Moustakias, or a Fossil of the Good Old Days @ Kastella, Piraeus

In one weekend afternoon, we decided to explore Kastella in Piraeus.

And we stopped to eat something. We could have gone to Rigas (rather good psito-taverna), but decided to try a new place just for a change. Close to Rigas, there are some tavernas, new and old, and we entered one called Moustaias, just next to Rigas. We were seated outside, but there was also many indoor tables in a rustic decor.

The waiter (probably one of the owners) did not bring us the menu and he told us what they had. The choice was extremely narrow. Starters were 3 or 4, salads as well, and the mains were all grilled. Although it calls itself a taverna, they did not have stews (mageirefta) at all.

We ordered, then tzatziki, boiled vegetables, and grilled bread as default.

Boiled vegetables were varied and quite good, but tzatziki had too much cucumber and watery.

Fried potatoes were fine.

I ordered grilled liver.

Not bad, but some pieces had unpleasant bloody smell.

Probably they should have cooked a bit more. I like my steak on raw and bloody side, but for the liver, I prefer it to be more thoroughly cooked.

GH ordered kotopoulo paidakia (grilled chicken) which was described as their specialty by the waiter.

Well. Not bad (not that it is easy to go bad for grilled chicken), but nothing special. What was more scandalous - that we found out later - was that this cost 10 Euro. 4 small pieces chicken for 10 Euro could be all right in pre-crisis era, but not any more. It was just a rip-off.

At the end another waiter (who should be another owner) offered us either yogurt or hand-made ice cream. We opted for the second and after quite a long wait, these turned up.

Strange thing was they were not cold any more, let alone frozen, but still were keeping their shape. I should not complain about something they offered for free, but it was not my thing. And do you see the Greek flag on top? There is a stamp in red "Kerasma" meaning something they offer for free. I have never seen anything like this before.

In the end the bill came to surprisingly high 36.55 for what we ate and the waiter told us to pay 37 Euro. Again I never seen any waiter who told us to pay more than what was written on the receipt.

Softy GH left even a couple of Euro as tip, but I did not think they deserved more than 45 cents.

Most of the patrons looked familiar to the shop. Probably these people do not try new places and keep on coming to here just because they and their parents have been here for years and believe it is the best. Some Greeks are very conservative.

But of course we do not have to follow their steps.

MOUSTAKIAS
Idis 10, Kastela, Piraeus, Greece
Tel. 2104119569

Ο ΜΟΥΣΤΑΚΙΑΣ
Ίδης 10, Πειραιάς, 18534