Indian Tandoori Masala @ Psyrri

Another restaurant in Psyrri, this time an Indian. We visited as a group of 4 after having purchased discount coupons.

It is close both from Monastiraki station and the central square of Psyrri, but it is on one of the minor streets and a chance of finding it casually is relatively small.

It should be a new place, maybe only 1 month old or so. It is in a renovated neo-classic building and looks pretty nice.

The dining space is on the ground floor and on the first. The ground floor space is small as it is shared by the kitchen. We opted for the upper floor.

The menu is a standard Indian one; no surprise, no disappointment.

We started with vegetable samosas.

Tasted fine, but a bit too oily.


As main dishes, we ordered 3 curries and 1 tandoor. Here is either Chicken curry or Chicken Karahi that looked and tasted same. Although the waiter insisted they were different (although at the first he said both are chicken curries), we did not understand the 'subtle' difference.

It tasted all right, but I did not like the way they cook the meat; it was evident that the chicken was cooked (boiled) separately from the sauce, and then mixed into the sauce just before serving.

And this is Chicken Tikka Masala. As it is Chicken Tikka, the marinated chicken was once grilled and then put into the sauce.

Chicken was delicious, but I found the sauce too sweet.

Tnadoori chicken was the dish I liked best here.

And here are accompaniments.

These are 2 portions of naan bread. Freshly baked. I like them better thicker and less crunchy.

We had a portion of sweet pulau as well as white rice. It is mixed with nuts and dried fruits. I think there was pieces of candied fruits, too. Bad taste, but I have to admit I liked it.

Cheese naan was made with feta cheese as in other Indian restaurants in Athens. I got used to cheese naan with yellow cheese in UK and I do not like feta naans.

I do not remember the price of each dish (actually, you can find them on their website), but I can tell you that we did not have to pay top up on the coupon value of 60 Euro, except for 4 Euro of 2 bottles of water. We got a receipt for 4 Euro, but not for 30 Euro for vouchers.

All in all, it was all right, but with so many Indians in and around Athens, I did not find 'it' that shall make me return.


Indian Tandoori Masala
Karaiskaki 15 & Aisopoy 2, Psyrri, Athens
Tel. 210 3255131
http://indiantandoorimasala.gr/

En Iordani @ Psyrri

As the tourist season is kicking in, I hope it is useful to write about a place in central Athens.

This particular restaurant is in Psyrri area, which is in a short walk away from Monastiraki Square/ Station.

In fact, we found ourselves in Monastiraki one holiday afternoon and tried to think where to have good and affordable meal. The first place came to our mind was Nikitas in Psyrri and we headed for it. To our disappointment, we did not find any table any more. So we ended up in this taverna called En Iordani, which was still half empty then (but it was about full by the time we left).

It looks an old taverna, but to be honest, I do not remembered to see it, say, 3 years ago. Maybe it did not look like it is now some years ago.

It serves food in a mageireio style and you can go to the counter to choose your main dishes. They do have menu, but my impression is that they do not have everything written in there. So you have either to ask your waiter or to go to the showcase.

We were not hugely hungry (also because we had just eaten ice creams at Le Greche on Mitropoleos Street) and choose only 4 dishes.

GH chose oven baked pork with potatoes.

It looks good, but did not taste as much; the meat was dry and had strong pork-smell. It was 7 Euro, if I remember well.

I went for aubergine imam, which was a good example of this dish, with strong caramel like flavor.

I wanted horta (boiled green), but they did not have it, so we got romaine lettuce, dill and spring onion salad.

Fried potatoes were quite good.

We had also bread and a bottle of beer and the total bill was under 22 Euro. Affordable, isn't it?

Besides, I liked very much the interior. I felt like I strolled into an old house. Although it does not have outdoor seating, there was a quite lot of natural light.

The food was not that impressive, but it is definitely a pleasant place to have a quick but traditional Greek lunch.

En Iordani - Εν Ιορδάνη
Agion Anargyron 3, Psyrri, Athens, 10554
Αγίων Αναργύρων 3, Ψυρρή, Αθήνα, 10554
Tel. 210- 3224570

Museum of Greek Gastronomy @ Psyrri

So. Museum of Greek Gastronomy. Mmmh.

We visited this place in the beginning of August. I did not bring myself to write about it for long because of mixed feelings toward it.

Let me explain what happened.

The place is very close to the Iroon Square of Psyrri. It is housed in a nice Neo-Classic building and has an exhibition space, small shop selling Greek food products related to exhibition, and restaurant.

The restaurant is open in the evening, and also for lunch on request (so I was told). Closed on Mondays.

I booked the restaurant for a Sunday evening, calling it on Tuesday, if I remember well. The guy on the phone - I think it was the chef - explained me the menu in detail and I was told that there is one menu with fish/seafood and the the other with meat. The menu consists in 4 courses and priced at 20 Euro (which is supposed to be introductory promotional price, so at some point, it might change).

And we - GH, I and a friend from abroad - arrived there Sunday evening, at 8 o'clock.

The girl at the reception did not seem to have the record of our reservation and the table was not ready then. It was not a problem, because we could take a look at the exhibition, which is currently dedicated to the alimentary culture in Greek Monasteries. The theme is going to change in early next year.

We were seated at around 8:30.

And here came a bad surprise. We were told that there was no seafood menu, so virtually no choice in dishes. The reason was that there was no fresh fish in the market and their policy was to offer only fresh products from it (here I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that the Varvakio Market is very close).

Besides, the meat menu was totally different from the one I was explained on the phone.

It is good for them to have a principle, but there are people do not want to eat meat and I do not believe that frozen products are always inferior choice. In my opinion, they should let the guests choose what they prefer, either to pick fresh meat or frozen seafood.

If we were only GH and me, we would have left, telling them that we'd come back on another day, but unfortunately (for her), we brought a friend from abroad and could not change the plan.

Let;s see what we ate.

Here is fava from Santorini (on the house).

Nice, but maybe not the best I have ever eaten. It lacked in sweetness.

And here I add another complaint. About wine. When we requested red wine, the waiter/owner just brought us a red bottle of wine which he recommended without telling us the price. Only when I asked , he explained to us that there are 3 choices, 17 Euro, 20 Euro and another one much more expensive (40 or 50?). Now, the 20 Euro wine was Metohi and 20 Euro is normal price at restaurants, but, the price issue should be clear from the beginning. I don't think he was acting in bad intention. Still, it was not quite correct.

The theme of the course was Crete and the first course was Dakos.

I like Dakos, but not at restaurants, because it tend to fill the stomach quickly.

The second course was fried rabbit.

OK. It was a bit lukewarm.

And the third and main course was pork fillet with sauce which I do not remember. I am not a fan of pork fillet, because it tend to be dry and this one was not an exception. The potatoes were really nice, though.

The dessert was a mixture of mizithra and yogurt, served with jam and biscuit crumbs. When the waiter/owner served us this, he said that this was probably the best of the day's meal. "You should not say that", I thought.

In addition, this was different from the dessert which was announced at the beginning (it should have been ice cream).

Each dish was fine, but personally I did not like the combination due to lack of vegetable. I do not digest meat very well, if I do not eat it with vegetables.

The total bill came to about 80 Euros for 3.

Although the ambiance was nice and the food also was OK, I left with the place mixed feelings. Several things - mainly service issues - were definitely wrong. Maybe it gets better in time, hopefully.

Museum of Greek Gastronomy (Μουσείο Ελληνικής Γαστρονομίας)
Agiou Dimitriou 13, Psyrri, Athens
Αγίου Δημητρίου 13, 10554 Ψυρρή, Αθήνα
Tel. 210 3211311, 694 8749161
http://gastronomymuseum.gr/
(At the moment of writing, the website is only in Greek, but the people here do speak English).

Salonica Bougatsa in Psyrri

If you have ever been to Psyrri, you must have noticed that there is one pie shop in the central Piazza (which is called Plateia Iroon, Square of Heroes). I have seen it so many times, but never taken interest in it, because, when I go to Psyrri, I am either looking for a restaurant or a cafeteria, and never a pie shop.

What made me change the idea was a photo of the interior that I saw on Foursquare (which is, by the way, a terrific website/mobile software if you like to get information about restaurants and cafeterias; information there is not always credible, but it is definitely a happy hunting-ground).

It has a very strange shape and looks like a mixture of a medieval castle and an underground meeting hall of Mithraic cult.

I bought a portion of cheese bougatsa (savory) for 1.80 Euro. It is sold by a kilo, so the price is not fixed.

At the beginning, I found it too salty, but then got used to it. The fyllo was pretty good, although it wasn't so fresh when I bought it.

Apart from bougatsa (sweet cream or savory cheese), they sell also a variety of pies. When I saw, they had a spinach pie, koulou dough cheese pie, and small cheese pies (tyropitakia).

The staff was friendly and it is open 24 hours.

It is a nice spot for a snack when you are in the area.

Thessaloniki stou Psyrri - Η Θεσσαλονίκη στου Ψυρρή
Plateia Iroon 1, Psyrri, 10554 Athens
Πλατεία Ηρώων 1, Ψυρρή, 10554 Αθήνα

Krasopoulio tou Kokkora @ Psyrri

Visited Psyrri after some time. In general trend, Psyrri is in decline and shops tend to close than to open. This time we made a stop at Krasopolio tou Kokorra, one of the older establishments in the area. Although it is in the centre of Psyrri, somehow hidden in a back street, so you need to know where you are heading.

I was interested to try their 10 Euro menu for bread, starter, salad, main and dessert and it was what we ordered. At the start, we were offered one menu with seafood and the other with meat, so we ordered one from each. This is the seafood menu (you can click to enlarge).

But after we placed the order, the waiter came back to tell us he made a mistake and there was not seafood menu on the day. So we ordered to meat courses. How the waiter of small taverna could made such a basic error? It is not clear.

For the 10 Euro menu, the salad is served in individual portions. It was lettuce, shredded cabbage and carrot with honey (and mustard, I guess) dressing.

The vegetables were crunchy, but the dressing was way too sweet and they put too much of it on GH's bowl. I would have preferred normal Greek vinaigrette, meaning olive oil, vinegar and salt directly on the bowl.

Starter was falafels, 3 small pieces per person.

They had some chili in it and were tasty. Regardless of the strangely artificial shape, they tasted like homemade.

One of the main was kotomakalonada. Chicken stewed with tomato and mushroom served on Greek style soft spaghetti. Those who used to Italian al dente spaghetti complain about how Greek ones are over-boiled, but I believe that to eat the spaghetti in Greek way, they need to be much softer than al dente.

They tasted good. But it is a dish difficult to go wrong.

Another main dish was pork steak with balsamico and honey sauce.

Two very thin pieces of pork (neck, I guess) were served with half Arabic pita and fried potatoes. Acceptable as a part of 10 Euro menu.

For this particular menu, you do not enjoy the abundance of food, but you get reasonably full combining bread and wine.

Dessert (included in the menu, but in many tavernas in Greeks, these stuff are served free) was semolina halvas with chocolate, which tasted like chocolate pudding.

And a small glass of sweet spicy wine on the house.

Together with half a kilo of wine (5 Euro), the bill was 25 Euro. The receipt was shown to us, but then taken back to inside, supposedly to use for other customers.

My personal conclusion was that I would prefer to pay 10 Euro more to eat better (even at the same place), but when the budget is limited, it is a good thing that you can control how much you are paying. (The truth is that I knew already my conclusion more or less from the start, but I did not feel hungry and did not want to spend much and then not to be able to eat).

As the food was not bad, we could have go back to try a la carte, but as they did not give us the receipt, now probably we won't go back. GH and I are both salaried employees of private sector and we do need to collect all the receipts to be able to get tax return. Not in a mood to help others to avoid tax.

To Krasopoulio to Kokkora
Karaiskaki and Aisopou 4, Psyrri, Athens
Tel. 210 3211051

ΤΟ ΚΡΑΣΟΠΟΥΛΙΟ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΚΟΡΑ
Καραϊσκάκη & Αισώπου 4, Ψυρρή



Before arriving at Krasopoulio for dinner at 8, GH wanted have a coffee and we looked for cafeteria.

Strangely he started to complain the coffees were too expensive (he usually do not mind pay quite a lot at cafeterias) and we left from the 2 first cafeterias we were seated.

So I took him to Via Calma in Kalamiotou Street 16, just in front of excellent Melilotos restaurant. I knew the place because the owner guy made "friends" with me on Foursquare.

Here frappe costs 2 Euro, Freddo Cappuccino 2.80 and Cold Chocolate (in the photo) is also 2.80. Might be the best deal you can get from a cafeteria at the heart of Athens. Recommended.

Oinopoleion @ Psyrri

Wednesday evening in Psyrri. Not many people around. Rather quiet, as you can imagine.

I read a series of good reviews about this place and decided visit, partly because I could claim 30% discount.

Oinopoleion.

It is situated between Taverna tou Psyrri and Odos Aischylou Grill, and in front of Serbetia stou Psyrri. As you see, I have been to all the three places, but did not noticed much this one, because it is somehow burried by the large next-door neighbours. And probably and partly because it is only open in the evening except for weekends.

Only two other tables were occupied  at 9 o'clock and no one else entered after us while we were eating. It was written on the wall that there is live music from Thursday to Sunday and surely it is more lively on these occasions. Anyway, I am not saying it was depressing and the guy who looked like the owner was friendly and well-mannered.

The restaurant is called Oinopoleion (Wine-Seller), so we should have drunk wine, but poor GH who was to work afterwards had to compromise with beer (4.50 Euro).

The menu was relatively long and there were several interesting items. To tell the truth, I expected to find classic taverna food, but my expectation turned out to be not exactly true, if not wrong.

We ordered Taboule as salad (6 Euro).

It was a mixture of bulgur, chopped cucumber & tomatoes, fresh herbs, and what I thought was pesto.

And Aubergine Saganaki (6 Euro).

I think this dish is called Melitzanes sto Fourno in other tavernas. Except for aubergine, there were also slips of green peppers. The tomato sauce was somehow spicy and I loved it.

Here is Hot Pork Tiganiá (7.50 Euro).

I did not find it hot and the pork was smelly (not that it was stale, but some pork smell very strongly). This was the least likeable dish of the day.

Fried potatoes were chips (or crisps, if you are English) style and freshly fried.

I did not like them because they were very oily, but I am not a fan of fried potatoes, so you don't need to believe me. GH who ordered it loved them and finished all by himself, except for 4 or 5 slices I ate.

They had cannelloni as a dish of the day and we were tempted, but Pontos-style ravioli attracted us more. There were ones with minced meat and the others with white cheese Anthotyro. GH wanted the ones with meat (Pelimeni, 7.80 Euro).

I did not like the filling so much, but the pasta was super. Interesting dish, again.

At the end, we were offered semolina halvas, not too sweet, not too oily.

The total bill before the discount was 37.30 Euro (we paid 30% less and he gave us the fiscal receipt). Not particularly cheap without discount, but still at a reasonable level.

I think the food was competent and interesting, if not top-nosh. We'd come back to try other things.


Oinopoleion- Οινοπωλείον
Aishylou 12A, Psyrri
Αισχύλου 12Α, Ψυρρή
Athens 105 53
Tel. 213 0081461

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
On Foursquare

Grill Odos Aischylou @ Psyrri

On 26 December, we went to Athens just see how the town is over the Christmas.

Although our stomachs were somehow damaged by over-eating on Christmas Even & Christmas, we needed to eat something as the day was very cold. So we stopped at a grill in Psyrri for a souvlaki or something.



The restaurant is called Odos Aischylou and located, true to its name, on the Aischyloy street, very close to the central square of Psyrri.

The place wasn't full, but was quickly filling up. We were given a table in the back side corner (to which we did not protest). This is the view from our table. I quite liked the decor.



The menu was long, but heavily concentrated on kebab and doner. If you do not like meat, there is very little alternative. Many of the dishes bear Turkish name.

The main dishes are approx. 7 to 8 Euros & starters/ accompaniments are approx. 3 to 6. Bread is obligatory order, which does not make much sense as most of the main dishes come with some sort of bread anyway.

Greek Husband (GH) ordered fried potatoes, when he learnt from the waiter that his kebab was not to be served with potatoes.



The menu said that potatoes were fresh. Possibly. But when served cold, they were difficult to be appreciated properly.

I ordered a kebab in pita (2.20 Euro). The portion was not large, but kebab itself was fine and the wrap was well balanced. Unfortunately, the potatoes again were cold.



I always need vegetable to eat meat. Otherwise I cannot digest. This plate of horta - I thought was zochoi - cost 3 Euro. Not particularly good, but did its job to me.



GH ordered one of their Oriental specialities, kebab & cheese wrapped in Arabic pita served with spicy - but not hot - tomato sauce.



It tasted all right, but in comparison to my kebab with pita, it represented poorer value for money costing 3 times more. Nonetheless, GH was happy with it.

With a can of coke, the total bill came under 20. I know better Turkish kebab places, but not as central as this one. I am glad to learn that it is there.

Grill House Odos Aischylou
14-16 Aischylou Street, Psyrri Square, Athens
Tel. 210 3244 117


Ψητοπωλείο Οδός Αισχύλου
Αισχύλου 14-16, Πλατεία Ψυρρή

Al Fresco Lunch

It is getting hot in Greece; not just warm, but summer hot.

When it gets hot, the Greeks eat outdoor, either in restaurants or in apartments (i.e. in terrace). The other Sunday we stopped at the taverna Nikitas in Psyrri for a quick lunch.



We ordered Veal with mushroom, cheese pie, salad, tzatziki, chips and a bottle of beer. Total €23.60.

I knew they do better in grilling meat than in stewing it (this place actually is a psitopoleio, i.e. grill), but Hubby wanted the veal and that was what we ate. It was average as I expected and the side rice again was very average as I knew from past experience. The other stuff was fine and good value for money.

Afterwards, we headed for the gelateria Mattonella in Monasteraki Square. My favourite ice cream parlour in Athens.

We were feeling the summer, Greek summer.