Where We Ate in Plastira Lake Area

Before I forget, I make some notes on where and what I ate during the trip to Plastira Lake.

We left 27th October Sunday and returned 29th Tuesday.

We stayed at a village called Belokomitis and the first dinner was eaten there, too.

It was a place called Panorama and a typical grill-taverna-bar. The choice of food was rather narrow. As mageirefta (slow cooked food), they had only boiled goat. All the other main dishes were grill. The owner told us that they had fasolada (bean soup), but was sold out already. Maybe you have wider choice if you go there for lunch.

So we ordered grilled bread (1 Euro for 2), tomato and cucumber salad (3.50 Euro), beef/veal biftekia with fries (7 Euro), grilled trout with fries (8 Euro), and a bottle of beer (2.50 Euro). I forget to mention that there is trout farm(s?) in Belokomitis and the fish was fresh.

The trout was excellent. The colour of meat was white, rather than normal pink-ish. It did not smell at all like freshwater fish.

The other dishes were also tasty, but I think the portion of biftekia was small for 7 Euro. They could have offered a plate of fruits or something, but no. In any case, we were not really hungry from the start (because we lunched late in Karditsa) and the quantity wasn't our issue at that time.

The total bill was 22 Euro. We left happily, as the food was good.

Grill-Bar Panorama/ Ψησταριά-Μπαρ Πανόραμα
Belokomitis, Plastira Lake
Μπελοκομίτης, Λίμνη Πλαστήρα
(It does not have street number, but being on the main road, so it is unlikely for you to miss it).
Tel. 24410 93103


When we travel, we usually have real meal only once a day. On the day 2, we had a late lunch at a village called Mesenilokas, after a visit to Koloni Monastery.

The more obvious choices in the region were Plaz Lamberou and Tsardaki, but as we are adventurous, we headed for Mesenikolas expecting to be able to find one taverna or two.

On arriving, we headed for the central square of the village, but there wasn't even a kafenio which was open and there wasn't much people around in general. It is a shame because it is a great square. Fortunately, though, I found a taverna-pension which had a bit of people.

It was called Klimataria (the pension is called Messenikolas). There was not table outside, so we ate indoor. We were served by the owner who seemed to have had drunk a lot. He told us that, before our arrival, there was a lot of people there to celebrate 28th October ("Ohi Day"). That made sense.

Again, there were only 3 or 4 choices of cooked food and the other main dishes are from the grill. We ordered, then, cabbage & carrot salad (3 Euro), local feta cheese (3 Euro), pasta souffle (6 Euro), and tomato stewed veal (moshari kokkinisto, 8 Euro), and grilled bread. GH tried to order beer, but the owner suggested us to try wine, because Mesenikolas is in a wine making region (3 Euro for 500ml).

The food was of good standared, but there was a tendency to be salty. The local feta in particular was VERY salty. Anyway, I particularly like the pasta souffle (which happened not to be salty) in the photo above.

At the end, the owner offered as a dessert (kormos with kidoni). Everything was tasty and we were stuffed to the limit. And the bill was only 23 Euro.

Klimataria-Κληματαριά
Mesenikolas, Karditsa
Μεσενικόλας, Καρδίτσα
tel. 24410 95419

We ate so much there and needed coffee to digest. So we headed back to Plaz Lamberou.

This grill-taverna-cafeteria does not show from the main road and you have to go into a side road following signs of "Plaz Lamberou".

It is a huge place and, when we arrived, the outside tables were almost full.

I did not see the menu, but most of the people were eating various grilled meat and pies.

We were here just for a coffee. It was a very nice and warm day, so we had frappe.

A frappe cost 2.50 Euro. If you think that a freddo cappuccino costs 3 Euro in expensive hotels in the region, it is rather expensive.

Anyway, it is a nice place to stop for food or coffee on a warm day.

Plaz Lamberou - Πλαζ Λαμπερού
Plaz Lamberou (Lambero), Plastira Lake
Λαμπερό, Πλησίον Λίμνης Πλαστήρα
Tel. 2441094114

We skipped the dinner, so it is already the third day.

After breakfast at our pension and various photo stops along the road, we had a coffee at Naiades Hotel in Neochori.

The landlady of our pension told us that in the region there is no such thing as cafeteria that we see in Athens, so if we want it, we should rather go to resort hotels that have cafeteria facility.

In Rome as the Romans do. So we tried it.

The cafeteria has a nice view to the lake.

A cappuccino cost 3 Euro, either ice or hot. The waiter offered us cookies filled with white chocolate cream as accompaniment. The hotel was beautiful and is worth the visit. It also has a restaurant and a man who was staying at our pension told us that the food was good.

Naiades Hotel
Neochori, Plastira Lake
Tel. +30 24410 93333
http://www.naiades.gr/

But we had a destination for lunch. It was a restaurant called Keramario, nor far from Mouzaki.

This place is part of a large estate and also a beautiful view to the mountains. The landlady told us that it is so famous that it becomes a bit chaotic on holidays.

So we chose a weekday (it was a day after Ohi Day) and found the place empty, except for 2 other tables.

The problem of visiting on off-days is that they do not have many choice. There was only one mageirefto (stewed dishes) and there is no pita at all. So we ordered horta (boiled greens), local cheese called Tsalafouti, grilled country sausages and grilled pork chop, and grilled bread.

All the dishes were good, but I would not say that it was the best food that I can think of. At the end of meal, the waitress (who I believe was of the owner-family and an American) offered us loukoumades with honey. I found them too oily.

The bill was 26.50 Euro, if I remember well, including 0.5 l. of red wine. What made the bill a tiny bit higher was tsalafouti which cost 4.60 Euro. Everything else was normal price.

What makes the experience at Keramario unique is the animals in the garden. There are chickens, peacocks and deers.

GH and I shot quite a lot of photos of deers and enjoyed it. They are beautiful animals.

This estate has also a pension, if you are interested. It is not close to the Plastira lake, but for mountain hike, it should be fine.

Keramario-Κεραμαριό
Drakotrypa, Mouzaki Karditsa
Δρακότρυπα Καρδίτσας
Tel. 24450 61470
http://www.keramario.gr/

That was all the places we ate in the Plastira Lake area.

But before I close, I make a note about the pension (Ksenonas) we stayed.

It is called Irida and situated in the village of Belokomitis.
Here is the website.
http://www.xenonas-irida.gr/
Tel. 24410 93140
Mob. 697 2503895

We stayed for 40 Euros a night including breakfast. The room was great with a fireplace and view to the mountains. The room was cleaned after the 1st day. The breakfast was simple & basic (coffee, bread, homemade jams, butter, and rice pudding only for the first morning), but for the price we paid we won't complain (in any case, we do not eat cheese or egg for breakfast even at home).

What We Ate in Meteora Area - Skaros, Kalambaka

The last day in Kalambaka.

Breakfast at the hotel. For some reason, there was no fresh bread this morning, but we got a "tost (famous Greek cuisine - toasted sandwich with cheese and sometimes ham)". The breakfast at Galaxy Hotel was perfectly fine for this class of accommodation (the hotel has 2 stars).

We first visited Agios Nikolaos & Varlaam Monasteries that were closed the day before. We got overwhelmed by the number of visitors at the latter; there was several groups of Americans coming from Cruise boat. It is very difficult when it happens at any historical/ archaeological sites.

And we started an excursion for countryside.

Our destination was a Byzantine church in Dolianá, but the more important objective was a drive in the countryside.

We stopped at Kastaniá for a coffee. The place was called Pindos Hotel and Taverna. There were better looking places for coffees at another piazza, but there was a construction work going on and the noise was not bearable.

We wanted cake or something, but the only sweets they had was spoon sweets. These were spoon sweets made of walnuts.

I have never eaten spoon sweets of walnuts and I had an idea that it should be walnuts in syrup. As you see, it wasn't. Evidently the fruits are collected and treated while they are still young and the shell is not yet formed. Inside, I could recognize usual nuts. They were handmade and were excellent.

Here we had a chat with an elderly woman who should be one of the owners. We heard she speaking Vlahika, but she spoke also Greek. She said that nowadays the countryside is deserted and there are so few people living there. In older better days (i.e. before the crisis), people used to come from Kalambaka and other towns nearby, but now it stopped.

The road to Dolianá goes through mountains and forests. We did not actually go to see Doliana village, but we did visit the church which has 13 turrets.

And we had late lunch at a road-side taverna. She did not many things and dishes were cold to lukewarm.

Galotyri.

Galotyri is like a mixture of yoghurt and feta and eaten in Thessaly and Magnesia. This one wasn't as good as the ones we ate in Pelion.

Fried keftedakia (meat balls) in tomato sauce.

Good, but were totally cold.

Fasolada (white bean soup).

OK, but lukewarm.

GH was very disappointed in the cold dishes, although I was less so, because they were at least palatable.

At the end, the lady-owner offered us spoon sweets made by herself (not that she gave us only two, but we ask her to give us only two, because we were already stuffed).

These were tomato and fig, both excellent. These handmade spoon sweets are much better than those sold in jars.

Then we went back to Kalambaka. As there still was light, we visited also the nunnery of Agioi Theodoroi just outside Kalambaka. It was built in Meteora monastery style and contemporaneous, but not at all touristic.

In the evening, we were not really hungry, but I really have to make a last effort to get to another restaurant I have wanted to revisit for a long time.

It is called Taverna O Skaros. But it is not taverna at all, it is a grill restaurant (psistaria). The major difference between psistaria and tavernas is that in the former there are only grilled meats as main dish, while in the latter you can get also casserole & oven dishes. If you are a vegetarian, don't go to psistaria.

It was Saturday night and there are quite many people eating.

Starters are tzatziki and cucumber-tomato salad. We got also bread and half kilo of red wine.

These were just OK, but it was not the point.

The point is this: grilled meat!

These are kontosouvli of pork and lamb. I wanted only lamb, because I knew it was good (for me it was a revisit), but GH wanted pork as a safer option. The lamb of Skaros is rally incredible, it is juicy, sweet and crispy. I have never eaten better lamb anywhere else in Greece.

The bill for all these were 22 Euro, and Mr. Kostas the owner wanted only 20 Euro.

It is not something I can eat everyday, but once I am in Kalambaka, it shall be a must-visit restaurant.

Ο Σκάρος - O Skaros
Odos Trikalon
Kalambaka
(+30) 24320 24152

How to find it: Starting from Kalambaka town centre, walk down the main street (Kalambaka-Trikalon) toward Trikala direction. On the left side of the street, you will find Divani Meteora hotel. O Skaros is just away (20-30 metres maybe?) from the hotel, left side of the road.

In Kalambaka, if I had more time, I would have tried a taverna called Dionysos (in the photo below) in centre and one called Paramythi at the opposite end of Trikalon Street.

These two looked rather promising. Or I will try also Kastraki village in the evening.

I hope my record helps those who have plan to visit Kalambaka.

What We Ate in Meteora Area - Gardenia, Kastraki

The second day in Thessaly.

Of course, we went to see monasteries. In and around the monasteries, there is no restaurant or taverna, so we bought a snack from Kalambaka.

I got a huge peinirli. I ate a half during the sightseeing and the other half in the evening.

On the first day, we visited Agios Stefanos, Agia Triada, Roussanou and Megalo Meteoro. As it was a Friday, Varlaam and Agios Nikolaos were closed.

After these 4 monasteries, we went down to Kastraki to look for a taverna called Gardenia. I had a tip-off from an acquaintance of mine and wanted to visit it for a long time.

The taverna is close to the central church of Kastraki.

I have not been to Kastraki before; it is a cosy village with lots of tavernas and hotels. If you prefer a quiet place to stay, Kastraki is a better bit than Kalambaka which is a big and busy centre of this area.

Gardenia was a small family-run taverna (of Plakias Family evidently), which also has some rooms. We arrived quite late in the afternoon and there were only 2 other tables occipied (one elderly foreign couple was staying at one of their rooms).

The menu was small and nothing particularly interesting: usual appetizers, usual oven or casserole cooked dishes, and usual grilled meat. Ah, wait, there were pork kebabs that sounded rather unusual, but we did not order that.

Bread (1 Euro) and beer (3 Euro).

Tzatziki (2.80 Euro).

The cucumber in tzatziki tasted like pickled. Not like stale, but just pickled. First it tasted strange, but eventually I liked it.

Excellent horta (3.50 Euro).

It was a horta of summer, Vlita.

And Gemista (stuffed tomato and pepper) (5.80 Euro). It was a vegetarian version and there was not meat.

The stuffed rice was cooked perfectly and it was enjoyable over-all.

And pork souvlaki (7 Euro).

Meat was huge and freshly grilled (I saw the man putting the raw meat on the grill, so it is certain). Not particularly impressive, but again, tasty.

At the end the owner treated us with ravani cake and ice cream.

Delicious.

The bill was 23.10 Euro. We left satisfied.

In general, the tavernas in Kastraki looked more promising than in Kalambaka (and probably cheaper).

Gardenia - Γαρδένια
Kastraki Centre (Find that church and look down the street in front; you will find it)
Tel.: (+30) 24320 22504
http://www.meteora-plakias.gr/

What We Ate in Meteora Area - Panellinion, Kalambaka

Wow. It has been a long time since the last post! I did not realize.

Not that anything happened. It was just because we have been away for a few days of trip last weekend. Now I start blogging about it.

We have been in Meteora.

I have been to there probably more than 10 times, when I was working in tourism, but my Greek husband (GH) had never been. I am going to write about what we ate during these days.

The 1st night in Kalambaka, we arrived quite tired and decided to eat somewhere near. We asked recommendation from the hotel owner (we stayed at Galaxy Hotel which was offering excellent value-for-money rooms) and read Tripadvisor and Foursquare, we headed for the Town Hall Square of Kalambaka.

In the square, there are this Panellinio, Meteora, and another grill restaurant. I was not sure between Panellinion and Meteora, but finally we decided on the one recommended by the hotelier.

Currently this restaurant occupies the 3rd and 7th places (duplication) in Kalambaka restaurant list of Tripadvisor.

It looked touristic, but we thought "it should not be so bad".

Tzatziki (3.30 Euro), which was OK.

I wanted horta (boiled green leaves), but the waiter told us it was out of season. Bull shit. He recommended more expensive salad, but we ordered lettuce salad instead (3.30 Euro), which again was OK.

Chichken souvlaki plate was rather generous (8.50 Euro).

Besides 3 small chicken skewers, there was salad, rice and oven potatoes. Edible, but nothing particular. The rice was stale and potatoes were cold unfortunately.

This is oven baked spaghetti (8.80 Euro).

It was spaghetti with tomato sauce, some odd bits of vegetables and ham (?), yellow cheese on top and baked in oven. As quality, it was not either below or above our expectation, but the portion was too small and 8.80 Euro price tag was not justified in any way.

The grapes were on the house.

The service was friendly, but not quite efficient.

Together with a beer (3.30 Euro) and bread (0.50 Euro x 2), the total bill was 28.20 Euro.


Not hugely expensive but for the same money I am sure we could have found much better food elsewhere in Kalambaka.

I don't see any particular reason to recommend this place to you, although I don't need to dissuade you to go if you happened to be nearby and find a good table.

ΠΑΝΕΛΛΗΝΙΟ
Βλαχάβας 3 (Πλατεία Δημαρχείο)
Καλαμπάκα
Τηλ. 24320 24735

Panellinio
3 Vlahavas (Plateia Dimarhio)
Kalambaka
Tel. 24320 24735