
A journey working for various businesses eventually led them to Balham and the opening of the first Brother Marcus.
“We had about £10,000 we’d got together for a street food truck,” said Alex.
“But we managed to get a cafe opened on that budget, building almost all of the furniture ourselves in Tas’ garden in three days.
“Due to the lack of money, we worked with a guy in Georgia over Skype to build a website.
“I remember the first customer’s face. He wanted porridge, but we had to say it was off the menu.
“We were our own suppliers, pushing a shopping trolley down the high street from Sainsbury’s.
“But that first day was awesome, even though we’d barely slept for three days.”
Tas added: “We opened on the Thursday and immediately realised we needed to employ five more people.
“By the Saturday we had 45-minute queues, not because they were long but as a result of it taking us so much time to serve people.”
expanding the Brother Marcus brand
Things have come on some distance since 2016, with Brother Marcus’ Canary Wharf restaurant the group’s largest to date with 90 covers inside and a further 84 on its expansive outdoor terrace, complete with retractable roof.
So what will it be serving up amid the terracotta, wicker pendant lights and textured curves?
“We’re all-day dining, so we go from breakfast and lunch to dinner – everything is inspired by the East Mediterranean region,” said Tas.
“In the mornings we have breakfast pittas, with fillings like double crispy bacon or kofta and egg.
“They come with labneh, kasundi relish and are sprinkled with za’atar.
“Then, if you want to be really indulgent, we have larger dishes that we also serve during brunch at weekends.
“There’s a fried chicken rosti dish that can have halloumi, bacon and sausage added to it.”
Alex added: “These are all served with speciality coffee and, at weekends, amazing cocktails – when we offer two for £20.
“If you want to go mad, you can, or you can just have a quick breakfast.”
from lunch into indulgence
While accurate, rapid service is essential at breakfast time, Brother Marcus promises a more sedate, indulgent pace at lunchtimes for those who prefer to take things easy.
Its menu features meat, seafood and vegetables grilled over charcoal on skewers, a wide selection of mezze and “rip and dip” pitta bread with freshly made dips.
“Creating Brother Marcus has involved a lot of research, a lot of trips to the East Med,” said Tas.
“There’s a huge element of curiosity and exploration that goes into it.
“I’m from Cyprus, my mum’s English, my dad’s Cypriot but I was born in Crete, so I feel Cretan.
“I came to school in England, which is where I met Alex and Arthur – I understand what you get when you share culture and food.
“Every time we do one of these trips, it’s about trying a bit of this and a bit of that and then working out how we frame the flavour in a London context.
“We want to do that with our food, but also with our spaces.
“When you’re over there, the textures you see on the walls might be anything from 800 to 2,000 years old, so we have to ask how we can bring those colours – that feel – to a restaurant in Canary Wharf.”
Alex added: “What’s happened with this site in Canary Wharf is that we’ve been braver, as we’ve grown up with this brand.
“We’ve been more confident in using what we’ve discovered and what we love, rather than by playing things safe.
“We’re also really excited about the outdoor seating area, where people can drink, and it’s going to be our best by a long way and should open in the first week of June.”
the importance of food to Brother Marcus
Throughout our conversation, it’s clear both Alex and Tas are passionate about sharing the things they enjoy – something reflected in the act of breaking bread over mezze in one of their restaurants.
“One thing that’s been undeniably an integral part of our brand is having open kitchens and bars – a passion for ingredients and for making everything in-house,” said Tas, whose favourite dish on the menu is the lamb kofta skewers.
“There’s a real love for the quality and output of the food and beverages we want to deliver.
“We want to blur those boundaries between where the guests are sitting and where the chefs are working to gives customers the feeling of what it means to be part of the action of a restaurant.
“I think we’ve got the layers of that really nicely. If there are no barriers between me, the chef and the food, then that’s brilliant.
“We’ve got this amazing mezze for £42 per person, so if people don’t want to decide, they can put their trust in our team members and we’ll curate the experience – find out what they like and dislike and then try to overfeed them so they leave satisfied and in a better place than when they arrived.”
Alex, who has a weakness for the brand’s cod’s roe taramasalata – “it’s the real deal” – added: “One of the great things about our concept that lines up with this area is that, if you want to come to dinner and spend £30 to £40 a head, that’s possible.
“Equally, if you want to come and spend £100 a head, you can do that as well. That works for the wide variety of people who work, live in or visit Canary Wharf.
“The area had been on our radar for a while, but it was always the case that is didn’t feel quite right before.
“Canary Wharf has developed so much in recent years, it’s incredible now.
“As soon as this site at YY London came up it felt like we’d fit in.
“Sustainable expansion is key and hospitality and growth are enemies.
“We’ve learnt some serious lessons over the years – you have to protect the quality of what you’re doing.”
a drink and a name
In addition to food, Brother Marcus will offer a range of drinks including a wine list where half of the bottles for sale at the restaurant come from the East Med.
“When you come to our restaurant, the menu has got to tell a story, so the drinks also need to do that,” said Tas. “We wouldn’t be doing our guests a service if we just offered classic gin-and-tonics.
“We’re a creative company, so we do twists on classics – we work with seasonal ingredients, and we do things which differentiate us from other places – we’re proud of that.”
Which just leaves one final story to tell, perhaps best served with a glass of rose on the venue’s terrace.
Brother Marcus is named for one of Alex’s twin siblings.
Alex’s tales of Brother Marcus’ gregarious scrapes became so frequent the name stuck and a brand was born.
Perhaps Brother Ben will get a venture in future.
key details: Brother Marcus
The latest branch of Brother Marcus is located on the lower floor of YY London in Canary Wharf’s Reuters Plaza.
Taking bookings from May 28, 2025, for its soft launch, the restaurant is open from 7am-11pm, Monday to Friday, from 9am-11pm on Satudays and from 9am-9pm on Sundays.
Full service is set to begin from June 3.
Find out more about the restaurant and bar here
Read more: Lina Stores is set to open its doors in Canary Wharf
Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here
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