Athens - Our Neighbourhood Ouzeri and a 150-Year-Old Taverna

I must admit that I have a fondness for small, informal eateries serving the home country’s authentic peasant grub. In Greece this translates to the establishment of the Ouzeria, which is to Athens roughly what the Izakaya is to Tokyo, minus the loud salarymen in black suits. The ouzo flows, the little plates pile up, and the clientele often get increasingly rowdy as the evening goes on. We also couldn’t avoid the ubiquitous Tavernes, and decided to try out one of Athens’s oldest. Both places are located right in central Athens, for readers who intend on slotting them into their sightseeing itineraries.



Food Review: KAFENEIO EVIS
Address: 19 N. Apostoli Street (corner of Evis Street), Athens
Hours: 17:00 – 22:00 (unconfirmed; based on experience)
Website/Map: N/A
Directions: Start from Monastiraki Square and walk west on Ermou. Turn right on N. Apostoli. Two little blocks later it will be on the right hand side at the street corner.


We came back to this place again and again during our time in Athens. It was that good.

I first heard about Kafeneio Evis from Matt Barrett’s Athens Guide, and ended up stumbling upon the place just a couple blocks from our hotel. Yes it was a convenient, authentic watering hole for our stay, but that’s not the purpose of this review. The truth was, the food here was among the best of our 17-day trip.



This is an Ouzeri that doesn’t call itself an Ouzeri, but where every table orders a few shots of Ouzo. There are only about 4 tables inside, and perhaps 4 more outside in good weather. Despite its tiny size, we always found a free table here in late June as it seemed to be relatively unknown to tourists (never heard a word of English spoken at any of the other tables). Most of the clientele seemed to be local, including this little kitten that kept the diners company every evening (and kept meowing for some squid).



Here’s a sign … of either an excellent eatery or a total rip-off. There’s no menu posted anywhere, either on the table or on the walls. The waitress comes to you with her scribbling of seasonal offerings, but the scribbling has no pricing information either. On this particular day the menu included:
- Tomato and Rocket Salad
- Hummus
- Lebanese Cheese Salad
- Armenian Omelette
- Taboule
- Baked codfish
- Grilled Prawns, and more



You’ll find out the prices at the end of the meal, but everything comes in the form of small, inexpensive Mezedhes plates which quickly adds up to a full meal after 5 or 6 dishes to share. Expect a cheap 15 Euros per person for a full meal … before your indulgence of Ouzo of course.



Among our favorites was the grilled squid, slightly charred to perfection and simply drizzled with olive oil. We’ve had grilled squid more times than we can count on this long trip, but none compared to the combination of tenderness and slight crispiness of these squid tentacles here.



But the best dish in my opinion were these wild harvested prawns locally caught off Mediterranean waters. How do I know they’re not farmed in Thailand? To me there’s just something special in the Mediterranean waters that gives prawns, mantis shrimps, sea urchins and other shellfish a distinctive, highly concentrated flavor. And the Greeks add no thick sauces or heavy spices to detract from the natural freshness of the seafood. Just perfect grilling and sprinkling with herbs and olive oil to accentuate these firm, intensely flavorful prawn meat and shells. I’ve never had grilled prawns this good after leaving Athens.



Middle Eastern influences seems to stand out in this little Ouzeri with a variety of offerings such as this Taboule. Fresh tomatoes, fresh parsley. This was as good any Taboule I’ve had in the Middle East.



Excellent, fresh salads and Hummus complement the grilled seafood. We visited Kafeneio Evis a few times and typically averaged less than 30 Euros of food and drinks for two people.



It wouldn’t be an Ouzeri without some Ouzo would it? Ouzos are as cheap as 3 Euros a glass, depending on what you order. With its finger-licking fares and reasonable prices, AND being just 5 minutes walk from the Monastiraki Square, it’s a miracle that this gem of an Ouzeri could stay out of the tourist path for so long. If you’re looking for an informal and authentic dinner after a visit to the nearby Ancient Agora, simply drop by Evis street and look out for this little corner eatery. And fresh prawns may even be in season ... if Poseidon smiles upon you.

Typical Bill for Two Persons

Grilled Prawns	Euro 10
Grilled Squid Tentacles	Euro 4.5
Hummus	Euro 3
Taboule	Euro 3.5
Bread	Euro 2
Ouzo	Euro 3
TOTAL	Euro 26 (CAD$41.6)

Food Review: TAVERNA O DAMIGOS
Address: Basement floor, Kidathinaion 41, Plaka, Athens
Hours: Around 12:00 – 22:00 (unconfirmed; based on experience)
Website/Map: Official Site
Directions: Walk along Kidathinaion street in the Plaka and ask for the Brettos bar (everyone knows where it is). Damigos is just to the left of Brettos, down the steep flight of stairs into the basement.


I’ve visited many century-old restaurants through my travels. Some survived this long by adapting to the times, and then there are those gutsy (and/or good) enough not to care.

The second category would describe Damigos, a 150-year-old institution in the Plaka and one of the oldest eateries in Athens. For a century and a half, generations of fans have scrambled down an extremely steep flight of stairs into a stuffy basement filled with fishy odors, small greasy tables and featuring a 2,000-year-old archeological artifact. An ancient Roman column is featured smack dab in the middle of the dining hall, still supporting all the weight of all the modern shops and establishments above after 2000 years.



And the decor is only slightly less antiquated, with walls graced by photos of past visits by various dignitaries I’m too young to recognize. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t claim to remember the Shah of Iran ... even if I did. There’s something humorously haphazard about the place that makes it very Greek, and to its fans, it’s all good.



But to become a fan you must first endure the unbearably stagnant air on hot summer days, the strong odors of its dishes, and the extreme greasiness of its greatest offering, the Bakaliaros, or deep fried codfish. Walk towards the back and you’ll see a couple of old wooden wine barrels with a curtain of stringed-up garlic hanging from the ceiling. You know you’re in garlic heaven, or hell, depending on your fondness of strong traditional flavors.



This is a husband-and-wife operation, with the owner serving the clients while the wife cooks inside a small, glass-enclosed kitchen. Don’t expect a quick meal -- just watch the lady dip your fresh order of Bakaliaros in batter and slowly fry the chunks to a golden crisp. The grilled octopus to start the meal was decent if not too impressive, but better value was the house red which came from its own vineyard, according to the owner.



This is what fans come for -- fist-sized chunks of succulently deep fried codfish accompanied by an extremely thick and strong puree of fresh garlic and potatoes. The warm waters of Greece has no codfish off its coast of course -- it’s all imported from the frigid waters of Norway and thawed here. Considering all this transportation it’s quite amazing that the meat ended up not tasting fishy at all, and was extremely juicy and firm. Be careful of bones, even though the bones are quite large and are easily separable from the meat. And yes, each piece drips with a horrendous amount of excess oil, but this is precisely what fans of Damigos have grown to love all these years.

If you’re not on a diet, or have a particular aversion to garlic, or strong fishy odors, or oily food, or steep stairs ... well you really shouldn’t come to this place if you can’t adapt to traditional Greek food. But if you’re curious about food and happen to be passing through Plaka district on your way down from the Acropolis, this is about as traditional as it gets in the heart of Athens’ tourist district.

Bill for Two Persons

Greek Salad	Euro 4
Fish Roe Salad	Euro 3
Grilled Octopus	Euro 8
Bakaliaros	Euro 9
Bread	Euro 2
Beer	Euro 2.5
House Red 1/4 Litre	Euro 2
TOTAL	Euro 30.5 (CAD$48.8)

Visiting the Poet-Sandalmaker of Athens

"The lesser hermit harbors within a forest; the great hermit harbors within the city."
-- my translation of an ancient Chinese quote

A bit of random trivia about me ... my father once majored in literature in college, and I like to think that I've inherited half of those genes. So when I first heard about an internationally famous poet disguised as an obscure sandalmaker in the alleys of Psirri in Athens, I was instantly intrigued.

Perhaps disguise isn't quite the correct word -- it can be argued that Stavros Melissinos was first and foremost a sandalmaker after all. Born the son of an Athenian sandalmaker, he took over his father's old shop below the Acropolis fifty years ago and has become a local legend since. The Beatles are said to have visited four times, followed by scores of Hollywood stars and European nobility. He has become so legendary in his own country that the priestesses at the lighting of the Olympic flame in 2004 all wore his classic handmade sandals. But his main claim to fame isn't the material comfort endowed by his craftsmanship, but his free-spirited poetry:

Apollo's horses, in a splendid dawn ascending
Breathe their flames and another night is ending
Praised be the sun ripening the grapes with his light
For the grapes yield wine putting our pains to flight



According to local legend, when asked why he chose to carry on his family's sandalmaking business when he could have easily sold his label to foreign investors and retired rich, he answered:

"A writer who does nothing but write is like the moon which gives off some light, but it’s borrowed, taken from the sun. A writer needs first hand experience, which only working in an other field can give him. Otherwise he is writing what he has read in other books."

Now THAT is wisdom and insight! This is a true hermit in the purest sense -- there's no need to live in seclusion to be set apart from the world, when true hermitry becomes a state of mind. When I visited Athens this summer, I told myself I must pay a visit to his shop, even though he was said to have retired several years ago. Besides ... Athens in late June was steaming hot and I was in desperate need for a pair of sandals.



And this is the place -- very similar to how I imagined it to be -- a chaotic artist studio right in the inner-city of Athens, flanked by graffitied walls in a working class neighborhood. Stavros the Poet had retired a few years back and has been succeeded by his son Pantelis, a artist and playwright in his own right.



Pantelis was just custom-fitting another customer's sandals as we walked in, a cigarette in one hand and a cordovan's hammer in the other. When asked by an unassuming customer if his father is the artist, he snapped back with a "No I am the artist," and somewhat annoyed. His English was perfectly American, polished from his younger years of studying and working in New York. Within the course of the short conversation, his hands flew around the anvil and finished another sandal, which he casually tossed aside into a pile.



According to the store pamphlets, Pantelis majored in painting at Parsons School of Design prior to returning to Athens to follow in his father's footsteps. Colorful murals decorate sections of the store walls not already covered up by a curtain of hanging sandals. There were 27 styles at the time of our visit, many named after the celebrities who chose the particular style. John Lennon, for instance, lent his name to Number 16, a classic style which I found a little too feminine on my skinny feet.



Which one looks better? After trying on a few pairs I really liked the minimalist style at the bottom of the picture, interestingly named after Jeremy Irons. Reasonably priced (by Western Europe standard) at 27 Euros, they actually cost more than twice the amount charged on the other side of Monastiraki Square. But all customers know that they are paying not only for the sandals, but the privilege of being fitted by the skilled hands of a Melissinos.

Well, up to this point my pair of Jeremy Irons has stood up very well in a tough two week trial through the cobblestone streets of Mykonos, Santorini, Symi and Rhodes. So if you're lacking a pair of practical sandals for your upcoming trip to the Greek islands, or perhaps just looking for a cool souvenir for lounging on the beach back home, drop by Melissinos for a pair of sandals, then walk up the street into the heart of Psyrri and discover your own favorite Ouzeri. I know I found mine, and I'll post the food photos in the next post.


MELISSINOS ART
Address: Aghias Theklas 2, Psyrri, Athens
Website: http://www.melissinos-art.com
Directions: Exit Monastiraki metro station, cross Ermou Street and turn left. You should be heading west. Turn right at the second street (Aghias Theklas) and you should see the store sign and banner of Melissinos Art.