Kunefe @ Serbetia stou Psyrri

Recently I visited with a friend Serbetia stou Psyrri, rare Greek patisserie + cafeteria in central Athens.

In Athens, most patisseries just sell sweets and do not serve them on the spot. So, I admire the person who decided to open such a place in the heart of Athens.

We had a very specific objective for this visit; to try their Kunefe. We love kunefe, but of course it is not something we can eat everywhere in Athens and the places I know that serve kunefes are mostly restaurants, meaning that we need to eat kebabs to arrive at kunefe stage. Consider kebab as a hurdle and kunefe as the goal; not very tempting.


At Serbetia, there is a wide range of Greek-oriental sweets, mostly for 5 Euro, and there are some specialities like kunefe for 8 Euro. A cup of tea costs 3.50 Euro, so expect to pay about 9 Euro for a piece of cake, a humble cup of tea and tip, which is not exactly cheap; I think they should offer some discount for those who order both sweets and drink.

Whatever. Here is their Kunefe that I shared with the friend (there was no way that I eat one on my own; it was huge and VERY sweet).




Basically it was warm kantaifi pastry with cheesy custard filling and kaimaki ice cream (not totally cold, strange ice cream) on top. The pasty wasn't freshly baked and filling wasn't cheesey enough. The ice cream I thought was overwhelming.

It was definitely not the right kunefe that I had in mind. Disappointed.

This friend of mine who was with me loved kunefe so much that she went to Istanbul to try it (OK, that was not the only purpose of the trip) and even tried to bake it at home. She was not impressed by this one either.

Another friend who joined later asked a waitress how was their kazan dipi was like and was informed that it wasn't authentic Turkish sort that contains chicken breast. So he ordered a kadaifi with cream. I tried it, too, but was again below average.

I did not regret to have tried this place, but do not have any intention to go back. Hatzis Cafeteria in Syntagma does better Oriental sweets. Of course it is slightly pricier, but, in comparison to Serbetia, I believe it is worth paying.

Sorry.

Serbetia stou Psyrri
Eshilou 3, near the Central Square of Psyrri
Athens
Τηλ. 210 3245862

Σερμπέτια στου Ψυρρή
Αισχύλου 3,
Πλατεία Ψυρρή
Αθήνα
Τηλ. 210 3245862
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