Four restaurants in Athens carry the Greek island odour_dishes from Carpathos, Lesvos, Chios, Santorini along with unforgettable “meze” lists.
The seashore is only a breath away, the see view is mesmerising, local dishes, the traditional Greek “meze”, come and go on your table.
It seems we have had to leave behind the traditional tavernas in the islands, but one never stops looking for the summer breeze, never stops longing for the taste of it. No need to sail to have it back. A few blocks away, here in Athens, four local restaurants carrying the odour of Carpathos, Lesvos, Chios and Santorini are calling for a visit.
They will be taking us along a gastronomy trip on the Aegean islands.
Krithamos
Stelios Constandinidis, coming from Carpathos, although spent his childhood in the States, always felt positive he would be returning home to Greece. It seemed only a matter of time. After spending years working for the Greek market in year 2007 he made up his mind to set up Krithamos, a restaurant offering dishes inspired from the Mediterranean and the
Carpathian traditional cuisine.
Lovely culinary stories unfold in front of your very eyes in this cosy homelike restaurant.
The menu sets off with “Girls from Carpathos”, that is fresh pastry stuffed with aromatic plants, greens pie from Olympus of Carpathos with home made phyllo, goat cheese and parsley. On to go with traditional salad from Carpathos, tomato and cucumber, critamo, arugula salad, purslane (only when fresh), feta cheese, egg, potato, fresh onion, black olives, colourful peppers, to be followed by hand made traditional makarounes pasta, topped with staka butter from Casos and olive oil fryied onion. A veal knuckle marinated in xinomavro red wine and vegetables, slowly roasted for four hours! Heartbreaking!
The spirits list, including wine, beer, ouzo and raki, is very carefully build. In the desertsselection, the hand made phyllo stuffed with myzithra cheese, served with thyme honey, cinnamon and sesame seeds, rivals the masticha cream tart, topped with preserved fruit and king figs. All done amazingly well.
Krithamos, Bouboulinas 25, Phylothei, Psychiko, tel.no. 2106728790
Molyvos
It is a lovely way to get to know the taste of Lesvos. In the Athens neighbourhood of Nea Philadelpheia, next to the AEK football stadium, on 8 Chrisostomou Smyrnis st. you are to find a little place looking so very much like a taverna on the island itself.
The restaurant was set up at the small village of Petra, on the island of Lesvos, under the name “The Lucky Horseshoe”, and moved to Athens in 2008. Fresh fish, traditional meze, all fresh ingredients, all so well prepared. The restaurant speciality is fresh sea food shipped in from the island, as well as traditional cooked food, courgette stuffed flowers, cheese pie and greens pie from Lesvos, sirloin stuffed with ladotyri cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, papillote served in parchment paper. The selection of local grappa along the dishes literally feels over the moon.
Molyvos, Chrisostomou Smyrnis 8, Nea Philadelpheia 14342, tel.no. 2102582091
Skinos-Mezestaurant
Although Skinos is set up in Athens, Ilioupoli, one is carried away by the island like feeling of this meze restaurant. It playfully brakes the borders between the restaurant and the taverna, letting us free to enjoy both. That was the goal for the Skinos mezestaurant, named after the most famous bush of the Chios island, the masticha tree.
The decoration follows the very architectural formula, the traditional decorative lines of the Pyrgi, due to which the village is included in the world heritage list.
Tyrokafteri from Chios, grilled vine leaves stuffed with goat’s mastelo in lime sauce, grilled mastelo topped with tangerine marmalade from the island, cheese balls with bacon and masticha sauce, freshly made pasta with fresh tomato sauce topped with dried myzithra cheese_nothing shouldn’t go unnoticed. You are to complete a lovely Aegean meal with
preserved sweet cherry and sweet rose petals.
Skinos Mezestaurant, Con Karamanlis 5, Illioupoli, tel.no. 2160701919 & 6908848624
Alli Skala
Back to the Cycladic Islands, Alli Skala, set off from the famous Peraius area called Kaminia, to land in 2017, in Athens, Argyroupolis. It brings along the same old frames on the walls, the same aura, the very same old warmth, fooling one to feel there are hurry gurdy artists around. Time flows in smoothly.
The owners come from the island of Santorini, so you will be tempted to taste the authentic way the famous Santorini fava is made, loutza, that is the Greek prosciutto, freshly fried tomato balls, cock marinated in Vinsanto wine, veal knuckle baked for long hours with spicy herbs, roasted lamb with garlic caramel served with potatoes, smoked pork ribs in sweet wine sauce, hand made ravioli with veal fillet and goat’s cheese in arugula and sun-dried tomatoes sauce, the list is long, the taste is strong.
But what is the name about? The restaurant Alli Skala is named in loving relation to her twin sister in Oia, Santorini, The Flight of Stairs.
Alli Skala, Aleksioupoleos 25, Argiroupolis, tel.no. 2104827722