What We Ate in Gytheio and Around 4

The final post about the food we ate in Gytheio; click here for the first, the second and the third part.

This is a hotel/cafe/restaurant called La Boheme.

Here and in another cafe in Gytheio, cappuccino freddo was served with whipped cream. You can see it in Athens, too, but it is normally described as "freddo capputticno with whipped cream", and you won't order it unknowingly.

With coffee, we ordered a chocolate souffle. I don't remember how much it cost, but was rather expensive. I felt disappointed when I saw the small size of it, but the taste compensated the quantity.

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On our way back to Piraeus, we stopped at Sparti for lunch.

We did not plan it, so I did a quick search with Tripadvisor to find a nearest place with good rating.

That was how we found Tsipouradiko 50.

It is just some streets behind the central square, but I would not find it, if I was not searching for it specifically. It should have a courtyard, but it was closed, because, it was raining (strange for August in Greece). The interior is old taverna/kafenio style but the establishment is relatively new, only 3 or 4 years old.

We ordered some mezedes, that all came in a decent portion.

This is spaghetti cooked with butter, garlic and cheese. The owner told us it was a traditional recipe of Mani. Not only the garlic, but also grated cheese were fried in a pan. Interesting dish.

With 5 dishes we were stuffed and the bill came to very reasonable 25.50 Euro. Recommended.

Tsipouradiko To Peninda - Τσιπουράδικο το '50'
Evangelistrias 50, 23100, Sparti, Lakonia
Ευαγγελιστρίας 50, 231 00, Sparti Lakonías
Tel. 27310 83585

Taverna Diethnes @ Sparta

Another post about Sparta.

Sparta is full of psistaria (grill take away & restaurants) and fast food shops, but there are not as many tavernes and mezedopoleia. On our last visit in January, we miserably failed to find good place to eat and ended up in a fast food shop in the central square called, I think, Mr. Donuts.

This time, I was determined to find nice place to eat and went around all central Sparta, but the choices were strangely narrow. In the end, I entered a rather touristy looking taverna called Diethnes on the central Konstantinos Palaeologos Street.



The name means "International (restaurant)", but in food wise there is nothing international about it; it serves classical Greek food.

Just next to it, there is another taverna called Elysse [sic], but I opted "Diethnes" because it had a garden inside.

Voila!



Just ordering for one person, my choice was limited. I asked boiled beets (I wanted boiled green, but was exhausted) and a speciality called Roast Pork with Aubergine.

Beets.



It was tangy with vinegar and quite nice, regardless of plastic like look.

This is roast pork with aubergine, which came in a huge serving (so I shared with cats roaming around in the garden).



This dish was excellent. Evidently the pork and aubergine were cooked separately and combined later. I don't think it is difficult to suppose how it tastes once you take a look at the photo. Aubergine was meltingly soft and sweet. I would order it again, when I will be back.

With a bottle of water and bread, the bill was about 13 euros. This pork cost 8 euros, but there are less expensive main dishes.

Checking later Tripadvisor, this taverna is voted the best restaurant in Sparta. I also added a comment there. I am not sure if it is the BEST, but I did liked this place.

Another place I wanted to go, but couldn't was this one.



Mezedopoleio called Ellinion. The food seemed to be good and the price affordable, but, for this time, I really needed to eat in a place where there is English menu. At Ellinion, there is menu, but it is not updated and the owner dictates the menu to you. I spoke with the owner who said to feel uneasy with customers who don't speak Greek. I promised to him I will be back when I visit Sparta for leisure. A pity.

Check also Where to Eat in Sparta on Gate to Greece Website.

Spartan Ice Cream

Went to Sparta in later July.



The above is statue of the legendary Spartan king Leonidas. Obviously it is a modern work. There is almost nothing survived from the golden age of Sparta. The Spartans of Leonidas were only interested in building up strong army, not in constructing beautiful temples or in creating fine arts.

This was my second visit to Sparta, the first one being the one in January this year. Even back then, I was attracted by this sweet shop, but we were not hungry then and it wasn't particularly ice cream friendly weather. So this time I decided not to lose the opportunity.



There isn't huge variety, but there are some interesting choices. The ones I chose were "lemon sorbet and basil" and "diples and honey".



They were slightly too sweet for me (as most of the Greek sweets), but were tasty. One scoop costs only 1.50 euro, which is reasonable for this sort of ice cream in Greece.

When you are in Sparta, I recommend you to try their ice cream. The shop is called Harami (ΧΑΡΑΜΗ) and it is on Lykourgou Street.