Whether you’re looking for a memorable meal with an incredible view, a fine dining restaurant, brunch, high-teas, wine tastings, cheap eats and everything in between to treat your taste buds or gift a foodie or loved ones in your life . . . Athens has an amazing range of tempting dining experiences!
To be honest, after being cooped up in my home in Athens due to Covid-19 I was thrilled to be able to go out and explore and/or re-visit some restaurants where many new generation Chefs have begun to shine and showcase a contemporary Greek cuisine that is fresh and playful!
The first memorable meals of this season that I'd like to share with you are from the Cookoovaya and Gastone restaurants . . . where I've eaten twice in each restaurant in the past few weeks. Both are run by passionate and experienced teams of Chefs who pride themselves on serving continually evolving seasonal menus with dishes that their customers can sample and/or share . . . the Greek way!
To be honest, I hadn’t been to the restaurant located in the Hilton area of town since some time in 2017 . . . following two very disappointing meals and thus I am especially happy to report that both my recent luncheons with friends were tops!
On the first occasion, our hostess ordered a variety of Greek inspired first courses that were not defined by sophisticated presentations
but truly tickled our taste buds and delighted us with their simplicity and harmony of colors.
For my main course I wasn’t sure whether I should go for meat or the fish of the day but in the end I decided to order the grilled Greek beef fillet with fresh tomato, grilled wild greens and tempura seasonal vegetables.
The meat was perfectly cooked and just as I remembered it from many pleasant meals before 2017! However, I felt the fried tempura veggies were superfluous but perhaps I had overindulged on the first courses!!!
The presentation of the fish of the day, that some friends ordered didn’t impress me but I was told it was delish so no further comments as in the end . . . it’s the taste and quality of the food that will bring you back!
The dessert, a trendy version of a Greek Bougatsa ( a vanilla custard pie) served with scrumptious tasting cinnamon ice-cream, gets my top marks for presentation but I wish the flavor of the custard cream had been a bit sharper.
It goes without saying that I feasted on the cinnamon ice-cream and left the restaurant with plenty of sweet thoughts already looking forward to my next visit . . . just over a week later!
On my second visit that followed a week of heavy eating . . . I wasn’t in the mood for a lot of food so I ended up ordering the chilled tiger prawns salad with jamόn Iberico, baby gem lettuce, egg and spicy mayo.
The mixture of ingredients was truly tops but as often here in Greece, served with way too much dressing! I really must remember to always ask for the dressing on the side . . . as too much of a "good thing" can really ruin a salad for me!
Having said that, I made the same salad at home a few days later and I loved every bite . . . served with a very light, yoghurt based spicy dressing that was perfect . . . so many thanks Cookoovaya for the idea!
On this visit, most of my friends ordered salads to share as a first course, followed by the fish of the day with steamed greens that was a great hit . . . and for dessert a scoop of yummy lemon sherbet . . . a combination that made up a lovely meal that was tasty, healthy and simply but nicely presented!
As they say at this restaurant . . . it’s not only about the food but also about the hospitality through an incredible meal . . . that all of us enjoyed!
Check out my next blog post for more about my experiences at the Gastone restaurant where I discovered some of the best roasted Piglet meat I've had in Athens . . . .
©KaritasM – November 2021
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