Chez Violette, bringing Paris to Athens!

Here I am after a long time with a new post. In the meantime between my last posts I visited Prague and the amazing small village in Germany called Dittigheim. I had some pretty descent culinary experiences but no time to write about it.

Before few months a friend of mine who runs Rozalia restaurant in Athens told me about a new opening he did. He took me there to check it out and I was left with my mouth open. Restaurants are located in an amazing old building that previously was an elementary school. In the upper floor and the backyard of the building they run a Greek meze restaurant and after you walk some stairs to the down floor you reach the amazing entrance of a small French Bistro called “ Chez Violette”.

In my opinion Chez Violette is the most beautiful restaurant in Athens now and it’s the closest you can get to the Parisian atmosphere. The owner of the restaurant  is French for real and made a place where you can get the actual daily flavor of what residents in Paris can get. The huge surprise was the prices in the menu, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Need example? Salads starting from 4 euro, appetizers 3-4 euro, Main dishes 8-9 euro and a small wine list starting from 10 euro a 750ml bottle or 2,5 euro by glass. For some reason everyone involved to bring the french cuisine to Athens was approaching the food in the fancy, expensive way. Nobody tried to make an honest, comfort French restaurant and this is the gap the Chez Violette came to fill in.

We had a Green salad with crème dressing and cod croquettes with pineapple sauce for starters. Both where really fresh and had unique taste. My main dish was duck confit in layers with mashed potatoes au gratin, my wife’s main was chicken with avocado curry sauce. Everything we tried was really honest French kitchen with good ingredients and you get this sense that your mother is cooking.

What I really liked was the timings of Service. They bring appetizers within 3-4 minutes and they let you enjoy them before they go on with the mains unlike other restaurants that fill you table with everything and you don’t know what to eat first.

When you finish your dinner they immediately pick up empty plates and they don’t ask all the time if you want dessert. I think I found a place to spend the hot summer nights in Athens, If you are going there Friday or saturday night make sure you reserve a table.
Kalidromeiou 69, Methwnis 66 exarchia.
tel 0030 2103845974

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 6/10
Service: 10/10
Atmosphere: 10/10