We head to the citys best value for money restaurants.
Hearty stews, tweaked Greek dishes, authentic souvlaki, burgers of unparalleled flavor, all the way to Georgian delicacies are on our list for your weekend outing in Athens and all this with a budget up to twenty euros. Get ready, we have a gastro stroll!
The restaurants, classic and modern
Leloudas
In Votanikos, the city’s most famous cod with skordalia is served. But we do not go only for that to the historic little taverna that has been welcoming us since 1928 with the same familiar beloved flavors and embracing us with culinary warmth. Dimitris Leloudas, now the third generation, continues to honor the family’s culinary legacy and to keep dishes like irresistible fries with minced meat and plenty of grated cheese or the braised mutton in red sauce that melts in the mouth. And believe us, these are reasons to go and go again. Salaminos 8-10 Athens
Sourtouko
A great wanderer found her gastronomic «little harbor» in Vyronas. After roaming all over Greece like a true «Sourtouko» and collecting local delicacies and unique native products she tucked them into a beautiful courtyard for friends to share. There are many mom-style recipes that have a place at our table. The kataifi cheese pie is one of them as it stands out with its explosive cheese béchamel. Favorites include Mani-style tsouhtes and buffalo soutzoukakia with origins in Kerkini. Alongside them you can easily add the meltingly tender Prespes giant beans. L.Chrysostomou Smyrnis 47, Vyronas
Soula Rustic Food
Let us go to Kypseli’s new home-cooking spot to savor food that tastes like mom. Andreas Kyvelos followed the remarkable footsteps of his cook mother, Soula, and created a space to pamper us with dishes that exude nostalgia and a gentle warmth. Every day, 7 to 8 different dishes come out of his pots, pans, and cauldrons, with recipes spanning from Laconia and Mani to faraway Georgia. So, put in your order chicken with Laconian orange on the one hand and on the other khinkali pasta pouches with mixed minced meat and herbs. Xanthis 10 Kypseli
Ama Lachi
Very often my family and I head down Kallidromiou to find ourselves in this wonderful courtyard of grapevines, lemon trees, and geraniums. The lovely setting is, of course, accompanied by an equally lovely menu, full of lovingly crafted meze and an unexpected list of cheeses from every corner of Greece. For example, you will find parcharotyri from Kilkis, volaki from Tinos, and oinosperitis from Ios. There are some staples among the dishes but the daily suggestions are also very interesting. Still, note a few tried-and-true choices like the chicken manestra with small pieces of smoked pancetta for extra flavor, the homemade kavourmas with hummus, and the fluffy grilled patties with baked potatoes. Kallidromiou 69, Athens
Prokommenes
Thanos Vlachopoulos is admittedly a very lucky man as he grew up among particularly industrious Asia Minor cooks. His grandmother and his mother cooked wonderful dishes from their homeland every day. He has gathered these in his beautiful cookshop. The space sets you up very pleasantly as it balances between the traditional and the modern. Colorful chairs, tasteful cutlery-patterned wallpaper, and the classic display case with the stews coexist. About 13 recipes come out each day, most with select organic products. Whatever you choose is made with care, but if you find them, give priority to the lemony veal and the cabbage rolls in avgolemono. Alsous 7, Glyfada
Sousourada
On the pedestrian street of Valtesiou stands a first-class Sousourada «dressed» in the style of the era. Bright, with well-placed industrial touches, a sleek wooden bar, an Instagrammable neon sign with its name and the best part a beautiful mosaic. At Sousourada you can go from morning for coffee and breakfast, from midday though you have a concise list of wines and cocktails to choose from and pair them with comfort dishes like handmade petoura with ground beef and a Pecorino from Amfilochia béchamel or wine-braised rooster with hilopites. Mavromichali 44, Athens
Street fare, to-go or there...
Volvi
Aris Doukas, known from the festive Noel, and Tasos Perdikis, a former butcher, brought to the heart of Evripidou something we really missed, a genuine souvlaki joint. Their souvlaki is small, classic, filling, a true souvlaki. Its ace is the fresh pita and the meat they procure from the neighboring butchers of the market and process themselves. Therefore, you do not need much, the pita, the skewer pork or chicken, a little onion, a bit of parsley, optionally mustard and hot pepper. They do not put fries - they even have the motto #letfrieswait like the film by Spyros Tsiolis «Let Women Wait». Evripidou 24-26 Athens
Ortsag
The Michelin-starred and many-toqued Alexandros Tsiotinis made the reversal and opened a casual, comfort, tiny eatery exactly opposite his starred fine dining CTC. The close location as well as this gastronomic shift has substance, the sustainability of ingredients. As Alexandros said, these are not times to throw ingredients away and so at Ortsag, which is an anagram of gastro, they recycle foods left over from ctc. They do it in a very creative and tasty way. The menu is divided in two, the standard one with unbeatable burgers and the one that is set up according to the ingredients that have remained. Make sure you try the double wagyu smashed burger with fried egg mayo, black angus mince, caramelized onion, cheddar and bacon is devilishly good. If you have the mood for starters then play between the fluffy fried rabbit meatballs with tomato jam or the mac n cheese croquettes. Kerameikou 93-95 Athens
Starlight
On Kolokotroni, during the holidays, a savvy burger point made its debut with the aroma of authentic America. Chef Giorgos Gartzonis makes addictive juicy burgers having also a few strong aces up his sleeve. The strongest, the original bun he uses, the genuine American martins potato roll, which he passes through steam. Next good card is the meat, the black angus that he hand-forms himself with the right aromatics. The double cheese burger won me over, it literally melted in the mouth. Keep an eye out because each month they also launch the limited burger of the month. Praxitelous 1 Athens
Source: Reader.gr
