A Traveler’s Guide: Dazzling Local Aethenian Dishes
Ithaki, “Fresh Fish, Good Wine, & Live Piano”
28 Apollonos; 30-210-896-3747, the Vouliagmeni Penninsula
Famous for celebrity sightings (Athina Onassis to Bill Clinton, from Sean Connery to Julio Iglesias and Leonardo DiCaprio) and even more famous for its fabulous seafood.
Sample dishes like:
Heart of french lettuce with octopus cooked in wine, potatoes rosevalt and raspberry vinaigrette.
John dory fillet grilled served with tomato confit, cucumber and olive oil with lemon and vanilla.
Trilogy of salmon homemade smoked, marinated in herbs, and marinated in salted water with mango chutney and vinaigrette honey and ouzo.
Mousse milk chocolate light chocolate milk mousse Valrhona with cremeux white chocolate assorted crunch praline.
Taverna Tou Pisiri by Manolis, “A Charming Piece of History Where Anything May Happen”
Ag. Kyriakis 12, Amfitheas, 30-210-942-1769, the center of Athens-Psiri
Known by locals and travelers alike, Taverna Tou Pisir is not only the “best,” but also the oldest taverna in Psiri.
Expect to taste the best paidakia (lamb chops) in Athens, delicious keftedes (meatballs), Kolokithea keftedes (fried zucchini balls), broccoli and cauliflower salad, strong sadzikie.
Ouzadiko, “Where the Meatballs Float Like Clouds”
25-29 Karneadou 30-021-0729-5484 Frommers ReviewAmong the authentic delicacies, expect to find 40 kinds of ouzo and as many mezedes, including fluffy cloud-like keftedes (meatballs), and horta (greens). A well-known post-concert place, you can nosh on a snack or fill up on an enormous meal.
Papadakis, “Crowd-pleasing Celebrity Cooking”
15 Fokilidou30-021-0360-8621
Chef-owned and renowned for excellent seafood the dining room has gorgeous views of the Acropolis. Food & Wine recommends that you try the octopus cooked in sweet wine with shredded potatoes.
Varoulko “Athen’s finest seafood restaurant”
80 Piraios, Athens210/522-8400
www.varoulko.gr
Dinner for 2 from about 120€ ($156); fish priced by the kilo
If the priceless view of the Acropolis doesn’t distract you from appreciating the cuisine, you might walk away thinking, “I just had one of the best meals of my life here.”
Try the smoked eel; artichokes with fish roe; crayfish with sun-dried tomatoes; monkfish livers with soy sauce, honey, and balsamic vinegar, sea bass and monkfish. The more adventurous eaters should not miss the sweetbreads, goat stew, and tripe soup.
Alatsi, “Salt”
Vrasida 13, Athens, 11528210/721-0501
www.alatsi.gr
Cretan
Around 40 euros per person including wine and dessert, or $62.46 at .64 euros to the US dollar
Located in the Ilissia neighborhood, you’ll feel transported to rustic Crete. Chef Dimitris Skarmoutsos best dishes include gamopilafo, a pilaf made with rich meat broth and sheep-milk butter; snails boubouristi fried in olive oil, vinegar and rosemary; and rabbit stewed in wine. Coincidentally, “Alatsi” translates into “salt.”
Clemente VIII, “Creative Coffee”
Voukourestiou 3, Athens, 10564210/321-9340
Coffee shop
4.20 euro coffee, or $6.55, at .64 euro to the US dollar
New York Times Review
The jolting iced Nescafé frappé and the thick, grainy elliniko (don’t call it Turkish coffee) have lately been eclipsed in Athens by the freddo, cappuccino or espresso blended with crushed ice. The best is at this cafe packed with Athenian yuppies and coffee snobs on an elegant pedestrianized street near Syntagma Square.
Mamacas, “Mommies”
Persefonis 41, Athens, 11854210/346-4984
www.mamacas.gr
Mediterranean
Main courses: 8€-15€ (US$10.34-US$19.37)
New York Times Review
This hip Greek taverna (translated as “Mommies”) began offering fresh twists on traditional Greek food like beef grilled with tomato, parsley and onions, when it opened this small neo-Classical-style building on Persefonis Street in 1988. Using clever public relations and their mothers’ finesse in the kitchen, two Greek textile designers — Costas Iliopoulos and Vassilis Tsekouras — turned their taverna into an institution and expanded into the next building. Miniskirted women and worry-bead-clicking men pack the popular bar.
Orizontes
On top of Lycabettus Hill210/722-7065
www.kastelorizo.com.gr/uk/orizodes.html
Mediterranean, Greek, International
Dinner for 2 in restaurant with a bottle of wine 120 EUR ($165) dinner for 2 in café 60 EUR ($82.50)
New York Times Review
Both this restaurant and cafe on top of Lycabettus Hill and reached by a funicular, have 360-degree views over the city. Dinner in the cafe, which still serves hearty food (grilled veal, grouper, mousaka and even a burger) costs about half the price as the restaurant. An elegant meal overlooking the ethereally lit city can include braised lamb, chickpea balls and shrimp wrapped in phyllo pastry.
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