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

PARADISO, WINE LOVERS SANCTUARY IN CHALANDRI!

Back in action with my third visit to one of the longest running restaurants in Athens, open since 1978!!! Paradiso is family run Italian restaurant in Chalandri with the presence of the second generation owner Gregory being reason on its own to visit it. Greg respects and knows the wine better than any other restaurant owner in Athens.  Paradiso is one of the few restaurants in Athens that you can get a flight of 5 wines for 10 euro to match your dinner, Greg will spend time to explain and give every possible info on each wine you will try. The wine list changes every month including both rare and mainstream choices really fairly priced.

The Decoration is really minimal and not dinner friendly, but this is certainly something you will forget once the dishes start coming.

We started our dinner with the prosciutto salad which was really good with really fresh ingredients and a perfectly balanced sweet-sour dressing.  The two appetizers were eggplant croquets and some really delicious brouschettes. The wine suggestion of Greg was the amazingly crispy Chardonnay from katsarou winery which we really enjoyed.

 

We got 4 different main courses and everything was really well cooked, my tagliata di manzo was simply astonishing.  The meat had this amazing buttery texture and it was perfectly medium grilled. Top notch quality bio meat which I really enjoyed. My only small complain was the side lettuce instead of the standard baby rucolla.

 

 

The highlight of the night though was the wine Greg chose for our main course. Methistanes from dougos winery 2003 is probably the best Greek wine I have ever tried alongside with La tour melas 2008. Unfortunately Greg informed me the vintage is totally sold out so it will be really difficult for me to try it again.

The nose of the wine is fruity with aromas of dried cherry and strawberry. Body was full with round tannins and long finish. An 93/100 for me, just imagine i didnt even tried the desserts not to lose the taste i had in mouth!

All in all this is a restaurant for people who love wine and not only with great service and great food. Highly suggested!

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Atmosphere: 3/10

Moouu, new restaurant dedicated to beef

This strange name for a restaurant comes from the sound the beef makes, which is not a really smart and helpful name if you ask me. Imagine trying to tell you friends “hey I found a new restaurant we should go, its called moouu”. Probably they will think you are trying to make fun of them.

The owner’s of this new restaurant run already a nearby fish food restaurant called “sardelaki” for which I have heard many good words and it is considered a really successful project.

Moouu is trying to offer a cheaper solution then it’s competitors in different cuts of beef. The menu is really small and straight to the point. It consists of few appetizers, 3-4 salads, chicken fillet(thank god because my wife would have issues finding something to eat) and 10 different cuts of beef! Their meat is supposed to be Grass fed from breeds like wagyu, black angus and Hereford. The first big mistake I found on the menu is that they don’t identify which type of breed is each cut.  When you advertise the importance of the raw material you should be able to provide all the info through the menu or at least through the waiter, who had no idea what types of breed they use.

The wine list is small but it is very good! Most of their choices come from small unknown producers, some of them I didn’t even know, and thanks to them I found a new amazing merlot from Migas Estate!

The chef's welcome was a potato soup shot with truffle oil which was ok.

 We started our dinner with steak tartar and fried potatoes.  The tartar came with the classic poached egg and the waiter old us we should break it so as the croquet will mix with the meat. Unfortunately the egg was over boiled so we missed that.  The quality of the meat though was very good and well spiced.

Main dishes was chicken fillet with side salad, which was very good but then what can go wrong with a chicken fillet when you use good materials.My unknown cut that was suggested to me by the waitress but she didn’t remember the name because it was new  the menu. Anyhow this dish was my main reason for visiting the restaurant and it was really good tastewise, from my small experience i believe it was flat iron.  The meat had this butter texture, perfectly medium grilled accompanied by the classic three types of salt and grilled vegetables.

The key question here is if the restaurant can stand next to Vezene or Base grill and at the same time be 30% cheaper. Well… no. It can be though a nice choice for an alternative when you want to have a well grilled steak from nice materials as long as they will improve their service.  I will not mention all the problems the service had because the restaurant is brand new and I am sure they will take care of them.

The reason I never mention desserts is that I rarely have space for them and I am not even a big fan of them at all. 

  

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 7/10
Service: 3/10
Atmosphere: 5/10

L'abbuffata, Tasty Discovery at Trikala Korinthias!

L’abbuffata opened in 2011 and it’s located at Trikala Korinthias which is the closest winter destination in Athens. The last years many people invested in the area with new hotels openings and luxurious Chalets. Gastronomy wise though the location still suffers a lot, most of the dining options are old style Greek tavernas with very bad approach in what a restaurant should offer to its clients. Sorry but I’ve had enough of Chicken fillet, pork steak, tzatziki and house wine, do you have anything new to propose? When I found out through my favorite Food and Leisure guide (http://www.fnl-guide.com/) there was a new opening of an Italian restaurant I knew this was my next thing to do when I visit the area.

The restaurant is dominated by mrs Despoina who is the heart and the soul of it. She welcomes you and makes you feel like home immediately. Menu is small and changing everyday based on what’s fresh. The hall of the restaurant is really warm and cozy with a big fireplace. Once you enter there is a small table with free Italian Cheeses like Parmigiano regiano and Pecorino accompanied by a fruit glace. You can cut the amount you want and put it in a small plate. Can you really think a better way to start or maybe finish a dinner?

We started with a smooth Sicilian Caponata with Katiki Cheese and a really fresh vegetable salad with a perfectly balanced Balsamic dressing.

I was happy to see they were serving the real Carbonara and since it is so difficult to find it in Greece I decided to go with it as my main dish. Pasta was perfectly boiled and the result was exactly what you get in Italy. We also tried a Rigatoni with chicken and sun dried tomato which was also really well cooked.

The wine list is the only problem as it lucks choices especially in the white wines.

We will be back for sure and try more dishes!

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 4/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 9/10

www.labbuffata.gr

Garden of eden (for wine lovers)

Yesterday I visited with some friends the restaurant “Gefseis me onomasia proeleyshs”. Last time I was there 2 years ago and dined in the inside building of this 19^th century mansion. We had a really fancy dinner but it was way overpriced despite the 50% discount we had through a wine magazine. Lately I was reading more and more bad reviews about their prices and this probably made them rethink so I decided to give it one more chance when I saw they changed their policy. This time we decided to try the newly added tapas menu in their lovely garden and the first shock was the wine list. Most of the white wines were charged for 13-15 euro while buying them from a wine merchant it would cost around 8-9 euro!!! On top of that we had a 20% discount due to the athinorama club card!!! On the 200 wine choices of the list you can still find bottles like a chateau Petrus 1986, residues of golden age I guess, for almost 2000 euro but I guess this will stay there for while.We accompanied the 2 bottles of wine with 7 different tapas, all were big portions and really fresh ingredients. The total amount for 4 persons was 57 euro (3 bottles of mineral water, bread and dip included in the price)! Before Crisis this would be the amount required for the 2 bottles of wine alone. That’s what I call a bargain, a must for all wine lovers!

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 10/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10

www.gefseis.gr

Cretan wines ambassador!

I must admit that the blog didnt have as much wine as i thought i wanted to have at first so today we start a new chapter proposing somke interesting "underground" wines. Ocean from Idaia winery was my first attempt of the cretan variety Thrapasthiri which dominates this blend with chardonnay. I am so excited with the potential the grape seem to have. The wine looks Greenish gold colored and the nose smells like Lemon, Peach, and Pear. It tastes like Apple, and Peach with a satisfying length while body is Medium. The wine lacks acidity but the Round texture makes it a great companion for many kinds of food. Thumps up the Idaia winery and Thrapsathiri which i believe in the end it will end up as the strongest cretan white grape. One thing they need to reconsider is the price. You cant demand 9-10 euro in Greece 2013 for a wine that still needs to proof a lot before it can justify the price.
86/100

Triffic-Hamburg, Globe eater strikes back!

Few weeks ago I had the luck to visit some beloved friends in Hamburg and given the chance we visited one of the my friends favorite restaurants who’s opinion I respect so much. Guess what? They were damn correct!

Triffic is “hidden” in one suburb of Hamburg far from any tourist attractions and that’s exactly what I do when I want to find a good restaurant in a foreign country. It is really rare the occasion that you will get value for money where the tourists go.

Triffic has a very small menu separated in starters/main dishes/Deserts and you can choose one of each for 30 euro per person which is a very fair price if you consider the quality and freshness of the ingredients they use. Wine list is small but I guess they update it once in a while. The restaurant is awarded with the Michelin bib gourmand title which designation denotes good cuisine at a reasonable price in a variety of comfort categories. Defined as “Inspectors’ Favourites for Good Value,” Bib Gourmand restaurants offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included), and are often of most value to a city’s residents, who regularly dine in neighbourhood restaurants.

The restaurant has no fancy interior and it can only serve fit 6-7 tables which makes a feel like home atmosphere. The waitress-owner seemed really welcoming and very polite with the few German that I can understand.

My first dish was a calamari with aioli sauce which was simply the best calamari I ever had in my life. I never expected that I had to go to Hamburg to taste the best calamari when I live in a country surrounded by sea. Since there was nothing special in the making of it I guess it has to do with the quality-freshness I stated before.

Second dish was an amazing beef stake with homemade béarnaise sauce that you could smell the freshness every single ingredient they had put on it. How difficult is it to make a good béarnaise sauce? I don’t know, but it’s pretty sure most of the Greek people who run a restaurant don’t know either. As an Desert I had a selection of Cheese who were all phenomenal and accompanied the last sip of the great Bordeaux that we chose for our dinner.  It was a Grand cru St Emilion, priced fairly almost double the price of the vineyard. The wine had soft tannins despite the youth of its age and matched great the steak and cheese.Soon i hope i find some time and do an update with details of the trip and the quality of life the Hamburg residents enjoy.

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 5/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10