Eight eateries, off the seafront strip, have become the best seafood destination bringing a touch of island flavor to the center.
It’s the month that rightfully calls for its fish; remember, we’re in the heart of Lent and on the threshold of March 25th. A good guide to catch in the nets of our palate fish and seafood cooked with mastery, creativity and finesse is more relevant than ever.
After all, in Athens restaurants that focus on fish are multiplying, offering refined experiences from classic frying pans and trendy raw plates to deeply cooked and elaborate dishes. Quite a few frontline chefs choose to unfold their talent through dishes scented with iodine, recharging traditional recipes and taking seafood dining to another level.
So we head out on a gastronomic longline without needing to venture into the deep, the far, or the seaside. We stay in the center and grab a table at places that don’t have a blue backdrop, nor sit on an island, yet manage to transport us, bringing the sea through their plates.
At Cookoovaya for Corfiot crescendos
Walking into the restaurant you instantly feel calmed. The bright, well-tended, and well-appointed space radiates good vibes and a sense of care that we love—just as we love the open kitchen. It is one of the largest, with instant access to the guest, so you can watch the well-drilled team of chef-owner Periklis Koskinas.
Periklis is one of the calmest, most consistent and talented forces on our domestic culinary scene. His dishes are an ode to fish, without making noise or resorting to pointless techniques and ingredients. He takes classic recipes from the Ionian and his homeland of Corfu and refines them with a minimalist and utterly delicious touch. A standout example is the now-viral divine bianco with grouper, as well as the zesty raw savoro.
On his menu you’ll find fish and seafood taking the lead in many forms, all crafted with a zero-waste and wise cuisine philosophy that lets the ingredient show off its gifts. Beyond the essential bianco, try the raw shrimp and the sea bass carpaccio before moving on to the grilled octopus and the grilled gamba prawn. In every plate you’ll see the prime ingredient shine, with balance and intensity never missing. Χατζηγιάννη Μέξη 2Α, Athens
At Vassilenas for 100 years of seafood mastery
We remain in the neighborhood of the old Hilton and the new The Ilisian for a restaurant that has been making history since 1920. Thanasis Vassilenas started his grocery-taverna in a poor Piraeus neighborhood, and today his restaurant features in Athens’ chicest area, initiating us into the finest form of seafood dining. Especially this year, as they celebrate a full hundred years, chef Kyriakos Hasapoglou is in an anniversary mood and gifts us some of his strongest dishes, always adapted to a head-to-tail philosophy so that each fish or seafood is used whole, from head to tail. A characteristic example is the stunning soup made from the heads of fish from the day’s nets.
Now to the inner sanctum—the beautiful, stylish dining room—to enjoy more. We start with modern plates like tiradito with red porgy, then continue more classically with a twist, such as cuttlefish fricassee and amberjack with sautéed greens. All dishes carry deep flavor and a sea breeze that awakens the senses. Βρασίδα 13, Athens
At Milos for the catches of the Euboean Gulf and the Cyclades
The cosmopolitan, world-renowned restaurant has returned its base to the heart of Athens, picking up where it left off: the exemplary handling of the finest ingredients and the most impressive daily fish display. Kostas Spiliadis, the maestro of fish, conducts the ultimate choreography of cooking—be it raw preparations, the grill, the pan, or the pot.
Try the excellent chub mackerel tartare, the ultimate grilled shrimp, and the signature fish of the day in a salt crust. Its service is a true ritual, as it’s opened before you, cleaned and filleted masterfully. All that’s left is to taste it and see how juicy, concentrated and delicious it is. Note that the restaurant nests in a premium all-white background from noon for a fish-forward lunch, while in the evening it transforms, drawing more dishes—both classic and new—from its quiver. Κολοκοτρώνη 3-5, Athens
At Iodio for briny nostalgia
In Kolonaki unfolds a very special seafood venture bearing a strong female signature. Georgianna Hiliadaki joins Danai Voridou and Erasmia Balaska to weave an iodine-laced hymn rooted in our childhood memories. On this nostalgic journey, the dishes are dusted with imaginative creativity: yuvarlakia are reimagined with grouper tartare, Mani-style pasta comes alive as calamarata, soutzoukakia are shaped with fresh tuna, seftalia is stuffed with cod, and the fish of the day is served as a generous bourdetto.
These and more on the menu elevate seafood cuisine, marrying coziness with contemporary surprise. You sit and travel through flavors, harmony, depth, and the briny protagonist. When you go, there are two opening highlights I suggest you try: the first keeps Clean Monday always in mind with a flavorful tarama garnished with bonito flakes and served with a small lagana, and the second is bottarga unexpectedly paired with white chocolate. Λουκιανού 36, Athens
At Sea You for the goodies of Chalkida
One of this year’s hypes breathed new life into the well-known Laimou shopping arcade in Kolonaki. Where a historic ouzeri once stood, Sea You was born, bringing the Cyclades to this glitzy central district. The place harmonizes an urban dining room with an island taverna, making us lose ourselves—or feel like we’re on holiday.
The summery mood is amplified by a well-considered seafood menu. Chef Dimitris Nikolis, known from Barbarossa, brings fish directly from his home region of Chalkida, fills the fish display, and raises the bar with deep respect for the raw material. When we visited, the winning streak began with raw dishes like king crab with chili and tuna tartare with yuzu. What won me over, though, was his bent for shrimp. He creates three different plates from this stellar seafood and each one is a gem. The kataifi-wrapped shrimp are crisp outside and juicy within; the chargrilled ones are melt-in-your-mouth while keeping their character; and those served with linguine and champagne cream vie for the top spot among the year’s best dishes. Καρνεάδου 25 - 29, Athens
At Atelier Papaioannou for seafood cookery
One of the most classic fish restaurants continues its legacy with another brand, Atelier Papaioannou, which has dropped anchor—after a temporary stop at Stoa Spyromilou—in Neo Psychiko. There, Konstantinos Pappas, nephew of Giorgos Papaioannou, confirms the family’s talent for taking fish and seafood to delicious new heights, introducing us to a different yet equally elevated school of seafood dining.
Specifically, he leans more on the pot and cooking in general, enriching the story and the menu. One such dish is scorpionfish fillet with sautéed greens and a divine sauce, as well as paccheri pasta with rockfish and panko. In both, the fish is cooked perfectly and doesn’t lose its character within the generous whole. Δημ. Βασιλείου 14, Νέο Ψυχικό
At Travolta for kontosouvli calamari
The Liakos brothers’ restaurant is a phenomenon, establishing Peristeri as the best destination for fish. Every day the place is full, with beloved dishes that never leave the menu. Spyros and Vangelis Liakos craft each recipe with meticulous detail and an obsessive commitment to ingredients from small producers they constantly seek out.
The result honors tradition and transforms it into a marvelous evolution of the present. Like the squid that goes on the spit and is grilled in such a way that it constantly hovers and gains shifting textures—some juicier, others crisper. Another signature dish is the sardine millefeuille. The oily fish is fried so masterfully that it carries no grease, doesn’t dry out, and never loses its crunch. Between the layers goes a scrumptious beet and garlic cream, and the whole is unbeatable. Αγίου Παύλου 33, Περιστέρι
Source: Reader.gr
