Insider 124

THE CITY MAGAZINE OF

November - December 2015 Year 14. Issue 124 €4.50 ISSN 1790-3114

ATHENS

Let’s Celebrate Christmas Cooking / Outdoor Getaways for the Family / Best Brunches / Koukaki Then and Now / Vintage Shop Report / Samothrace Mysteries Uncovered / Perfect Presents / Valaoritou Spotlight PLUS: Interviews with: British Ambassador Mr John Kittmer / the Wine Whisperer of Nemea / Greek publishing powerhouse Letta Dimopoulou insider athens | November 1 PLUS: ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD & WINE, NIGHTLIFE, SHOPPING, NOVELTIES, MAPS- December AND 2015 MORE

Sudha Nair-Iliades

In many ways, 2015 was not Greece’s finest hour: the sordid Grexit drama, capital controls, the refugee crisis, political instability and simmering social discontent at home. Terror, the war in Syria, shaky geo-politics, the rise of fascist forces, a lack of consensus on climate change, abroad.

The headlines made dismal reading. As we mull over a year that Greek politicians might prefer expunged from the history books, the champagne at ministerial shindigs this New Year’s Eve may taste a little flat. There are nonetheless causes for celebration. And not just because, as the French Ambassador optimistically puts it, ‘2016 will be the year that Greece takes off.’

As the enchanted roundabout sets up in Syntagma Square, an aroma of wood-smoke hangs over the rooftops and the relentless jingle of carols pervades the supermarket queues, we celebrate Christmas in Athens with an issue that offers the best of the season between two covers.

publisher’s note Despite the global slowdown, British Ambassador to Greece, John Kittmer sounds upbeat in an exclusive interview with Insider. Caroline Olsen finds the quirkiest collectibles with which to stuff those stockings, while Moriah Meeks provides an insider guide to vintage shopping. To keep youngsters smiling over the holidays, Amanda Dardanis offers a varied selection of children’s activities, from skating to present-making. And because it just ain’t Christmas without a button-popping repast, she makes a mouth-watering selection of hangover-brunches in the city. To work off those Christmas calories, book an inch-pinching algae wrap at one of Cinq Monde’s spas in Greece and take in a moment of quiet reflection at Benaki Museum’s thought-provoking photographic exhibition, Worship from afar.

After a year of soul-searching, we, at Athens Insider, believe that the city we love, will be back doing what it does best – living it up by getting everyone into a celebratory mood.

Kales yiortes!

Sudha Nair-Iliades

Publisher - Editor Sudha Nair - Iliades Art Director Michel Devanakis Editorial Team Amanda Dardanis Muriel Noël Client Relations Sophia Velissaridis Vickie Hagis Graphic Design Fokia Kitsou Web Design Value Solutions

Photos Kostas Bekas V.Panagopoulos

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Contributors in this Issue John Carr, Holley Martlew, Caroline Olsen, Sherri Moshman Paganos, Moriah Meeks

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insider athens | November - December 2015 1

Holley Martlew

Dr. Holley Martlew is an archaeologist who has worked extensively on Minoan and Mycenean sites in Greece and is Co-Director of the Armenoi Excavations in Crete. The main focus of her research was to use organic residue analysis to ascertain what was cooked or stored in ceramic vessels, and stable isotope analysis of human skeletal material to determine overall diet. This culminated in a EU funded project Archaeology Meets Science: Minoans and Mycenaeans - Flavours of Their Time and a series of international exhibitions world over.

French by origin and a long-time Greek resident, Muriel is a trained geographer whose love for the media veered her towards a career in publishing with French lifestyle magazine VSD and Maison Française, a design magazine.

After a career that spanned several years, she moved to Athens, where she has been actively involved with the French community. Muriel splits her time between Paris and Athens and is the force behind Insider Publications’ French magazine, Bonjour Athenes, its French website and weekly newsletter.

JOHN CARR

Born in North Staffordshire, John Carr has a BA in history and MA in sociology from Leicester University. He has worked in Greece as a correspondent for the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal Europe, The Times of London and Vatican Radio and as broadcaster, writer and actor since 1978. He has published several books including, The America Capsule (2005),Your Eyes Fourteen (2007), On Spartan Wings (2012), Sparta’s Kings (2012), The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940-41 (2013) and RHNS Averof (2014)

A print journalist for over two decades, Australian-born Amanda Dardanis started out at s News Corp Australia where she has covered specialist rounds from news and politics; property and tourism; to crime and entertainment. In London, she held senior creative roles at glossy titles including Marie-Claire, Woman’s Own, and the Mail on Sunday’s YOU magazine. Since moving to Athens in 2009, she has written on Greece for international publications like The Times London, the Guardian UK and Australia’s Sunday Telegraph – and also contributes to local Greek publications.

Sherri Moshman Paganos

Amanda Dardanis

Leaving Manhattan in the mid-1980’s, Sherri Moshman Paganos came to Greece for a two year sojourn that turned into a 30-year career as an educator, as well as a non-fiction writer and poet. She loves the wonders of living here: food cooked with tradition and care, swimming in the clear sea, watching films and concerts under the stars, and taking walks into the past in vibrant Athens neighborhoods like Plaka and Thiseio.

Of Filipino-Danish heritage, Caroline is an intern at Insider and a student at Northwestern University in Chicago studying Journalism, Asian-American Studies, and Community Development. She has a passion for travel photography and loves to meet new people and explore new places. She is continuing her studies in Athens and is excited to get to know the vibrant city.

FOKIA KITSOU

Muriel Noël

Caroline Olsen

Fokia is an intern at Insider and also a student at the Technological Educational Institution of Athens. She studies Graphic Design and she wants to continue her studies in the field of fashion design. She was born and raised in Athens which she adores. She loves fashion, art and has a passion to explore different places in and around Greece and Europe.

Moriah is an intern at Insider and is a student at DePaul University in Chicago. She studies English with a concentration in Creative & Professional Writing. Her passions include reading and discussing literature, writing short stories, and world travel. She finds Athens to be an amazing city with each experience she has had here impacting her view of the country and the world.

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MORIAH MEEKS

12

Features The Man who would be Greek 12 The British Ambassador to Greece, John Kittmer on Thucydides, Greek prospects in 2016 and on discovering Greece in real time Mysteries of the Great Gods 16 Sherri Moshman Paganos breathes life into the nocturnal mysteries of the Great Gods of Samothrace

22 32

Here’s to You, Valaoritou 18 Caroline Olsen embarks on a walking tour of Valaoritou - a short street with a big personality Celebrating Koukaki 22 Holley Martlew combs her Koukaki neighbourhood for old classics and shiny new entrants for a memorable gourmet fix.

The Wine Whisperer of Nemea 26 Amanda Dardanis meets Konstantinos Bakasietas, the man who is raising extinct Greek varieties from the Dead.

In full sail 30 John Carr meets Letta Dimopoulou, the powerhouse behind Shipping International All that glitters 32 The red carpet-worthy designs of Tanja Ludya’s debut jewellery collection

Sections Vintage Buys 34 Moriah Meeks scours her fave retro haunts in the city

Arts & Events 04 Fast Lane

08

All I want for Christmas 36 Kick off your holiday shopping with some hand-picked gifts

Diplomacy

12

Cityscope

18

Great Family Escapes 38 A list of action-packed weekend escapes and fun family adventures

Wines

26

Diplomatic Dining 40 Luxembourg takes centre-stage with a perfectly-pitched seasonal dish

Business

30

Style

32

Fave Five

34

Agora

36

Travel

38

Gastronomy

40

Restaurants

48

Wellness

52

Festive Treats 42 Chef Sotiris Evangelou of the Hotel Grande Bretagne offers seductive alternatives to the traditional Christmas feast.

Morning Glory 44 The Rise and Rise of the Athenian Brunch Food in Ancient Greece 50 Archeologist Holley Martlew explores the earliest origins of the glorious Fruit of the Vine

Kaleidoscope 72

Worship from Afar 72 Benaki Museum’s timely photographic exhibition underscores our deeply human need to pray.

34 36 38 42 72 Cover illustration by: Michel Devanakis

Find us on:

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For location details see listings p.61

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2131 27 1113 1131 from

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january

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december

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december

Badminton Theater

Technopolis

Badminton Theater

Acropolis Museum

Jason and the Golden Fleece Greek mythology’s most legendary epic journey is told in this lavish new production for the entire family, starring Yannis Stankoglou as fearless Jason, and Savina Yannatou as Medea. Join Jason and the Argonauts on Argo and be part of a breathtaking journey with Greece’s most daring spirits as they attempt to break new ground, discover new lands and bring back home the Golden Fleece! Directed by renowned choreographer Sofia Spyratou.

Zografou, www.abcd.gr

The Christmas Factory 2015 “Christmas Factory”, Athens’ biggest and most magical Christmas theme park, returns for the third consecutive year at the Gazi Technopolis, in Kerameikos, spreading festive joy to thousands of visitors, both young and old. This year’s «Christmas Factory» includes games, creative performances, special guests, Christmas bazaar and numerous other activities.

Peiraios 100, www. thechristmasfactory.gr

Laterna Magika’s Wonderful Circus Roll up, roll up for this exhilarating, non-lingual adventure of laughter and passion, created by the groundbreaking National Theater of Prague. Badminton Theater transforms into a glorious circus hub to host “Wonderful Circus” (Kouzelný Cirkus in Czech) an exploding, surreal fairy tale that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1977.

“Wonderful Circus” is the tale of two clowns, born of an egg, who roam the earth searching for eternal youth. Christmas and Circuses make perfect companions!

Zografou, www.abcd.gr

Lego Acropolis Children and grown-ups alike will marvel at the imaginative feat of the Lego Acropolis model, donated to the Acropolis Museum by the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum.

The impressive replica was made from more than 12,000 bricks and took about 300 hours to build by Ryan McNaught.

The model is located on the Museum’s second floor, in the area of the ‘Lab’ next to the restaurant. Entry is free.

Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, www.acropolismuseum.gr

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insider athens | November - December 2015 5

For location details see listings p.61

until

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january

Eugenides Foundation

Onassis Cultural Centre

Herakleidon Museum

The Visible Universe Your chance to wander among the stars, nebulae and farreaching galaxies of our universe at this riveting and otherworldly astrophotography exhibit. Eugenides Foundation presents «The Visible Universe Through Telescopes and Cameras Skinakas Observatory».

Each photograph is accompanied with a description in Greek and English describing the particular characteristics of the illustrated astronomical object.

Leoforos Sygrou 387, 210.946.9600, www. eugenfound.edu.gr

Digital Revolution From Pac-Man, Super Mario and Tetris to Gravity and Inception; from the Industrial Revolution to 3D printing, this futuristic “Digital Revolution” will dazzle the whole family. The impressive showcase debuted at London’s Barbican and features over 110 exhibits – as well as narrating the history of the digital arts while also anticipating what the future holds.

107-109, Syngrou Ave, Athens 117 45, www.sgt.gr

Ancient Inventions Some of the most extraordinary ancient Greek inventions, including Philo’s “robotservant” and Aeneas’ hydraulic telegraph, are on display at “The Amazing Inventions of the Ancient Greeks,” an exhibition showcasing items from the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, in the Peloponnese.

The exhibition, housed at the Herakleidon Museum Annex, has two new thrilling exhibits: the “turning, chirping blackcap” and the “magic dance,” as well as a series of photographs by Anthi Xenaki on 6th century BC technology.

37 Apostolou Pavlou, Thiseio, 210.346.1981, www. herakleidon-art.gr

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B&M Theocharakis Foundation Pablo Picasso - Jean Cocteau: Innovators of Modernism The creative – often subversive - bond between Picasso and Cocteau is the theme of this dynamic exhibition. Spanning almost half a century, the two artists’ prolific collaboration played a vital role in the Modernism Movement.

The showcase is a collaboration between Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster, the Foundation B. & M. Theocharakis & John Collection Kontaxopoulou and comprises 190 representative paintings, sculpture, pottery, drawings and artistic versions of the innovative artists.

Vasilissis Sofias 9 & Merlin 1, 210.361.1206

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Home Suite Home Swoon over some of the planet’s most heavenly holiday retreats in this beautifully-edited collection compiled by Hotelier Expert Tonia Vassilopoulou. Warning: may inspire wanderlust.

Varoulko Seaside:

A gastronomic multiplex by the sea Just a year-and-a-half after moving into its new home on the quaint Mikrolimano harbour, Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant Varoulko Seaside now boasts a multiplex stretched across three sprawling floors for private receptions, corporate events, musical evenings, art exhibitions, cooking classes and more!

Translating the vision of a lifetime, Lefteris Lazarou shares the knowledge and experience garnered over 30 years in this airy, new space, littered with exemplary works of modern Greek art. Sip an aperitif at the stylish lounge bar on the ground floor while taking in an art exhibition, or sign up to learn the secrets of Lazarou’s famed cuisine at specially-designed cooking lessons for home-cooks as well as professionals on the first floor! Entertain corporate clients or family and friends on the second floor - if the view from the second floor does not take your breath away, Lazarou’s exquisite seafood creations will definitely do so! Varoulko Seaside offers a unique environment to savour a meal, to learn the tricks of Lazarou’s trade, to share beautiful moments by the sea and to experience Greek hospitality at its best.

54-56 Akti Koumoundourou, Mikrolimano. Tel: 210.522.8400 www.varoulko.gr

A temple of fine design Inspired by the ancient agora, the new Museum shop at the Cycladic Museum draws on the character and structure of the museum to create a space that is an architectural masterpiece – designed to feed ones artistic sensibilities while browsing for gifts!

Housed on two levels, the Museum shop stocks original items created by Greek and foreign designers, all inspired by forms and shapes of the Cycladic civilization, transferring the simplicity and functionality of their designs into objects for the home, marble sculptures, ceramics, jewellery as well as games and books for children. Open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 5pm, on Thursdays from 10am to 8pm and please note, on Sundays! from 11am to 5pm.

Closed on Tuesdays. Museum of Cycladic Art, Neofytou Douka 4. Tel: 210.722.8321-3, Cycladic.gr

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Your family has been in the hospitality industry for generations. What’s the first thing that strikes you when you walk into a hotel?

Ambience, aesthetics and… smell. After that, service , attention to detail and human relations play an essential role.

What are the greatest sins that would completely put you off as a hotel guest?

Complain management is very important at hotels. There are always going to be some complaints but you need to turn that around into a positive experience and then guests tend to be more loyal than before.

How did your book Suite Homes come about? And what criteria did the properties have to meet to pass muster?

Suite Home Escape is a collection of unique accommodation suggestions and tips for the discerning traveler. They are selected in regard to their location, design and aesthetics, authenticity, facilities and service, sustainability, culture and heritage. These hotels have been a source of inspiration for me. Upon my return from every trip, I used to note down the new things I saw, heard and thought of. I believe traveling offers the opportunity to reflect upon our lives from a height we could not have reached in the midst of our everyday lives. That’s why every hotel description is accompanied with some ‘Room for thought’ –brief mottos - that can help travelers escape their ‘habits of mind’ and adopt a travelers and ‘citizen of the world’ philosophy back home.

If it’s a choice between amenities and service, what trumps for you?

Service. Above all.

Is location, location, location still a valid parameter for judging a hotel?

I think so, yes. But I must admit, I have travelled to destinations motivated by the fact that a nice hotel was there. Nice hotels can, and should, promote destinations as well.

What are some of the new trends one can hope to see in the hospitality sector?

Personalization and new integrated technology, emphasis on art, sustainability and social responsibility.

In a fiercely competitive environment, what must hoteliers do to keep guests happy and make them regulars?

Pay attention to detail and provide good, innovative and personalized service. We have a saying that our guests arrive as residents, leave as friends and return as family.

This Christmas… we’ll be hanging at the Hilton The Hilton Athens, with its divine views and lively atmosphere, always puts you in a holiday mood – at any time of year. But especially at Christmas, when the hotel gets busy spreading festive joy all around with its many seasonal celebrations.

On Christmas Day and New Year, the Byzantino throws a merry feast for the whole family with a rich buffet, live music and entertainment program for children, while on Boxing Day, relax and linger over a luxurious lunch. On Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the Byzantino stages a gala dinner with an impressive setmenu to indulge all ages and taste buds.

Those with glamour in their sights, may celebrate with friends and lovers at the spectacular Galaxy Bar & Restaurant on the top floor of the Hilton, by indulging in bright cocktails and delicious gourmet creations by executive chef Costas Athanasiou, overlooking an illuminated Athens. New Year’s Day, after dinner, dance the night away at the Galaxy Bar to the selected tunes of DJ to the Stars, Alexandros Christopoulos. Come the morning, head back to Byzantino for their legendary Hangover Breakfast.

For the holiday season, make a unique gift for yourself or your loved ones at the Hiltonia Spa – and face the New Year refreshed and radiant! The Couple’s package makes the perfect holiday treat: relax together with scented bath and Ayurveda massages and soothe away the year’s stresses and toils. Take advantage of the Hiltonia Spa’s special festive offer: with the purchase of two gift vouchers you get another one free of charge. For more details about the Hilton’s holiday menu and festive stay offer (from € 169 with breakfast), visit www.hiltonathens.gr or call +30 210 7281 351.

Cyber Beauties Get ready to look gorgeous as Sephora launches its online cosmetic store sephora.gr to meet the needs of demanding customers who expect high standards, 24 hour-availability, a choice of the grooviest cosmetic brands – at their fingertips. A whopping 60 % of internet users in Greece are expected to increase their spending on online purchases in 2016. Highlighting the need to use different distribution channels, George Verykios, General Manager of Sephora Greece stated, “Sephora’s online boutique is an important part of our growth strategy and a reflection of a clear trend in the retail sector.”

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Say Cheese to Kostarelos Kolonaki newcomer Kostarelos Greek Delicatessen is a high temple to all things dairy – but above all else, glorious Greek cheese. Taste irresistible recipes from well-known chef Chrysanthos Karamolegos, in Kostarelos’ cosy and charming space, then fill your basket with fine traditional products from all over Greece. The centerpiece is a braided wall of vintage feta barrels – a reminder of the family’s rich cheese-making history. Bid goodbye to bland ham and cheese toasties with exciting sandwich options such as roasted mushrooms and bacon with mayonnaise truffle, salads like arugula, cherry tomatoes, oil nuts, katiki and vinaigrette molasses (ideally accompanied with a fine Greek wine or rare micro-brewed beer!); light and airy desserts including chocolate and sweet Black Cherry mousse.

Don’t leave without trying the outstanding twelve-month feta - matured to perfection. What’s more - Kostarelos delivers coffee, snacks as well as your deli orders to your doorstep. Kostarelos is open Monday to Friday, from 9am-9pm, and Saturday 9am - 8pm. Find them at Patriarchou Ioakeim 30-32, Kolonaki, 210.725.9000, www.kostarelos.gr

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“

I’ve seen Greece both in times of growth… and in times of pain.”

Now nearly three years into his Athens posting, the British Ambassador to Greece, John Kittmer, grants Insider’s Amanda Dardanis an exclusive audience

T

hursday, November 5. It’s a preternaturally fine Autumn day. The British Ambassador for Greece, John Kittmer, poses in the garden courtyard of the Residence, which once housed Eleftherios Venizelos, for Insider’s photographer.

Outside the tall wrought-iron gates of this grand statesman’s residence in Kolonaki – never far away – come the sounds of organized unrest. Greece’s prolonged Winter of Discontent.

Angry students - about 3,000 of them - are engaged in noisy protest against government reforms nearby, burning an EU flag for the cameras enroute to Parliament House.

On this day also: Greek seamen are on their fourth day of strike action, stranding thousands of residents and refugees. European Parliament President Martin Schultz is on the ground assessing the critical migrant situation in Athens and Lesbos. And New Democracy MP Giorgos Koumoutsakos will shortly be left injured after an attack by a protestor in Syntagma during a demonstration against the Greek Education Minister’s denial of the Pontic genocide.

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Diplomacy

Just another ordinary day in Athens, 2015.

Next to where Ambassador Kittmer stands out on the sunny courtyard, there is a small, cheerful conservatory filled with well-ordered lines of pots and thriving ferns. Recalling the fondness that many British men summon for their gardens, I ask the Ambassador if perhaps this is his meditation room: the place he comes to switch off and seek inspiration for the myriad complex issues that his term as British envoy has collided with. Political instability. Capital Controls. Refugee Crises.

‘No,’ he laughs, clearly enjoying the image of himself as some kind of Alan Titchmarsh in Athens. ‘It is actually just the nursery. But this is my meditation room,’ he admits, gesturing at the tranquil terrace around us. With its soothing running water sculptures and ripening clementine trees, it’s easy to imagine it inducing mindfulness.

When deeper introspection and clarity is called for, Ambassador Kittmer has also been known to embark on one of his epic Greek journeys. Always on foot, in the spirit of the ancients whom he has spent much of his academic life studying. Last summer, for example, the Yorkshire-raised career diplomat completed an ambitious four-day hike from Mystras to Mani, in honour of the great travel writer Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor – a journey he says on his blog that he had longed to replicate ever since reading, Fermor’s “Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese” as an undergraduate.

‘For me the serious pilgrim takes to his feet and measures the spiritual experience in real time, far from the car and the clock,’ he wrote afterwards.

And just a fortnight ago, the Anglican Kittmer, who assumed office here in January 2013, returned to one of his most revered parts of Greece, Athos, to sate a parallel interest in monasticism and Orthodox spirituality.

Like his fellow Philhellenes, Patrick Fermor and Lord Byron – whose famous portrait by Thomas Phillips hangs inside, in the drawing room - Mr Kittmer, 48, has brought to his role an entrenched passion for Greece and the “Greek condition”.

As a young man, he studied classics at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, then almost two decades later, Modern Greek studies at Kings

College. Currently, Mr Kittmer, who is fluent in Greek, is competing a doctoral thesis at Kings on the celebrated Greek poet Yannis Ritsos (whom he commemorated at a bi-cultural event, on November 12, and also involving esteemed British poet David Harsent).

As he approaches the final year of his posting, the British Ambassador granted Athens Insider an exclusive interview about his enduring connection with Greece, and the unprecedented challenges he believes this country still faces: Ambassador, your posting here comes at a uniquely testing juncture for Greece. Furthermore, you have had to carry out your diplomatic duties against a backdrop of intense media interest in Greece. How challenging has that been?

Of course, all my colleagues back in London are very much aware of the situation here.

Everyone is being constantly bombarded, confronted, with so much information. Essentially, my role is to give a flavour to the Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers, and to the Exchequer about what’s really happening in Greece and also to give them advice on how best to manage the relationship between our two countries.

What have been the most pressing issues on your agenda throughout 2015?

The most pressing item this year has been dealing with Greece itself. I am actively involved in trying to understand the direction that Greece is currently taking, just as everybody else is. This relates across all areas: political reporting, economic reporting, interpreting Greece as a brand.

What are your hopes for Greece’s immediate future?

Now that we have had what is surely the last general election this year - fingers crossed! we are hoping that there will be more stability and that the government will have more time to start thinking about how to encourage international investors to Greece. And of course ambassadors have a role there. I have targets for British trading into Greece and we are always keen to attract investment from Greece into the UK. Many people want to invest in Greece now – in its property and tourism. So selling Greece as a brand is very

important. But at the moment, I feel that Greece isn’t really sure what its brand is.

Culturally, which affinities do you believe exist between Greece and Britain?

I’m always struck by the way that Greeks talk about the world in very similar terms as British people. We both talk about Europe as though it’s somewhere else. It’s not just a trivial speech habit. It partly reflects our shared histories. We are both pioneering nation states. We’ve both been members of the European Union for almost equal periods, for over 3 decades. England and the UK were both early nation states in Europe. Greece was the first nation to carve itself out of the Ottoman Empire as a modern nation state.

We are both on the margins of the European landmass. As a result, we are both seafaring people, who look to the world, and that has influenced our cultures and the way in which we view things. We both manage to marry strongly national, quite introverted cultures, with very extrovert, expansive cultures.

You have been a life-long admirer of the Greek classics. How do you believe Modern Greece in 2015 might benefit from the wisdom of Ancient Greece?

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Diplomacy

It’s an interesting question. I leave that up to Greeks to decide. All I will say though is that Greeks should continue to engage with their heritage which is now a Pan-European and global heritage. My view though is that if you haven’t read a decent chunk of Plato and Thucydides, you should! Especially now, when people are talking about democracy a lot. Modern Greeks should read Thucydides to understand what it was like to live in the first direct democracy. Which let’s face it, didn’t last very long, but it was still an extraordinary experiment, and we would do well to engage with that time.

Could you describe a typical day’s schedule to give our readers an insight into the reach of your role?

My day consists of things I do under instructions and initiatives I generate myself. Some days, London tells me: “Go and lobby on this, or go and make that point to that Minister.”

A lot of what we try to do is understand and interpret the country; find the necessary background to tell London “what is really going on” with this political crisis. It’s always easy to be distracted by the surface of events. But there is usually something deeper going on.

I talk to many politicians across the political spectrum. Yesterday, I met with Panos Skourletis, the Environment and Energy Minister.

Later today, I’m meeting a New Democracy politician in preparation of a trip I’m going to make up to Thrace in the coming months.

14 insider athens | November - December 2015

I’m trying to understand the politics of the Muslim community there – and how this new phenomenon of mass migration into Greece has brought many new Muslim communities here, particularly into Athens. And that’s just a snapshot; it’s a varied workload.

more competitively-priced finally. British people in work by and large have money in their pockets and can probably afford quite a nice holiday.

With Greece hopefully nearing the end of recession, how are you working to further trade ties and investments with Britain?

We are making the classic sort of “pitch” that investors make: that the government needs to establish conditions for political stability, fiscal and regulatory stability, because investors need a degree of predictability. To know what sort of return they can expect to make. And if the goalposts are continually widening or narrowing, then you can’t properly do your due diligence. This is difficult presently, because there’s a strong adjustment programme underway, causing and driving change. But it’s change which should liberalise the economy, and help trade inwardly and outwardly.

What kind of impact has living in Greece – and being immersed in the Greek lifestyle - had on you personallyy?

This is the sort of job that comes your way but once in a lifetime. I always wanted to serve as a diplomat in Greece and I had hoped that if I played my cards right, when I was a doddery old guy in his late 50s or early 60s, it might happen. Then I got posted here in my 40s! I couldn’t ask for more. It’s been a difficult time for Greece and it pains me to see that. Because I’ve seen Greece in times of growth, in times of confidence and prosperity. I really hope that over the next few years Greece returns to that feeling of confidence and positive forward-moving vision. And to a sense that the Greek people themselves can get themselves out of this situation.

Does Greece still remain a favoured destination for British holidaymakers?

In all honesty, the UK has enjoyed robust growth now for over 3 years. Our economy is doing well. For two years, we have also had impressive growth in the British market into Greece, which has been increasingly popular despite the crisis. Competing destinations in the Mediterranean have had their own problems and the Greek travel market has become

And finally, Ambassador, what is the best perk of being stationed in Greece?

The weather! I returned to London in late 2002 – after being posted in Brussels for four years. By the end of 10 years, I had had enough of the “grizada” and “melancholia” of the London climate. Here, we have the “liakatha” – the mellowness that the Mediterranean sunshine provokes. And with that, comes the whole culture! i

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Sherri Moshman Paganos breathes life into the nocturnal mysteries of the Great Gods of Samothrace, now showing at the Acropolis Museum

T

he moon has risen in the summer sky as the color deepens slowly to pitch black. You’re exhausted from your long journey by ship to reach Samothrace, home of the Great Gods. You’ve waited for this moment for years. To be initiated and granted well-being and a blessed afterlife. Facing the entrance of the temple, first you note the marble stele that forbids entry to the uninitiated further into the sanctuary. Then, blindfolded, you proceed into the theatral circle...

Samothrace is not an island that many have visited. In the corner of the northeast Aegean, it’s more remote from Athens than nearly any other island. In ancient Greece, perhaps because of its location, although Samothrace did not have political significance, it was important for religious reasons, as the home of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. As with the more famous Elefsinian Mysteries, what happened during these secret initiation rites was indeed kept secret by the initiates, under threat of death, and history has never learned what exactly went on during these ceremonies.

Although we are ignorant of the actual rites, we do know about the makeup of the sanctuary itself, whose remains can be found along the northern coast of this rugged and mountainous island. A fascinating exhibit at the Acropolis Museum ‘Samothrace: Mysteries of the Great Gods’, which lasts until January 10, examines the history of Samothrace and its Great Gods and also displays a number of artefacts from the Archeological Museum of Samothrace. The exhibit makes our mind wander back to ancient Greece to imagine how it must have been on this isolated windswept spot to experience these secret rites.

This ancient cult, lasting about a thousand years, to the end of the 4th c. AD when Theodosius II banned cult religions, reached its peak during the Hellenistic time. Philip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander

16 insider athens | November - December 2015

Culture

the Great, in fact met his future wife Olympia during his own initiation in the mid-4th century BC. (One of the objects exhibited, a tiny gold Persian lion, was dedicated by a soldier upon his return from the campaign under Alexander the Great). Other initiates include Herodotus and Spartan King Lysander.

The Romans, too, participated in the initiation rites, notably the Emperor Hadrian. However, many centuries before that, legend tells us that the Argonauts, Hercules and Agamemnon all took part in the Mysteries. In Athens, during the Classical Area, Plato mentioned the Great Gods, and in Aristophanes’ ‘Peace’, the gods are referred to not surprisingly in a mocking way.

What were the names of the Great Gods? In the earliest times, they were called ‘Cabeiroi’, fierce and mysterious gods of the underworld.

In this way, they were related to the Elefsinian Mysteries, with the gods Demeter, Persephone, Hades, and Hermes, names that Ancient Greek writers also used to refer to the Samothrace gods. Later, more of a central figure was played by the «Great Mother» goddess. As for the island itself, the Iliad tells us that Poseidon watched the battle of Troy from Mt. Saos on Samothrace, and sailors had used the island for years as a reference point. The deities also were known for giving divine protection for sea travelers.

History tells us that parts of the island were settled as far back as the 6th millenium BC and through the centuries, these areas cycled through eras of being inhabited, abandoned and inhabited again. The site of the sanctuary must have engaged with other civilizations; in the exhibit, pottery displayed from the 17th and 18th centuries BC shows Minoan stamp-seal impressions. The first Greek settlers around 700 BC built Paleopolis on the north coast and made the sanctuary into one of the most important mystery cults of antiquity.

What do we actually know of these religious rites? A little about the building layout: you passed first into the Hall of Choral Dancers, dedicated by Philip II, and then the Rotunda of Arsinoe II (the wife of Ptolemy II), the largest enclosed circular structure from the ancient Greek world. In the Rotunda, the initiate was blindfolded and all around him, cult attendants danced ecstatically. From the Rotunda, you entered the Hieron, where the highest level of Mysteries occurred, the epopteia, (or contemplation), and we know that few were able to attain this higher stage (The 1st and 2nd stages were called the myesis and teleti).

The Hieron was where four Victory statues stood, one on each corner of the roof. These were different Victory statues from the famous ‘Winged Victory of Samothrace’, probably the island’s most recognizable symbol. This beautiful statue of the 2nd century BC, was found not on the Hieron, but on the very southeast side of the site in 1863 by a French archaeological team. Supposedly, when a Greek worker unearthed the statue, he called out “Sir we found a woman!” This graceful ‘woman’, whose arms and head were never found, has been displayed in the Louvre since 1885 in a prominent position in the museum. As seen by visitors all over the world, many might be unaware that Samothrace is actually the name of the island where it was discovered.

In addition, in the exhibit you can see a stone cataloging the names of initiates displayed outside the sanctuary: everyone from kings to government and religious officers, citizens of different cities, freedmen and slaves. The exhibit also displays finds from the cemetery on the site: gold jewellery, glass vessels and red and black figure urns.

Scenes from the film ‘Samothrace’ by Angeliki Aristomenopoulou run continually in the exhibit, and the photos of Samothrace flaunt the island’s natural beauty of mountains, forests and waterfalls.

Outside the Acropolis museum on a blustery fall day, locals and tourists stroll the pedestrian walkway on Dionysiou Aeropagitou. Along the street everywhere you hear music: classical, rock, Latin, rembetiko. The sun is struggling to emerge from the clouds. You exit the museum, still wondering what happened at these nocturnal Mysteries.

But they will always be just that. Mysteries in every sense. Shrouded in the fog of time. i

insider athens | November - December 2015 17

Autumn is the perfect time to explore Athens’ inner-city streets, which are overflowing with every-day delights waiting to be discovered. Caroline Olsen embarks on a walking tour of Valaoritou - a short street with a big personality.

“Don” Barber and groom

18 insider athens | November - December 2015

Cityscope

Yellow Marshmallow

E

arly Wednesday afternoon and Valaoritou Street hums with activity.

Shoppers pass through purposefully. Cafés and restaurants spill out onto the pavement in typical Mediterranean fashion as city workers take lunch breaks and fashionable friends meet for coffee and conversation.

A chic and charismatic pedestrianized street nestled in the heart of Kolonaki, Valaoritou extends from the famous Voukourestiou to Amerikis.

Pentheroudakis

Kolonaki is considered the aristocratic district of Athens, thanks to its expensive shopping, upscale bars, and stylish coffee shops. The inner-city suburb is named after the ancient column (kolonaki), standing proud in the middle of Homonym Square. A walk through the leafy area reveals beautiful architecture with towering neoclassic and modernistic buildings that lure the eye. Voukourestiou Street runs perpendicular to Valaoritou and fulfills its ritzy reputation, with major style icons like Cartier, Dolce and Gabbana, and Hermes crowding the street. While Valaoritou is less flashy than its neighbour, there are still unique treasures to be unearthed along this atmospheric pedestrian road, that provides sanctuary from the relentless Athenian motorcade.

On the corner of Voukourestiou and Valaouritou is the Yellow Marshmallow (21 Voukourestiou Str. 210 36 30 984, yellowmarshmallow@icould.com), a breezy children’s clothing boutique, delivering “high fashion for little people”. Browse through their irresistible range of sequined dresses, baby purses, and adorable tiny shoes where you are certain to find something to spoil the small people in your life.

Pentheroudakis

Jimmy;s

Across the street, also intersecting Voukourestiou, is Pentheroudakis (19 Voukourestiou Str. 210 36 16 187, www.pentheroudakis.com), a unique Greeceinspired jewellery shop. Family-owned (and now onto its third generation of

Jimmy;s

insider athens | November - December 2015 19

Alter Ego

ownership), Pentheroudakis is the place to source that memorable quality piece to remind you of your time in Greece. The family tradition remains subtly woven throughout the shop displays. Sitting on one of the more colorful jewelry cases is a small fading photo of current proprietor Harry Pentheroudakis’ grandfather, the shop’s founder. In keeping with the times, Pentheroudakis have recently branched out from their traditional gold pieces and created their first line of silver jewelry for those looking for something a bit more affordable.

A little further down the street, Jimmy’s Coffee Shop (7 Valaouritou, 210 36 10 444) offers a warm and familiar place to take a relaxing reprieve from shopping.

Listed as one of USA Today’s “10 best coffee shops and brunches”, Jimmy’s has been a Kolonaki institution since 1981. Join the locals in one of Jimmy’s cosy maroon leather booths, lined up opposite the bar to resemble a classic American diner. A common meet-up location at any time of day, Jimmy’s opens early at 6:30 am and offers American-style breakfasts; while for lunch, you can find more traditional Greek specialties and delicious homemade pies.

Weaving through the cafes and restaurants, you’ll next encounter the eyecatching display of AlterEgo (18 Valaoritou, 210 36 46 057, www.alterego.gr), one of the new-breed of electronic cigarette shops popping up everywhere over Athens in the past year or so. This one has a futuristic atmosphere about it, with different species of vaporizers lit up on the walls in glowing green cases.

AlterEgo sells e-liquid flavors with edgy names such as “Pierced” from their “Counter-Culture” line. Smoking remains a huge part of the Greek culture, and more and more Athenians are clearly testing the waters with e-cigarettes, searching for a healthier option. For smoking purists, who prefer a more traditional tobacco fix, there is a cigar and pipe store next door, specializing in handmade Greek pipes. (Or if you are in the smoke-free camp, head directly across the street where you’ll find an organic health and wellness store for all your healthy-living cravings!)

For a perfect close to your Kolonaki wanderings, indulge in a fine meal at Tuttitalia (14 Valaoritou, 210 33 89 669, www.tuttitalia.gr), an authentic and hospitable Italian trattoria. Here, you can sit back and enjoy delicious house-specialty pastas and sauces, meat dishes, risotto, pizzas and desserts prepared by a traditional Italian chef – accompanied by one of Tuttitalia’s lively Italian wines.

Tuttitalia

20 insider athens | November - December 2015

Whether shopping for clothes, jewelry, or something special for the wee ones, catching up with a friend over a meal, taking a breather from the busy workday, or just people-watching, Valaoritou Street provides something for all. i

insider athens | November - December 2015 21

Holley Martlew combs her Koukaki neighbourhood for old classics and shiny new entrants for a memorable gourmet fix.

Christos & Antonis

Conveniently close to the city-centre - but far enough away to feel like an authentic Greek neighbourhood - witness the quiet foodie revolution that has taken place in Koukaki.

Kalamaki Bar: Two Brothers who have taken Koukaki by storm:

Kalamaki Bar

22 insider athens | November - December 2015

Christos and Antonis’ love of food and restaurants developed when, as young boys, they worked in their uncle’s tavern, in the coastal town of Voula. Antonis was the first to be lured to Koukaki. Little more than halfway up the pedestrian strip, from Fix metro stop, on the corner of Dimitrakapoulou, he opened Kalamaki Bar. It was an instant sensation and so it remains. There’s an enticing al-fresco dining area populated with flowering shrubs, and an outstanding menu, comprised of innovative re-makes of the traditional, or the chef’s own delicious inventions. The quality is outstanding.

What do I like best at Kalamaki? Their take on Cretan salad, ‘dakos’ is by far the best I’ve ever tasted, including on Crete. A salad under their own name with lettuce, rucola, red peppers, pomegranate seeds, parmesan cheese, and cherry tomatoes is irresistible. Two tasty starters are kebabs of grilled mushrooms or grilled haloumi

Cityscope

Skoumbri

Petite Creperie

that Greeks do it better than anyone. Hence I am rarely tempted to step out of line and order something different. Thank goodness the exciting menu at Skoumbri made me overcome my habits. First, I ordered «fisherman’s pasta», spaghetti with octopus, squid, shrimp and mussels. Next I tried kritherakia - a tasty Greek pasta that looks like large grains of rice - cooked with squid in black ink, and ouzo.

Both these dishes were over-the-top delicious. And in case you are wondering, Skoumbri is Greek for mackerel.

Drakou, 14 - Tel. 210-9210994

Bonbon - Petite Creperie: Bonbon is a fairytale. It even has a Skoumbri

cheese. Their ‘skewered meats’, pork, chicken, veal or lamb, are mouth-meltingly tender. I asked Antonis how he did them. To my amazement he said they not only marinated the meat, they marinated the skewers for at least twelve hours before they were used. “In what?” I asked. He laughed. “A secret recipe.” “Good,” I thought. “It deserves to be kept a secret.” Drakou, 15 - Tel. 2110-2171862

Skoumbri: Two years later, in spite of the crisis, Kalamaki Bar was well-established. Antonis’ brother Christos, however, had an advertising business in trouble. Christos looked at Kalamaki Bar and decided food was where he wanted to go, too, but of course with a different slant. He opened Skoumbri, a fish restaurant, opposite Kalamaki Bar, separated by a wide pavement and tall green trees.

Skoumbri is one large light and airy room, decorated in enticing shades of palest blue, stone and white, with witty nautical flourishes like distressed doors decorated with photos of friends and customers hung on clothes pegs. Two little trees guarding the entrance, pompom topiaries, are lit whimsically with tiny blue lights.

The fish, in the Greek tradition of freshly-caught, is superb. I love grilled and fried fish in Greece because experience has taught me

cocktail called «Fairytale» made with, would you believe, green tea, bergamot liqueur and ginger. There are other cocktails, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and an imaginative selection of coffees and teas.

The fillings for the crepes are novel. The menu is a joyous read.

The problem is making a choice. I recommend breakfast crepes with beans, tomato sauce, fried egg and bacon. For lunch, I loved smoked salmon, cream cheese, spinach, onions, and dill.

Petite Creperie

insider athens | November - December 2015 23

Try the ‘tiramisu’ crepe filled with sponge fingers soaked in espresso, covered with almonds, then rolled and decorated with chocolate syrup. Imaginative foodie gifts line their shelves. I bought a jar layered with chopped nuts, flaked chocolate and flour, topped with brightly coloured M and M’s. Add butter, a whisked egg, spoon-drop onto a flat tray, and bake. Voila! Delicious cookies.

Drakou, 12 - Tel. 213-0367123 The area at the top of the pedestrian precinct, Veikou, has been dowdy for years. But it, too, has been reborn. There are two new foodie places - Mezedopoleio, with traditional Greek dishes at good prices. It opens at 6 o’clock every day and has live music on weekends.

Next to it, is a little star called Vanilla Bistro that’s open all day and evening for coffees, teas, soft drinks, smoothies and juices, wines and spirits, and food. Chef Maggie has fashioned a small menu to great advantage – even her Greek salad is scrumptious. The bistro serves assorted meze platters, large and small, and Maggie has adapted one of her Armenian grandmother’s old recipes for ‘lachmajun’, as open

pies filled with a mix of minced beef, tomato, onions, flat parsley and mint, served warm with a splash of lemon juice. Try Maggie’s unusual sweet vanilla dessert concoction floating in water, and eaten spooned out of a small glass. Veikou, 40 - Tel. 215-5259301 A bit further up on Kavalotti street, Pelasgaea Deli overflows with Greek products. Elegantly packaged gourmet fare makes perfect foodie souvenirs for tourists (I came away with a stylish metal box of Trikalinos’ crystal sea salt). The Anthea extra virgin olive oil was outstanding. It comes in bottles from 100 ml. There are distinctive olive pastes which you can use in two ways, on crostini or in recipes.

They even have olive pasta which you rarely see.

The biggest culinary surprise were the Bakalianos’ “dessert olives” with oranges in sweet syrup – a unique and astonishing delicacy.

I am always looking for gifts small enough to fit into a suitcase corner. Pelasgaea Deli absolutely fits the bill. And do buy, as I did, something that took me by surprise - olive leaf tea. What a perfect gift from Greece. Kavalotti, 16 - Tel.210-9241087

Celebrating the Old Yes, there are great new places in Koukaki, but one must also sing the praises of the classics -- an old- style Greek taverna, a souvlaki place, a patisserie, a cafe and a wineshop -- successful businesses that have stayed the course, established themselves years ago, and are still thriving because they have long provided Koukaki with hospitable service, superb quality food, cakes and wine. Congratulations to them all.

Ambrosia 7027, 7028 When you come up to the street level from Fix metro, you’ll encounter on the left a traditional Greek taverna called Ambrosia, where you’ll step back in time. Peruse their long glass display of dishes all made that very morning. 6447 Classics like moussaka will always await hungry patrons from noon until dusk - but other dishes change daily and even during the day. A huge menu also offers many temptations, including one of my all-time favourites, a 19th century Greek invention, lamb fricassee: lamb cooked with lettuce and served in a creamy dill sauce. Spinach with rice is another typically Greek dish, perfect for vegetarians, as is the traditional dish of tomatoes, onions and aubergines, ‘ladera’.

24 insider athens | November - December 2015

Ambrosia

En Fialee

Don’t miss walking the length of the glass case to look at the rotisserie 7032 with the day’s selection of meats and poultry.

Loyal customers are always served a complimentary dessert -- a slice of walnut cake, halva, or a preserved spoon-fruit on a bed of frothy yoghurt’. I love the wonderful new eateries in Koukaki, but I will never give up Ambrosia. Traditional Greek cooking is something to be eternally savoured. That’s why Ambrosia will be here for a long time to come. Drakou, 3-5 - Tel. 210-9220281

Psytopoleio - The Girls This landmark souvlaki place has been going strong for 38 years! Locally, it’s called, not «Psytopoleio», as the sign says, but «The Girls», because the two ladies who prepare all the food behind the long counter inside, are the daughters of the man who started the business. As children, they were always running around the shop helping Daddy, so over time, The Girls became synonymous with their father’s souvlaki shop. I have often heard people in the street saying, “Let’s go to ‘The Girls’ for a souvlaki”.

The Girls is open every evening from 7, except Saturdays. Take-away is its main event, but there are a few tables inside and out. It serves souvlaki, of course, and delicious pitta bread wraps with meat and salad; or gyros made on-site, topped with yoghurt sauce. The Girls also has a selection of well-priced traditional Greek platters cookedto-order. Drakou, 16 - Tel. 210-9225648

Kosmidis

Two shops up from The Girls is Kosmidis at the top of the pedestrianised area, facing the main road, Veikou. Kosmidis is the oldest business in the area, a famous second-generation pastry shop now in its 51st year. It is a patisserie in the Greek style, which means its produces onsite mouth-watering European

pastries - delicious lemon meringue pie, strawberry pies and chocolate cakes - as well as traditional delicacies for which Greece is famous, such as galaktoboureko -- leaves of filo with a rich custard centre -- and a variety of baklava, all of which can be purchased by the slice, individually, or in pie tins to-go. They have goureki, a Greek sweet bread, shiny, braided and covered with almonds. Originally baked only on Holy Thursday, but now, thankfully, Kosmidis bakes it all year round. Just begging to be tucked into a suitcase if you want to take one of the pretty loaves home. Top tip: don’t neglect the wonderful ice-cream treats just inside the door.

Drakou, 49 - Tel. 210-9218252 Just across Kosmidis is Cafe Einai Mythos 6928 or 6909, 6907 Mythos is a small, cosy all-day cafe, where Eleni proffers a selection of coffees, juices, wines and whiskies - always with a smile. It is also a sports cafe with all the big games taking place at home or abroad.

Do you want to watch Manchester United play this coming Saturday?

Just ask, and they will put the game on for you while you enjoy your desired beverage. Drakou, 19 - Tel. 210-9213399 Walk down a few paces and on your left to find En Fialee 6839, 6890 This is the place to taste delicious wines - raki or tsikoudia straight from a barrel. Choose from a large range of Greek beers, including the highly-recommended Zeos beer. The wines from the barrel are exactly the same as the bottled ones - but only one-third of the price. Bring your own empty bottle or buy one from him for 20 cents. Do you know the difference between the two Greek fire waters -- tsikoudia from Crete and Tsipouro from central and northern Greece? George, the owner will explain it to you, and give you samples to try.Veikou, 36 - Tel. 210-9224961 And finally...

All the places I have recommended here, both New and Old, do a rip-roaring trade in take-away. Greeks are very savvy when it comes to food. If you see Greek men and women, young and old, leaving a taverna with plastic bags full of goodies, it is proof-positive that these are places that serve high-quality and freshly-cooked food at excellent prices. No self-respecting Greek would dare take home food which was anything but the best.

Hooray for Koukaki! i

insider athens | November - December 2015 25

Hellenic history and art tells us that wine was a fundamental cultural pillar of Ancient Greece.

But many fine varieties have been lost to the ages. Amanda Dardanis meets Konstantinos Bakasietas, the man who is raising extinct Greek varieties from the Dead.

26 insider athens | November - December 2015

Santorini vineyard

G

reeks, it is said, were the first to produce wine.

Certainly, we gave the world the marvelous epicurean concept of “symposium” – a convivial wine-fueled meeting of minds, as practised by Plato and his merry men back in the day.

producers has sprung forth. Viniculturalists who are determined to change the perception of Greek wines on the world stage (and dethrone the Chardonnay-and-Cabernet-only mindset while they’re at it).

In Greek Mythology, it was Zeus’ son Dionysus who bestowed the gift of wine by introducing the grapevine, and imparting to mortals the secrets of its cultivation and fermentation. Across this sun-drenched land, more than 300 indigenous grape varieties emerged.

And while we may bemoan their competitive edge now, it was also Greece who first introduced wine-making to Italy, France and Spain – and as far away as parts of Asia.

Enter global-minded visionaries like Konstantinos Bakasietas – an agronomist who is on a one-man crusade to resurrect endangered and extinct ancient wines across Greece, and take them to market. Bakasietas, 35, trained in the wine-making arts in Montpelier and Bordeaux, and is the founder of the innovative Bakasietas Vine Nursery and Vineyards in Korinthos, Nemea – the first of its kind in Greece.

But somewhere along the way, things got a little lost. To say the least.

Civil wars and world wars. Great famines and lengthy occupations.

Phyloxerra outbreaks and economic catastrophe… They all contributed to an extended era where, when it came to Hellenic wines, Greeks became the champions of anti-marketing.

There could be few more symbolic locations for his bold venture than Homer’s “Vineyard of the Gods”. Nemea boasts 2,500 years of viniculture history and is internationally famous for its trademark Agiorgitiko variety, a red and hearty breed that has been cultivated since antiquity.

Pre-crisis, ninety percent of Greek wines were sold domestically.

What modest export activity there was, remained self-restricting and myopic: mostly Greeks transporting Greek wines to other Greek communities abroad. Outside of those diaspora communities, it was the least auspicious Greek wines that attracted the most attention.

Retsina anyone?

But every crisis, a silver lining. As domestic wine consumption here collapsed, Greek wine exports have flourished. The conversation around tables now – everywhere from Manhattan to Milan and Melbourne - has shifted. Put simply, Greek wines have become hot.

It’s also the place where Heracles concluded the first of his 12 Labors by slaying the Nemean Lion. The contemporary Labors of Kostas Baskietas would appear no less heroic.

From the miasma of economic misery, a generation of modernist wine

Part wine archeologist, part vine healer, Bakasietas’ ambitious mission is three-fold. Since 2004, he has worked tirelessly to gather certified material from all the big Greek varieties – such as the white Assyritico made from ancient vines on Santorini - in order to impose a more Gallic-style discipline previously lacking in the local industry.

‘Without certified material, you can’t travel, you can’t import. It’s how the French got ahead,’ says Bakasietas. ‘Now, we will open the doors for our Greek varieties to travel all over the world.’

insider athens | November - December 2015 27

‘

From finding the vine to actually making a wine off it, is a minimum of ten years. It’s a long haul.’

From this certification process derives the second, also painfully timeconsuming goal: sifting and analyzing the varieties for clones to yield better, more consistent results.

‘It’s a lot of work. You have to mark absolutely everything for when you come back later. The Greek inclination is to leave it up to “the next guy”,’ Bakasietas tells Insider. ‘But I decided to work the French way. You have to be patient, optimistic and passionate. ‘From the 216 different clones we have found for the Assyritico, for example, we are only going to give the market seven. ’ The first of the certified Assyritico will be available in 2016, according to Bakasietas, with countries as diverse as Brazil, America, Spain and Australia then starting to produce and label this Greek variety locally.

But it is the vine nursery’s third goal that has lay wine enthusiasts like myself, the most excited. The revival of Greece’s most endangered or extinct wines.

In some cases, it’s a matter of rescuing and cleaning compromised vines from environmental factors that have negatively impacted on

colour intensity and aromas, as they’ve done with Agiogitiko and Moschofilero varieties.

‘From the first results we are seeing with the red Agiogitiko in Nemea, the wine is unbelievable. It’s vastly improved; much better colour and potential,’ enthuses Bakasietas. ‘With the blind tasting trials we have already done, there has been a real wow factor; people have been very impressed and excited.’

But in other instances, it’s literally bringing back wines from beyond the grave. Like the Asprouda of Santorini that Konstantinos was able to taste for the first time recently after locating just three dormant vines, back in 2005.

‘It was a big moment,’ he grins. ‘There was no wine in the market for this variety. But we found it. We rescued it.’

‘From finding the vine to actually making a wine off it, is a minimum of ten years. It’s a long haul.’

The Santorini Asprouda joins other resuscitated Greek varieties including the aromatic Malagousia, Crete’s Vilana, Lagorthi, the elegant dry white of Achaia, and the earthy vivid Limniona from Thessaly, in central Greece.

‘I’m sure we have lost a lot of varieties that we will discover again, little by little,’ Bakasietas predicts.

This vital work that Konstantinos and others in his field are undertaking heralds a lucrative new dawn for Greek viniculture especially once more and more growers become engaged.

But beyond the commercial value and prestige of being able to debut excitingly rare varieties to the world, there is also a more poetic reward: The undeniable romance of reconnecting the broken thread that connects the wines drunk in the times of Alexander the Great and at Plato’s classic symposia, with the wines of today.

‘Greek wine producers are now working very hard and performing a lot of experiments that they didn’t do for the past 20 years,’ says Bakasietas. ‘Before, many were saying that it was impossible to make a commercial living from these rare varieties because their names were too hard for foreigners to pronounce. “How could someone from New York order an Assyritico in a restaurant?” they would say.’

‘But at the beginning, everything is difficult. You have to start somewhere. Now, we are all striving to educate the people outside of Greece about the wines that are creating in these amazing landscapes.’

Nemea and clones

To book a private tasting tour at VNB - VINE NURSERY BAKASIETA or arrange a visit, phone 274.606.1245 i

28 insider athens | November - December 2015

The Best of Greece’s Reborn Wines (as recommended

by Konstantinos Bakasietas)

Red: Xynomavro (5 years and older) Agiorgitiko (3 years and older) Limniona Mavrotragano White: Assyritico (3 years and older)

insider athens | November - December 2015 29

John Carr meets Letta Dimopoulou, the one-woman orchestra behind the maritime trade magazine, Shipping International.

L

etta Dimopoulou’s office in the densely-packed blocks of Piraeus’ business district is piled high with magazines – her own. The latest issue of Shipping International has come off the press, and the bundled copies are stacked all over the place. She’ll get round to unbundling them after she finishes tapping out material for next month’s issue.

That Shipping International this year celebrated its fiftyeighth anniversary in an unruly and cut-throat field is something of a testimony to Ms Dimopoulou’s persistence at the helm, in a sector dominated not only by large media organizations, but by men as well. Associates call her ‘the one-woman orchestra’ who, with the help of a few freelance contributors and an accountant, keeps the shipping news flowing.

Dimopoulou’s age, limiting ourselves merely to the observation that she could still be mistaken for an actress or ex-fashion model.

The ancestor of Shipping International appeared in 1957, the year in which the legendary Aristotle Onassis launched Olympic Airways and Greek shipping was riding a postwar prosperity wave. Few at the time would have thought that it could effectively compete against larger established titles, especially one or two which employed English-speaking staffs to produce international editions. In 1971, however, it added an English supplement in response to growing international interest in Greek-owned shipping and the global reach of the industry. ‘Greece was filled with seafarers,’ says Dimitris Kapranos, the magazine’s regular columnist. ‘Revenue flowed into the country, filling the pockets of contractors. Money from the ships was transformed into houses, gardens, entire neighbourhoods.’

Which inevitably leads to comparisons with now. If anything typifies the Greek shipowning class in the lingering crisis, it is a seeming indifference to their country’s fate. Greek shipping has long been a globalized business where freight rates for carrying cement to China far overshadows the fiscal problems of little Greece. There is also a visceral antipathy to the left-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that seems to translate into a sullen neutrality in Greece’s severe trials with its creditors.

Often I’ve thought of retiring. But this magazine has been my life. Despite twenty-hour days, the monthly deadlines, the despair when copy isn’t ready or e-mail messages vanish into the ether or an advertiser hasn’t paid up and bank overdrafts yawn menacingly, I’d be utterly lost without it.’

The magazine wasn’t always her baby, though it more or less fell into her lap around 1980, when its previous management evaporated and she found herself handling everything from writing copy to hustling for advertisements and delivering copies. Her editorial partner at that time was British maritime journalist Gillian Whittaker, who later left to join the Associated Press. Her husband Kostas Makris, a corporate lawyer, provides a domestic and emotional back-up, though she’s usually up at dawn while he’s still asleep.

Shipping International, of course, is a trade publication that reflects the views of the shipowning community. Its advertisers are wholly from the industry. Yet this doesn’t make Ms Dimopoulou’s task any easier, as she has to hustle with the three of four major competitors for the same shrinking piece of the maritime advertising pie. It’s a no-holdsbarred contest. She swears that one woman from a rival publication hitched up her skirt to an eye-popping height in a shipping office just to get an ad. Other magazines pester their advertisers without end.

Ms Dimopoulou’s cluttered office mirrors the Piraeus business district itself – an impacted mass of half-century-old scungy-coloured office blocks crammed like concrete sardines next to the moored ships at the Akti Miaouli. In those teeming, narrow intersticed streets, pinstriped bankers rub shoulders with out-of-work seamen and the shops always seem to be full of what would take several pages the size of this one to list.

‘In this business you don’t lower your standards,’ says Ms Dimopoulou as she plonks down a beer from the office refrigerator on the sole coffee table in front of her desk. (‘You want some cheese and crispbread? Sure, I’ll be right back.’) ‘If you reduce your ad rates just once, that’s it. They’ll never let you put them back up. And you lose respect into the bargain.’

Yes, we’ll admit it – Ms Dimopoulou’s carefully-preserved appearance helps keep her in business. The Greek tycoon scene has always been a jealous male preserve, where the Hillary Clintons and Carly Fiorinas of this world would not get very far. Women in the field need to play by more Mediterranean rules, which include dressing the part and playing up to the male ego. We will not be so indelicate as to state Ms

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Turning from her computer, she reflects: ‘Often I’ve thought of retiring, but this magazine has been my life. I’d be utterly lost without it.’ Yes, twenty-hour days, the monthly deadlines, the despair when copy isn’t ready or e-mail messages vanish into the ether or an advertiser hasn’t paid up and bank overdrafts yawn menacingly. The sleepless nights, the headaches, the hassles. But when the issue is out and her face smiles out from the publisher’s column and the shipowners actually read what she has to say, then she’s happy. Tired but happy. i

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Amanda Dardanis discovers the glorious, red carpet-worthy designs of Tanja Ludyga’s debut collection. Warning: this jewellery will get you noticed!

F

rom her mother’s passion for vintage jewellery, her father’s adored fine art collection – and her own blossoming love affair with the mythology of Ancient Greece, has sprung the exquisite, fantastical designs of Tanja Ludyga … like Athena from the head of Zeus.

German-born Tanja Ludyga studied Fine and Decorative Arts at London’s prestigious Christie’s and worked in the art world there for many years before answering the siren call of Greece.

Her stunning debut jewellery collection “Gaea” for Autumn 2015 speaks of Ancient Civilizations, Goddesses and Mythology, blended with 1940s Hollywood Glamour. Tanja’s strong and edgy designs, sure to find an immediate following, are the kind of statement pieces that women will want to build whole looks around. Her powerful but feminine work showcases motifs that have stimulated her over the past few years, while living in Crete.

Inspired by the winged horse, Pegasus, many of the necklaces and earrings transmit the strength of a horse’s power, combined with the lightness of flight. Fascinated by the dragon fly she frequently spies on Crete, Tanja has also captured their wonderful shapes and graceful aerial motions within many of her striking pieces. Another motif frequently depicted is the Minoan Horns, a dynamic symbol and central theme of the Ancient Minoan civilization.

Tanja, tell us more about your mother’s vintage jewellery and how it awoke your own inner eye as a young girl?

My mother was a true collector. Most of her pieces belonged to the Art Deco and Art Nouveau era. I remember the beautifully inlaid jewellery casket where she kept all her jewellery. For me it was like a treasure box at the end of a rainbow! I used to sneak into her room and open her “treasure box,” lay everything on the floor and quietly play with them, trying not to be caught. It was heaven for me to look at all the beautiful stones and delicate metals which stimulated my imagination to dream of fairytale princesses in faraway kingdoms.

We are curious to know what made you leave London and its worldclass arts scene?

Well, it’s the good old story of boy meets girl. In 2004 I went backpacking

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with a very good friend of mine to India. It was something I always wanted to do but at that time, it turned out to be a spiritual and very inspirational journey, a life changing journey. It was in India where I met my husband, who seduced me to leave London and move to Crete to live with him.

Does Greece inspire you in ways that London didn’t?

London and Crete are two worlds apart. London is where I received my core foundations in art, through my studies and work. Crete is where I received the organic element of my creative journey that stimulated me to create this collection.

How has Crete become your muse?

You are absolutely right, Crete is indeed my muse. It is an island of mysticism and of incredible delicate, yet rough beauty. This I believe is very much reflected in my designs which are strong and edgy and yet soft and delicate. There are a few distinct motifs in the Gaea collection which are purely Cretan. The one being the dragonfly which I often see on the island and the other are the Minoan horns from the Ancient Minoan Civilization.

Do you wear your own pieces?

Do they reflect your own personal style?

Yes I do, all the time. I actually created my first pieces for myself, until a friend urged me to make a piece for her, and then more followed. It is with this positive feedback that I felt assured to create my first commercial collection. Each piece in my collection reflects my personality and comes from somewhere deep within me.

What is your own favourite item of jewellery?

My favourite piece of jewellery is not one of my own. It is actually my wedding band and it is most dear to me more for that it symbolizes the unity I have with the person I love.

The Greek contemporary jewellery scene seems to have gained much positive momentum in recent years?

I am very happy to know that Greek jewellery designers are achieving some well-deserved recognition and attention abroad. This is quite optimistic and reassuring for new designers like me who would like to gain international exposure and clientele.

Which international celebrity would you most like to see wearing one of your designs?

Angelina Jolie. She combines so many different characteristics that I appreciate and want my jewellery to reflect. She is strong, fearless, unique, independent, and creative - and yet she is delicate, sensitive and feminine.

Finally, how do you feel when you wear one of your pieces?

I feel empowered, strong and beautiful and am very happy when I get the same feedback from my customers. The women who are attracted to my jewellery and wear them are usually self-confident, independent, elegant women who recognize and appreciate the uniqueness and glamour within them.

All of Tanja Ludgya’s pieces are hand crafted in Greece, from 24Kgold double-plated brass, and are embedded exclusively with Swarovski crystals. Prices for the “Gaea” collection start from €200 for the smaller pieces and range up to €1,200 for the larger ones. i View the collection on www.tanjaludyga.com, Instagram or Facebook.

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Fave Five

on antique s e g n u lo s k nts Moriah Mee phones, flau ry ta ro n o d chairs, dials arhol-inspire W s rt o p s d n ofloral skirts a her fave retr rs u o c s e h s jewellery as city haunts in the

Walking down Ermou Street is a shopaholic’s fantasia. From global giants like H&M and Zara, down to smaller Greek chains like Achilleas Accessories and Fokas, even the most budget-minded shopper will come away happy.

But venture just a little further, into nearby Psyrri and Monastiraki, and a treasure trove of bargains awaits you at some of Athens’ best vintage boutiques. Hunt for the perfect outfit or retro home-ware find to express your individual style. Browsing is half the fun… Choose from pre-loved European and American collections, with some high-quality vintage items for as little as €10. With the party season just around the corner, why not liven up your party wardrobe with a different outfit every night!

Retrosexual Vintage Shop The family behind Retrosexual has been avidly collecting since the 1950s. The result is an enticing hub for merchandise ranging from the ‘20s to the ‘90s. In pristine condition are vintage typewriters, rotary phones, and Polaroid cameras in different colors. Items are available for rent or purchase, and many pieces have been featured in films as props! 3 Aghias Eirinis St., Athens, 210.545.1553, www.facebook.com/ Retrosexual-Vintage-Shop-JoePe-185558161518618/

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Preloved This recently relocated shop is settling into its quaint new home off Syntagma Square. Twinkling lights line shelves full of second-hand clothing collected from the cities of Paris and Berlin. Shop owner Joanna King enjoys pairing outfits for her customers and even designs her own vintage-inspired clothing and jewellery. Designs range from Chanel to Andy Warhol - attesting to King’s talent for vintage scouting - and the shop also stocks some rare pieces from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Preloved, Ipitou 5, Athens, www.facebook.com/PRELOVED-SHOP-athens-264001601688.

Paliosinitheies Every piece has a tale to tell – and another life yet to live – at Paliosinitheies. From the eye-catching display of antiques outside, to the couches, desks, and vintage lounge chairs packing the interior.

If you don’t act in haste, you might repent at leisure: these wellpriced quality items are in high demand. As one of the first vintage shops in Athens, it is well known among thriftseekers as the go-to spot for the best vintage décor. Protogenous 8, Psyrri, 210.656.0574, www.paliosinitheies.gr

Like Yesterday’s

y’s resembles just another From the outside, Like Yesterda find an unrivalled collection ll boutique, but step inside, and you’ from the Unites States, not ly of vintage threads. Scoured main York City offer such low New even the second hand stores of sted jeans, floral print -wai high prices. Vintage treasures like e of the vast selection. The skirts, and handbags are among som customers with the best their ide shop owners clearly want to prov . offer pieces of vintage Athens has to 700.4810, Like Yesterday’s, Protogenous 16, 216. / hand s2nd www.facebook.com/likeyesterday

Mofu Wander inside this second-hand shop and be greeted by a wondrous variety of both vintage and contemporary style home décor and furniture. It feels like you’re in an art gallery! Be tempted by the oneoff hanging vintage chandeliers and mirrors, floor lamps, and stunning modern pieces for the perfect “talking point” addition for your home!

New items are brought in every month, eternally refreshing the identity of this fabulous shop. Mofu, Sarri 28, Psyrri, 210.331.1922, www.mofu.gr

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Kick off your holiday shopping with some hand-picked gifts from the latest gadgets to some uniquely Greek or Greece-inspired products.

Adorable Accessories

Thalassa tie: Specialty ties inspired by Greek tradition and history, all exclusively designed in Athens.

Available at: aesthet.com Fuck the Crisis Bag: Cheeky, Greek-themed bag from one-stop souvenir boutique.

Available at: ohsosouvenir.com Mrs Bow Tie: Luxury British bow ties, great for the holiday season. Unique designs for both men and man’s best friend. Available at: mrsbowtie.com

Chic Greek

Children’s book of Greek gods and heroes: Great collection of over 30 stories that tells the timeless tales of some of the best known heroes of all time.

Available at: amazon.com Benaki museum ceramics: Beautiful ceramic replicas made according to ancient techniques.

Available at: benakishop.gr Olive oil: Premium Organic extra virgin olive oil, straight from olive trees that have been selected from the historic olive groves of Sparta. Available at: Evmenous 13-15, Athens, 211.800.9010, ritualbloom.com

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Cute Cosmetics

Taylor of Old Bond Street Shaving Kit: One of Europe’s most popular shaving brands, selling quality hair and skin products made with pure and natural ingredients.

Available at: shaving-shack.com Sephora Snow Balls: Fun, fizzy bath balls for a soothing, perfumed bath this winter. My Beauty List Sephora gift set: A selection of some of Sephora’s favorite’s packaged away in a cute travel bag, perfect for any makeup fan on the go this holiday season. Life of the Party makeup kit: Be the belle of the ball with this full-face makeup kit by Benefit. Available at: Ermou 24, Syntagma, 210.331.3167, sephora.gr

Groovy Gadgets

Braven portable charger: A tough, water resistant, portable phone charger that is ready to survive all the adventures the new year brings.

Available at: amazon.com Beats Pill speakers: Some of the most talked-about speakers of this year that will really get the holiday party started. Available at: beatsbydre.com Fitbit zip: Get fit with the fitbit zip! A fun, simple way to track steps, distance and calories burned. Syncs to smartphones and computers. Available at: amazon.com

Happy Home

Mag Box 6 plates Quirky, colourful plates in bold designs from Zoumboulakis, zoumboulakis.gr Keurig Kold: Keurig’s newest invention, a drink maker system for all of your favorite cold beverages from craft sodas, to iced teas, sports drinks, and even cocktails. Available at: amazon.com

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It’s a

Family Affair…

Autumn is one of the finest times of the year to sample the best of the Great Attica Outdoors. Choose one of these action-packed weekend escapes or fun family adventures - and see how happy your children will be to leave the iPad behind, writes Amanda Dardanis: PONY UP FOR THE WILD WEST Treat the kids to a day at the new Frontier of Fun - the Ranch - a thrilling Western-themed adventure getaway, nestled on 400 acres of natural pine forest in Sofiko Corinth (97km from Athens). From September through May, the Ranch is open every weekend for daily excursions, games and special-themed events across its many facilities that include: horseback riding and barns; archery; climbing walls; football fields; basketball, volleyball and tennis courts; roller-blading and cycling enclosures. At the Educational Village, children can step directly into Greece’s rural past at authentically-recreated weaving and flour mills, cheese factories, and nostalgic enterprises like the Cobbler, Barber, and General Store. Re-fuel afterwards at the Saloon Bar, the Ranch Restaurant, or BBQ. Look out for the Ranch’s regular seasonal events including Halloween Spooktacular and Christmas at the Ranch. Visit www.ranch.gr for details.

GET SWINGING AT MALAKASA Laid out over 50 acres of lush forest, about 40 minutes from the city, one of Attica’s most brilliantly fun family expeditions awaits. Malakasa is an addictive green wonderland of Tarzan swings, zip slides (some up to 18m above the ground), challenging rope bridges, bungee ropes, trampolines, archery – even Paintball. The adventure park is well laidout – and safe, thanks to park monitors and safety harnesses that must be worn everywhere. There are 4 different ability levels: starting from Squirrels for the littlest ones, right up to Eagles for the bravest adults.

Relax with an outdoor lunch at the excellent on-site picnic facilities – or head for one of the fantastic traditional tavernas nearby. Open from Wednesday to Sunday 10am until sundown, plus all public holidays, www.adventure-park.gr

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Travel ifj

FARM PLAY AT PERIVOLI Perivoli Vari is a Natural Play urban farm allotment that is the perfect “I’m Bored” antidote for small children. Perivoli combines fun with learning in regular themed workshops year-round. In Autumn, your budding green thumbs can create ‘the magic of fairyland’ with pure and natural materials in Little Gardener workshops; Or Walk in the Garden to explore the Circle of Life and learn how to co-exist harmoniously with nature. Visit www.perivolivari.gr or phone 210.896.3000 to read about each month’s seasonally-themed activities and events.

CALLING ALL JUNIOR MASTERCHEFS!

THE GREAT (WEEKEND) ESCAPE

Celebrate Greek gastronomy - one of the world’s healthiest and most joyful cuisines – at Kids’ Cooking Club, in Glyfada. Greece’s first cooking club for children is run by energetic and popular chef, Dominique Melas, who has designed a number of year-round workshops (also available in English) suitable for everyone from toddlers to teenagers.

At Kids’ Cooking Club, your children will master the skills to make a traditional Greek dish, and will also be taught about the importance of nutrition and healthy habits. To further savour the wonderful flavours of Greece, they’ll also take home a personalized recipe book. Visit www.kidscookingclub.gr for course times and details.

Amfikaia Farm and Guesthouses is a living, breathing farm estate that is paradise for children who live in the city. Located in Voiotia on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, Amfikaia is an easy 90-minute drive from Athens, and is the perfect way for the whole family to reconnect with Nature.

Children will get the chance to listen, touch and feed the animals of the small farm located on the premises, while parents will love relaxing in the cosy traditional stone houses – ideally appointed for chilly evenings en-famille in front of the fire-place. Depending on the season, everyone can get involved in gardening, planting or fruit picking – or venture out for a hike along the mountain slopes or a spot of kite flying! Enjoy peace and tranquility while taking pleasure in simply daily delights. Visit www. amfikaia.gr or phone 223.4048.860. i

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH! Explore the green lungs of Athens at the wonderful agricultural estate “Centre of the Earth”, where your children will learn to respect and protect the environment. Participate in everything from free cooking and foraging workshops, to environmental games and fascinating guided tours. Just 8km from bustling Athens, Centre of the Earth adjoins one of the largest parks in Athens, and some of its buildings once belonged to Greece’s first queen, Amalia (her neogothic mansion, Tour La Reine, still perches regally on her former awardwinning private farm). Centre of the Earth Exhibits include a superb creepy crawly showcase of insects and frogs ; a horse stable ; and organic vegetable patch. Afterwards, enjoy a meal at the FoodLab. The Earth Center is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9am-5pm. Contact 210.232.5380 or 210.238.8275.

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Gastronomy

The wives and partners of Athens foreign diplomats have thrown open their cook books exclusively to Insider readers to reveal their most tried and trusted recipes for elegant entertaining, in our regular series, Diplomatic Dining. This issue: Luxembourg takes centre-stage with a perfectly-pitched seasonal dish.

Bouchée à la Reine Pastry with Meat / Serves 4 Country: Luxembourg

Method

This is a typical Luxembourgish main course which you can find nearly in every restaurant in Luxembourg. Bouchée à la Reine was often proposed for a special event, for example for the first communion, or another celebration. You can serve it alone or with some green salad and French fries.

Boil the chicken. Put the carrot, celery and onion in the boiling water with the chicken and let it cook for 1 hour. Remove the vegetables and the chicken from the soup.

Ingredients 1 (1,8-2 kg) whole chicken 1 carrot 1/2 leek 1/3 celery 1 onion 250 gr mushrooms (champignons de Paris) 250 ml white wine (Riesling from Luxembourg) 4 pastry shells 30 gr butter Salt, pepper, nutmeg 1 cube of chicken stock

40 insider athens | November - December 2015

Cut the chicken into small cubes. Cut the mushrooms into pieces.

Put the butter in a casserole, once the butter is melted, put some flour and stir the mixture with the whisk for 1-2 minutes.

Put 2 big tbsp of the chicken soup in the casserole with the melted butter and add the white wine, the chicken cubes and the mushrooms. Season it with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Let everything boil during few minutes.

Finally put everything into the pastry shells.

NOTE This dish goes well with Luxembourgish white Riesling.

For our Greek friends I would propose these white wines : Kthma Gerovasileiou: Malagouzia; Nico Lazaridi: Magiko Vouno; Costa Lazaridi: Amethystos.

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Recipes

Can’t face stuffing another turkey? Want to relive the opulence of dining at Athens’ most prestigious address? Chef Sotiris Evangelou of the Hotel Grande Bretagne Shares his favourite festive recipe, offering seductive alternatives to the traditional Christmas feast.

Baby pork with celery root, green apple and raisins For 1 portion INGREDIENTS 300 gr. baby pork cutlet 1 celery root 1 sour green apple 30 gr. raisins 30 gr. butter 20 ml. milk 5 tbls olive oil salt, pepper

PREPARATION Season the meat and pass it through high fire in a pan with some olive oil until golden. Put it in the oven for 30 min.

At the same time peel the celery root, cut it in cubes and boil. When ready put in blender with some milk, butter, salt and pepper until smooth.

Sauté the apples which we have peeled and cut in small cubes along with the raisins which we have put them in brandy for some time.

Put the cutlet in hot plate, place the mashed celery root aside and garnish with the apple cubes and the raisins.

Sprinkle with the it’s gravy and serve immediately. i

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Restaurant Review

A

ptly named for the canopy of stars it has for a ceiling, St’Astra, perched on the 8th floor of the Radisson Blu Park Hotel, not only offers some of the most spectacular views of Athens’ most discernible landmarks, it is a temple of fine dining and home to arguably one of the city’s best sushi destinations.

Award-winning Chef Yiannis Liokas marries quality ingredients with haute cuisine techniques to create dishes that reveal the itinerant culinary passions of the chef. Just some of his special creations include Seared Tuna served with cream and salad of chickpeas with yuzu vinaigrette and miso mayonnaise, Rib eye Black Angus, mashed potatoes, roasted shallots and Szechuan pepper sauce, or Sea bass with artichoke puree, black roe tomato confit and herbs.

Sushi Chef Eric De Leon offers that combination of the subtle and the sharp, the clean and the precise, that lovers of Japanese food get most excited about. So get ready to tuck into genteel plates of raw fish masterfully seared and with lots of miso - the umami-flavoured paste made from fermented soya beans, salt, fungi and a few other things.

If you’d like to indulge your sweet tooth, try the sinfully delightful Hazelnut fondant with green apple sorbet and gianduja lollipop and the unique Galaktoboureko souffle flavoured with a citrus yuzu syrup.

A great setting just to sip on one of its several signature cocktails to the sounds of ethnic funky jazz, St’Astra is also a perfect venue to host private parties and receptions. And what’s more, the restaurant offers that most elusive of urban services – free parking for its customers!

St’Astra, Radisson Blu Park Hotel, Alexandras Ave 10, Tel: 210-8894500 - www.rbathenspark.com, info@rbathenspark.com

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Fave Five

The Rise and Rise of … the Athenian Brunch

By Amanda Dardanis

d ago, my husban out five years ab ng ns ni he or m At central One Sunday g the streets of rselves trawlin eakfast. It was br te and I found ou e to enjoy a la ac pl t t ea gr a stayed overnigh in search of and we had just nd ke a ee r w fo y ar ng hopi our annivers tels. We were ty’s loveliest ho idyll. In the e re -f in one of the ci ild r happy ch ou to e al fin d vain for over an suitably gran ter searching in af ry a ng hu d n “toastie” from end, tired an eese and baco ch a r fo ed ttl hour, we se est. branch of Ever considered pions was long am ch of t as kf ea -forward to The Athenian br ulouri. But fast ko a d an , tte re n it comes a frappe, a ciga for choice whe d le oi sp w no are breakfast 2015 and we meal between us rio xu lu ly ul rf bed; late-toto that wonde for the late-tofit t ec rf pe e th pick of our and lunch. It’s ere’s Insider’s H . le ty es lif n ea rise Mediterran unch spots: br ty ci ite ur favo

HandleBar Melanthiou 8, Psiri +30 2114093002 - www.handlebar.gr The cutely-named HandleBar started out life as a rendezvous point for keen cyclists (due to the bike repair shop next door) but quickly became a word-of-mouth hit for all those seeking a slice of Britain at the start of their day. HandleBar’s style is studiously simple (down to the nostalgic checker-board floor tiles and cosy leather armchairs).

On our visit, we went the full monty and ordered boiled eggs and soldiers (toast fingers); kedgeree with smoked trout; flapjacks with raisins; hot buttered crumpets; and freshly-baked scones with their home-made strawberry jam (everything was delicious). Handlebar also has vegan “on the go” healthy snack boxes - and a very dangerous on-site English Shop where you can purchase muchloved British delicacies such as pickled onions, sherbet lemons and hula hoop crisps!

Time: breakfast served daily from 10am Feel: laid-back cool Top Taste: hot buttered crumpets. Without a doubt.

Pay: €7-15

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Mama Roux

Ninnolo Agiou Dimitriou 8, Kifissia +30 2108012765 - www.facebook.com/NinnoloKifisia During the week, Ninnolo is your go-to-place for heavenly homemade gelato but on Sundays, this atmospheric meeting spot in the heart of Kifissia morphs into a wonderland for Athenian brunchlovers in the know. Owner Spiro Scafidas has devised a clever weigh and go system where you load up your plate as many times as you like from their ambrosial buffet and they simply charge you by the kilo at the end! The weekly brunch spread focuses on “creative familycooking” and varies depending on the best seasonal produce. On the Sunday we went, we feasted on eggs benedict, asparagus frittata, broccoli and stilton quiche, fruit pancakes infused with maple syrup, baked field mushrooms with parmesan, and breakfast burrito (yes, really)... Our family of four ate like emperors for around €10-a-head.

And then they had to go and turn on the chocolate fountain!

Aioulou 48, Monastiraki +30 2130048382 - Find Mama Roux on Facebook The line of gaily-coloured parasols suspended upside down from the laneway outside gives you the first taste of the bohemian vibe at this hugely popular gastro-café near buzzy Agias Irinis square.

Both the food and mood at Mama Roux are inspired by the travels of the owners. Subsequently, the regular menu is an enticing mix of culinary influences from Mexican and Middle-Eastern to Asian and Latino. Every Sunday from noon, hungry Athenians mill around the café’s bright mosaic of poster bills, waiting to snare a free table for Mama Roux’s famous (and moderately-priced) brunch service.

High notes are the Croque Monsieur, Croque Madame, and the New York bagels and lox (especially when paired with a cheeky morningafter Bloody Mary). A new southern outpost, Mama Roux South, specialising in “low and slow” American-style barbecue, has just opened in Glyfada on Lazaraki St, and also does Sunday brunch.

Time: Sundays (12-5pm) Feel: bohemian and buzzy Top Taste: Bellinis and home-made hazelnut spread on Englishstyle muffins Pay: €8-15

Time: brunch every Sunday (11am-4pm) Feel: chic and family-friendly Top Taste: a toss-up between the broccoli and stilton quiche and the field mushrooms Pay: €10-15

Hip Café Mitropoleos 26, Syntagma + 30 2103462077 - www.hipcafe.gr Tucked away in a pocket of Mitropoleos Street, near Syntagma Square, Hip Café serves up the spirit of New York to central Athens.

With a fresh, white-on-white decor overlooking a leafy urban courtyard, Hip Café is one of the few locales in Athens to deliver a daily brunch – instead of just on Sundays. This is a place fullycommitted to the indulgence required for a truly successful brunch experience. There are five different varieties of sweet pancakes and an extensive range of gourmet egg dishes (our favourite was the eggs benedict-twist with smoked salmon and lime). Hip also does eggwhite omelettes for those who can’t quite bring themselves to fully surrender. Extra bonus points are awarded for serving their tea in hospitably massive pots (the coffee mugs aren’t exactly small either).

Time: Mon-Fri (8am-11pm); Sat (9am-11pm); Sun (10am-6pm) Feel: bright and breezy Top Taste: the fluffiest of pancakes served with Hip’s Olympus herbal tea (brewed with thyme, sage, chamomile and lime flowers)

Pay: €10-16

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Fave Five

Albion Omirou 6, Neo Psichiko +30 210674 0710 - Find Albion on Facebook Sunday brunch enthusiasts regularly patron this stylish bar and restaurant in central Neo Psichiko. Not just for its scrumptious mix of Mediterranean and American morning fare, but for the Albion’s beautiful garden terrace that’s open throughout the spring and summer months. A whimsical oasis decorated in reviving turquoise and mulberry hues, you’ll want to linger there all day long enjoying the ambience, your food (and all the pretty people who frequent the Albion). If you find yourself in the mood for eggs, you’re in luck: they do a very satisfying strapatsada (traditional Greek scrambled eggs with tomato and feta) and a marvelous Eggs Florentine. The Albion also specializes in rejuvenating health juices (we’re including Mimosas in that!); accompanied by much naughtier smoothies (banana and Nutella anyone?). Brunch dishes are better value than the restaurant’s regular menu, with prices starting at around €6 for pancakes.

Time: Sunday (11am-4pm) - Feel: serenely stylish Top Taste: eggs florentine and what’s rumoured to be the best Americano coffee in Athens! - Pay: €10-20

Go Greek Break out

To Tsai Alexandrou Soutsou 19, Kolonaki +30 2103388941 - www.tea.gr If it’s a more authentically Greek experience you’re after, head to To Tsai (the Greek word for tea), located on a quiet Kolonaki street.

With its high ceilings and elegant cool space, Tsai’s many fans hail it as the best tea-house in town. Distinctive tea varieties are served in the traditional Greek way (Tsai also offers tea tastings) and every weekend, they host a well-priced all-you-can-eat brunch buffet loaded with wonderful goodies such as almond and raspberry tart, pancakes with cinnamon and raisins, and carrot and ginger soup.

Time: Saturday and Sunday (12-5pm) Feel: classic Athenian elegance Top Taste: the house cheesecake and To Tsai’s specialty iced-teas made with gin and fruit - Pay: €10

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Restaurant Review

Öppen The competition for Athens’ Best Burger bar has got fierce in recent years.

Voula newcomer Öppen has not just thrown their hat in the ring; but their scarf and gloves too. Formerly an old burnt-out house, Öppen is a striking, architecturally-designed, all-day venue in the buzzy pedestrianized precinct of Poseidonos that arrived in late September. Their mission? To serve American-style fare such as gourmet salads and burgers, classic brunch and killer cocktails (we highly-recommend the bourbon-soaked Mint Julep!). Öppen’s hip courtyard setting - think Industrial-Chic meets Suburban Oasis – has predictably inspired many southsiders to come take a look at the cool new kid on the block. And while Öppen has a limited but appealing menu, it’s the burgers that have everyone talking. We sampled two: one with caramelised onions and truffle; and one with spicy coleslaw and gouda, washed down with bottles of ginger beer. Both burgers came with crispy patates with their skins still on (a weakness of ours!) and both were juicy and well-priced (almost half the price of some Glyfada rivals actually). Expect to pay around 10€ per person overall. Vegetarians can tuck into quinoa burgers or one of their well-executed salads (e.g. goats cheese and apple). Our verdict? A superb, wallet-friendly addition to the funky new Voula Village - and well worth the trip to the southern suburbs. Öppen, Posiedonos 15, Voula, 210.965.8841

Corks & Forks Clearly, 2015 has been the Year of the Wine Bar. But there is one shining example in Piraeus that, for now at least, still remains a true insider secret – even while it has been studiously growing a loyal army of discreet devoted fans over the past three years. The ultra-charming Corks & Forks, opposite Marina Zeas.

Not only has Corks & Forks sounded a welcome change of note for Piraeus, it has also pitched itself perfectly in these often untrustworthy times: consistently delivering on its pledge of “honest food and fine wines”. Which is why so many of us go back there time and again (although the white sangria and hellishly-good banoffee pie are two more compelling reasons!). Share a meat and cheese platter and a few bottles of good plonk with friends as you perch on stools, or around old wine barrels. Or indulge in a main from the reasonably-priced, frequently-evolving menu. The range is internationally-tilted, with uncommon dishes like Spicy Thai Shrimp with red curry sauce; Risotto with Smoked Bacon and Gorgonzola; or Salmon marinated in Gin and White cheese. Coupled with its smart wine list and cosy, hospitable atmosphere, Corks & Forks is an unsung Neighbourhood Hero and definitely one to add to your Piraeus repertoire!

Akti Themistokleous & Pargas, Piraeus, 215.515.9792, www.corksandforks.gr

48 insider athens | November - December 2015

insider athens | November - December 2015 49

Food in ancient Greece 123q

Archeologist Holley Martlew explores the earliest origins of the glorious Fruit of the Vine - as part of her ongoing “Paleodiet” series

G

rapes provide fresh fruit, raisins, sultanas, currants, grape juice, vinegar, even a light oil, and leaves can be pickled, stuffed, and have astringent properties so can be used to heal wounds, but uppermost in the minds of most people, is the fermentation of grape juice to make wine.

mains found in ceramic jars at Imiri, a Neolithic village in Georgia, dating to the sixth millennium.

The world’s oldest winery was found in Areni-1, a grave-filled cavern in Armenia, ca. 4100 B.C. The evidence included a treading trough, vat, storage jars, and crushed grapes.

Wine has been called many things by many people.

One of my favourites is «bottled sunshine» (Becker and Luca 1979). It does indeed however, have two faces. Ancient physicians acknowledged that while exhilarating, satisfying and removing fear, there was a downside to drinking wine. They wrote that it could result in intoxication and that it was also the cause of various diseases.

Wild grape pips have been found at a number of sites in Greece in the Middle and Late Neolithic dating ca. 6000-3000 B.C., as far ranging as the Franchthi Cave in the Argolid, Dimini and Sesklo in Thessaly, and Dimitra and Sitagroi III in eastern Macedonia. At Dimitra, there was evidence of domesticated grapes. But wild or domesticated, grape pips are not proof of the production of wine. What is the evidence for the earliest wine in the Aegean?

The opposing faces of wine were delightfully expressed in an ancient book on medicine, Nei Ching, written in the reign of the Yellow Emperor Huang Ti (2697-2596 B.C.) which also, by the way, included the earliest known text on acupuncture, “The first glass, the man drinks the wine; the second glass, the wine drinks the wine; the third glass, the wine drinks the man.”

A fermented beverage has been identified at Jiahu on the Yellow River in China, dating to ca. 7000 B.C., which contained honey, and a beer or wine made from rice, grapes and fruit (rice is a grain and hence makes beer but when fermented further develops wine-like qualities).

The history of wine in our part of the world, commences with re-

50 insider athens | November - December 2015

The Neolithic site of Dikili Tash in northern Greece, 1.5 km east of ancient Philippi, has given us the earliest proof. Inside timber-framed houses that had been burnt down, the charred remains of wild grapes and figs were found. The difference from other finds, earlier and contemporary with this site, was that from their shape it was clear that a pile of charred grape pips had skins. This was interpreted as evidence for the extraction of juice. Later residue from thousands of carbonised grape pips with skins were found in ceramic vases. Analysis gave chemical confirmation of wine. Two-handled cups were found in the houses, of a type that would indicate consumption of a special drink on gala occasions. Wine is the obvious candidate, especially if making wine was something new and wonderful at the time - which it almost certainly was in 4200 B.C. i

insider athens | November - December 2015 51

Special Promotion

Fifteen years ago Cinq Mondes debuted its first elite spa in Paris - offering some of the best Beauty Rituals of the World®. Now, their prestigious treatments and products are used in more than 600 spas and beauty salons around the globe, including Greece where Cinq Mondes finds elevated harmony in exquisite Hellenistic surrounds.

F

or several years, Cinq Mondes founder Jean-Louis Poiroux took his passion for travel, massage, aromatherapy and cosmetics onto the road, exploring the very best ancient beauty and wellness traditions that the world had to offer.

Last but not least, the production of products closely respects highlydemanding guidelines: selected only are ingredients that are natural or organic, without parabens, phenoxyethanol, silicone, mineral oil, nor artificial coloring, and that have been dermatologically tested.

The result? A meticulously edited selection of the finest treatments, massages and cosmetic products to be offered at the most prestigious international spas. Since the opening of its first spa in the heart of Paris, Cinq Mondes has been praised as the French pioneer and expert in professional spa treatments and skincare. Seven years ago, the brand was introduced to Greece by Orloff Spa Experts, distributor of the brand and spa consulting company, and today, their Greek network comprises more than 10 hotel and day spas, all offering Cinq Mondes rituals to local customers and an international tourist clientele.

As a pioneer of petrochemical free formulas, Cinq Mondes has always favoured organic ingredients that are both effective and sensory.

From Athens (Hilton Athens, Life Gallery, Arion Spa, Astir Beach, Tatoi club), to the islands including Kos (Neptune, Aqua Blu) and Crete (Porto Platanias, St Nicolas Bay, Blue Palace), Cinq Mondes pledges the same level of service as in Paris, France, thanks to a faithful application of original massage protocols designed by Nathalie Bouchon-Poiroux in collaboration with masters of ancient traditions.

The Ayurveda massage was elaborated under the guidance of Dr. Marda while the “Dermapuncture®” face massage method has been created with masters of Traditional Chinese Medecine. These protocols are thoroughly transmitted to therapists through intensive training. In addition to the international spa enthusiast, who is always interested in holistic & alternative treatments, the brand has much wider appeal due to its sensorial approach. Apart from the sense of touch, one can be lured and seduced by colors and fragrances, some of them created by the most famous “noses” of Parisian “piazza” - like Jean-Pierre Béthouart and Olivia Giacobetti.

52 insider athens | November - December 2015

For example, 7 Chinese plants Ointment of Youth from the Chinese Pharmacopeia (Pen T’sao book) is perfect for age prevention. The use of Tropical flowers from Bali helps to restore glow to the skin. Meanwhile, the latest release, the Infinity cream, is inspired by Zen tradition of Japan where women use camelia oil to prevent the signs of age.

Favorite treatments in Greece include the Hammam ceremony with Black Soap Beldi® and Kassa Glove followed by a wrap in Crème de Rassoul® and the Oriental Traditional massage of the body. The Honeymooners special Ritual from Bali lasts 2h30mn and is inspired from the Lulur ritual of preparation for the wedding of Princes and Princesses of Siam.

It entails a scrub with Papaya extracts, followed by a Balinese full body massage that stretches joints and restores flexibility to the body. The encounter ends with Ritual Fleurs de Bali®, a short facial treatment for Radiance based on tropical flowers.

The Cinq Mondes brand is about pampering, re-charging depleted batteries, and offering the ultimate luxury there is today: the sense of expanding precious available time through a qualitative spa experience. i www.orloffdayspa.gr | www.orloffspa.gr | www.cinqmondes.com

Insider guide refer to corresponding area for more information and contact details

restaurant index by type AMERICAN TGI FRIDAY’S Kolonaki The Burger Joint Glyfada The Burger Joint Psychico ASIAN Golden Phoenix Kifissia Keep Woking Glyfada Noodle Bar Syntagma NUI Kifissia Wagamama Maroussi BAR - RESTAURANTS 360 Cocktail Bar Monistiraki 42 bar Syntagma 9 Syntagma A for Athens Monistiraki Abariza Syntagma Abaroriza Pangrati Acropolis Museum Restaurant Acropolis Apsendi Halandri BABA AU RUM Syntagma BACARO Omonia BALTHAZAR Mavili Sq BARAONDA Mavili Sq Barley Cargo Syntagma Beer Time Psyrri Bios Gazi Booze Cooperativa Psyrri Café Zoe Syngrou CASH Kifissia CINCO Kolonaki Couleur Locale Monistiraki CV Bar Keramikos Dirty Ginger Gazi DOS AGAVES Monastiraki Drunk Sinatra Syntagma En Plo Vouliagmeni Bar Explorer’s Lounge Syntagma Gazarte Gazi GINGER Mavili Sq HIDE & SEEK Halandri HOLY SPIRIT Glyfada Hoxton Bar Gazi ISLAND Vouliagmeni KITCHEN BAR Faliro Minnie the Moocher Kolonaki MoMix Gazi NIXON Kerameikos NoËl Plaka OSTERMAN Syntagma PARKO ELEFTHERIAS Mavili Sq PIXI Gazi.

SEMIRAMIS RESTAURANT Kifissia SHOWROOM Kolonaki Socialista Gazi Sofa Bar Vouliagmeni Spollati Monastiraki Step by step Halandri Stinking Bishops Kolonaki The Clumsies Plaka The James Joyce irish bar, Thissio THE GIN JOINT Syntagma Throubi Plaka Toy Café Plaka Underdog Thiseio CHINESE China’s Fantasy Psychico Saipan Halandri FISH RESTAURANTS

Ai Nikolas Syngrou CAPTAIN JOHN’S Piraeus ITHAKI Vouliagmeni JIMMY AND THE FISH Piraeus KASTELORIZO Kifissia MILOS Hilton MYTHOS OF THE SEA Vouliagmeni Ocean Basket Glyfada PAPADAKIS Kolonaki THALATTA Gazi TO 25ARAKI Glyfada ZEFYROS Piraeus FISH TAVERNAS DOURAMBEIS Piraeus Dourampeis Oyster Psychiko Fish Co. Platters Psychico KOLLIAS Piraeus RAFALE Vouliagmeni Piperia Psychico PSARAKI Vouliagmeni Sardelaki Glyfada Trata Omonia TRATA O STELIOS Pangrati VASSILENAS Piraeus FRENCH ARTISANAL Kifissia Gaspar Food and Mood Psychico L’ABREUVOIR Kolonaki LE PETIT SOMMELIER Faliro MONO WINE RESTAURANT Plaka SPIROS & VASILIS Kolonaki SPONDI Pangrati GOURMET ALERIA Kerameikos AVENUE Syngrou Bo Botrini’s Halandri KUZINA Thissio Fuga Mavili Sq Funky Gourmet Kerameikos F+W Kolonaki HYTRA Syngrou KOOL LIFE Kifissia Orizontes Lycavyttou Kolonaki Polly Maggoo Metaxurgeio PremiEre Syngrou VAROULKO Piraeus GREEK 2 MAZI Plaka 310 Street Psychico ANETON Maroussi Archeon Gefsis Metaxurgeio ATHIRI Kerameikos ATRIUM Acropolis Berdema Kifissia Bluefield Burger Psychico CUCINA POVERA Pangrati Dioskouroi Psychico DIPORTO Psyrri ELAIαS GI Kifissia IDEAL Omonia KAVOURAS Exarhia Krithamos Psychico MANI MANI Acropolis MELILOTOS Monastiraki PSOMI & ALATI Halandri RAKOKAZANO Halandri

Rena tis Ftelias Psychico Peacock Syngrou PROSOPA Gazi THIO TRAGI Petralona TO KOUTI Monastiraki YANTES Exarhia YDRIA Plaka GRILL 1920 Halandri Meatropoleos 3 Syntagma Telemachos Barbeque Club Kifissia INDIAN BOLLYWOOD Gazi Indian Kitchen Syntagma Indian Masala Thissio JAIPUR PALACE Kifissia KOHENOOR Gazi INTERNATIONAL Ache Glyfada AMANDINE’S Syndagma BAKU Vouliagmeni BUBA Kifissia CHEFI’S Halandri Food Mafia Glyfada Gefsis Me Onomasia Proelefsis Kifissia Mama Roux South Glyfada ITALIAN 30 SOMETHING Halandri AGLIO OLIO Acropolis AL BACIO Vouliagmeni Albion Psychico Al Dente Glyfada AL FRESCO Vouliagmeni Aperitivo Glyfada Capanna Kolonaki DA BRUNO Faliro DA VINCI Ag. Paraskevi DULCIS IN FUNDO Voula Il Salotto Glyfada Il Salumaio Kifissia LA CASA DI GIORGINO Glyfada MARGHERITA Kifissia Matilde Pizza Bar Psychico Nanninela Ag. Paraskevi Ombra Psychico Pausa Maroussi Sale Bianco da Salvotoro Glyfada SALE E PEPE Kolonaki SCALA VINOTECA Kolonaki SILVER Casa Vouliagmeni TONY BONANO Piraeus Tutti a tavola Kolonaki Tuttitalia Kolonaki VEZENE Hilton VINCENZO Glyfada JAPANESE FURIN KAZAN Syntagma Hama Glyfada INBI Kolonaki KIKU Kolonaki MATSUHISA ATHENS Vouliagmeni OOZORA Kifissia RAKKAN Kifissia SUBA Kifissia KOREAN Dosirak Syntagma

KOSHER Gostijo Psyrri LEBANESE FALAFELLAS Psyrri NARGILE Kifissia SUZANNAFaliro MEDITERRANEAN Alatsi Hilton BAKU Vouliagmeni BERDEMA Kifisia BYZANTINO Hilton CAFE AVISSINIA Monastiraki Common Secret Kifissia EX ANATOLIS Halandri DAPHNE’S RESTAURANT Plaka FATSIO Pangrati GB CORNER Syntagma HYTRA Plaka IDEAL RESTAURANT Omonia KOUZINA CINE-PSIRRI Psyrri MALABAR Vouliagmeni MAVRO PROVATO Pangrati Mimaya Glyfada OCHRE & BROWN Psyrri PARLIAMENT Syntagma PRYTANEION Kolonaki RATKA Kolonaki STOU MEIDANI Monastiraki THE DALLIANCE HOUSE Kifissia TO KOUTI Monastiraki TORTUGA Pangrati TRAPEZARIA Pangrati VOSPOROS Piraeus ZORBAS Piraeus MEXICAN AMIGOS Glyfada DOS HERMANOS Kifissia EL TACO BUENO Halandri Santa Fe Halandri MEZEDES AND OUZO Antaios Psychico ATHINAIKON Omonia CINCO Kolonaki KIRKI Thissio OUZADIKO Kolonaki SCHOLARHEIO Plaka MULTI ETHNIC Altamira Kolonaki Altamira Marousi BUBA Kifissia

ORIZONTES LYKAVYTTOU Kolonaki ST’ASTRA Mavili Sq RUSSIAN Barin Glyfada SOUVLAKIA AND KEBAB BAIRAKTARIS Monastiraki BUTCHER’S SHOP Gazi DREAM GRILL Voula Gourounakia Kifissias Kifissia KALAMAKI KOLONAKI Kolonaki Kebabtzidikon Barbadimos Nea Smyrni Kebabtzidikon Kyr. Aristos Faliro NAIADES Voula SAVVAS Monastiraki SCHARA Vouliagmeni Souvlaki Bar Thissio THANASSIS Monastiraki SCANDINAVIAN SAFKA Kerameikos SPANISH JAMON PINTXOS BAR Glyfada LA GABINOTECA, Kifissia SALERO Exarhia SUSHI Koi Syntagma Koi Voula Yoko Sushi & Bento Kolonaki Suba Kolonaki Tomoe Kifissia Sushi Bar (The) Pangrati TAVERNAS FILIpPOU Kolonaki IPIROS TAVERN Psyrri O Tzitzikas Ki O Mermigas Kifissia, Syntagma VLASSIS Hilton THAI ANDAMAN Athens BLUE BAMBOO Athens ROUAN THAI Piraeus ROYAL THAI Kifissia TAMARIND Metaxourgeio

PERSIAN

TURKISH

ANAHITA Halandri

Mutfak Glyfada

POLYNESIAN

VEGETARIAN

LEDRA KAI Syngrou

Avocado Syntagma Giouvetsakia Glyfada NICE N EASY Kolonaki

PUB RESTAURANTS KEG ‘N’ CREW Piraeus MOLLY MALONE’S Glyfada THE JAMES JOYCE Thissio RETRO Aneton Maroussi ROOFTOP DINING ELECTRA Plaka IOANNIS Syntagma LE GRAND BALCON Kolonaki

WINE BARS FABRICA DE VINO Exarhia HETEROCLITO Syntagma Kiki’s de Grece Syntagma OINOSCENT Syntagma Vinifera Kifissia Vrettos Plaka Whispers of wine Maroussi VINARTE Glyfada

insider athens | November - December 2015 53

Central Athens

Insider guide Eat & Drink Acropolis EAT Acropolis Museum Restaurant Dionysiou Arepagaitou 15, Tel: 210.900.0915 Authentic Greek dishes right across from the Acropolis itself

Aglio Olio & Peperonicino Porinou 13, Tel: 210.921.1801 Authentic Italian pasta in a cozy setting, accompanied by luscious salads and homemade dolci

Atrium Rovertou Galli 4, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.923.6832, Refined Greek cuisine in a cosy setting

Fresko Yogurt Bar Dionysiou Areopagitou 8, Tel: 210.923.3760 Authentic Greek yogurt served with fresh fruits and sweets

Mani Mani Falirou 10 Tel: 210.921.8180 Peloponnesian specialities with Mediterranean touches

Exarhia EAT Fabrica de Vino Em. Benaki 3, Tel: 210.321.4148 85 wine etiquettes and mini mezzes in an industrial environment

Kavouras Themistokleous 64, Tel: 210.381.0202 Dine while enjoying live Rebetika music

Salero Valtetsiou 51, Tel: 210.381.3358 Spanish and mediterranean cuisine in the heart of Exarhia

Yantes Valtetsiou 44, Tel: 210.330.1369 Modern Greek cuisine prepared with organic ingredients.

DRINK Circus Bar Navarinou 11, Tel: 210.361.5255 Attracts a hip and happening crowd in a cozy space

Ginger Ale Themistokleous 74, Tel: 210.330.1246 Enjoy a cocktail or a coffee in a retro pop atmosphere

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Almaz

Triptolemou 12, Tel: 210.347.4763 Lounge in a modern atmosphere while listening to music from around the world

Bios

Pireos 84, Tel: 210.342.5335 An avant-garde multi-level venue housing a bar, a basement club, art exhibitions, music venues, and a rooftop garden

Dirty Ginger

Triptolemou 46, Tel: 210.342.3809 Excellent cocktails, meat dishes and “hot” finger food

Hoxton Bar

Vox

Voutadon 42 Gazi, Tel: 210.341.3395, A cocktail bar based on Hoxton in East London

Arahovas 56 & Themistokleous Tel: 210.383.5811 One of the oldest summer cinemas in Athens is a picturesque place for a retro-tinged drink

Boutadon 32-34, Tel: 210.346.0347 Lounge bar with excellent views of the Acropolis, ethnic music and live events

Gazi EAT Bollywood Gazi Elasidon 29 & Konstantinoupoleos 44, Tel: 210.345.0041 Indian cuisine in an industrial setting

Butcher’s Shop Persefonis 19, Tel: 210.341.3440 Traditional psistaria serving grilled meat dishes

Kohenoor Triptolemou 41, Tel: 210.345.5762 Indian authentic specialties in a neat setting

Prosopa Meg. Vasiliou 52 & Konstantinoupoleos 4 Tel: 210.341.3433, Delicious dishes in a warm atmosphere right beside the train tracks. A popular gay haunt.

Thalatta Vitonos 5, Tel: 210.346.4204 Fresh seafood creations

Galaxy Bar

54 insider athens | November - December 2015

Byzantino Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1400 Traditional Greek recipes with a Mediterranean twist

Cookoovaya Hatziyianni Mexi 2A, Tel. 210.723.5005, 5 famous chefs combine their talents to create unique flavors.

Leilimlei Baltinon 2 , Gyzi. Tel : 211.700.9383

Milos Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.724.4400 Simply prepared local flavours.

Guaranteed value for money

Vezene Vrasida 11, Tel: 210.723.2002 Modern bistrot serving seafood & cured beef

Gazarte

Vlassis

Gasoline

DRINK

Gargittion 23Α, Tel: 210.346.9396 All day bar with freestyle music and interesting guest-nights

MoMix

Keleou 1-5, Gazi. Tel: 697.435.0179, Temple of mixology and high-quality bartending

PIXI

Meandrou 15, Tel: 210.646.3060 & 210.725.6335, Family-run taverna serving traditional Greek food

Galaxy Bar Athens Hilton, Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1402 Rooftop cocktails in a chic atmosphere

Evmolpidon 11, Gazi.

Tel: 210.342.3751, Get in to the groove

Kerameikos

Sofroniou 12A, Tel: 210.341.0308 Excellent cocktails, reasonable prices, summer mood

EAT

Plastiko

Socialista

Triptolemou 33, Gazi Tel: 210.347.4733 Mainstream barclub in industrial setting

Tapas Bar

Aleria Meg. Alexandrou 57, Tel: 210.522.2633 Adventurous Greek cuisine in a cosy setting

Athiri

Triptolemou 44, Tel: 210.347.1844 Cocktails and tapas at the bar, just like in Spain

Plataion 15, Tel: 210.346.2983 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine in Voted beautiful surroundings

Hilton

Paramythias 13 and Salaminos, Tel: 210 524 2727 Haute cuisine in art deco interior

EAT Alatsi

Vrassida 13, Tel: 210.721.0501 Exquisite Cretan specialties

Aleria

Funky Gourmet

one restaura of top 25 nts in th e World

Safka

Megalou Alexandrou 80-82, Tel: 210 524 3340 Regular Scandinavian cuisine degusta

wine tions

Milos Garden

Eat & Drink

Nice n Easy

DRINK CV Bar

Konstantinoupoleos 108, Keramikos Tel: 210.345.1744

Kolonaki EAT Bakeries & Patisseries Cake

Irodotou 15, Tel: 210.721.2253 For real American homemade cheesecake, brownies and more

Fresh

Kriezotou 12, Tel: 210.364.2948/ Loukianou 21, Tel: 210.729.3453 Desserts and cakes

Restaurants Altamira

Kiku

Dimokritou 12, Tel: 210.364.7033 Fresh, beautifully presented sushi

L’Abreuvoir

Xenokratous 51, Tel: 210.722.9106 Fine French cuisine

Le Grand Balcon

St George Lycabettus Hotel, Kleomenous 2, Tel: 210.729.0711 Gourmet Greek cuisine

Minnie the Moocher Tsakalof 6, Kolonaki, Tel: 210 364 1686

Nice n Easy

Omirou 60 & Skoufa, Tel.: 210.361.7201 Gourmet cafe-restaurant with organic products and jazz music

Orizontes Lycavyttou

Lycabettus Hill, Tel: 210.722.7065 Gourmet dining with a spectacular view

Ouzadiko

Tsakalof 36A, Tel: 210.361.4695 Flavours of multiethnic cuisine

Karneadou 25-26, Tel: 210.729.5484 Traditional Greek appetizers & ouzo

Karneadou 25-29, Tel: 210.724.0773 Gourmet seafood hang-out

Fokilidou 15 & Voukourestiou 47A Tel: 210.360.8621 Paros’ legendary gourmet restaurant serving seafood in the heart of Athens

Bait

Cafe Boheme

Omirou 36, Tel: 210.360.8018 Welcoming nook with Greek cooking and more-ish cocktails

Capanna

Ploutarchou 38 & Charitos, Kolonaki Tel: 210.724.1777 People-watching and authentic Italian fare

To Tsai

Fuga

Papadakis

Prytaneion

Milioni 7, Tel: 210.364.3353 Generous portions of Mediterranean fare

Ratka

TGI Friday’s

Kolokotroni 35, Kefalari sq.

Tel: 210.623.3945, American restaurant with real steak and barbecuesauce for casual dining!

Balthazar

Tuttitalia

Baraonda

Spefsippou 8, Kolonaki.

Tel: 210.722.2785, Authentic Italian trattoria at affordable prices.

Tsoha 27, Tel: 210.644.1215 Lovely garden and chic interior attracts a cool crowd

Valaoritou 14, 210.338.9669 An authentic and hospitable Italian trattoria

Tsoha 43, Tel: 210.644.4308 Gourmet cuisine and funky beats

Yoko Sushi & Bento

39 Patriarchou Ioakeim Tel: 210.342.4654 Fresh sushi to-go!

Bars, Clubs & Lounges City

Charitos 43, Tel: 210.722.8910 Modern aesthetics, mutli-culti crowd and soulful music

London str 72

Solonos 72, Tel: 693.951.1760, 690.607.3362 Union jacks and red telephone booths in an all day bar-restaurant

Mai Tai

Ploutarhou 18, Tel: 210.725.8306 Early evening cocktails in a laid-back atmosphere

Rosebud

Omirou 60 & Skoufa 40, Tel: 210.339.2370 All day hang-out with music ranging from jazz to famous soundtracks

Xenokratous 49, Tel: 210.721.1146 Gourmet food by Oliver Campanha

Aristipou 34, Tel: 210.723.4102 Authentic Italian trattoria

Skoufa 47-49, Tel: 210.364.5888 All time classic café bar

Xenokratous 19, Tel: 210.721.6390 Home-cooked Greek taverna dishes

Freud Oriental

Sina 50, Tel: 210.361.0041 Mediterranean restaurant ideal for wining & dining

Ploutarhou 10, Tel: 210.721.0161 One of the most popular hot spots in town

IT restaurant

Milioni 12, Tel: 210.364.6460 Missoni-designed interiors, serving unique Mediterranean flavours

Sale e Pepe

Filippou

Scala Vinoteca

Xenokratous 21 Tel:21 0729.9595 Creative fusion cuisine Skoufa 29, Tel. 210 36 35 773, Affordable gourmet menu in a chic environment.

Jimmy’s Coffee Shop

Valaouritou 7, Tel: 210.361.0444 A cosy place listed as one of USA Today’s “10 best coffee shops and brunches”

Kalamaki Kolonaki

Ploutarhou 32, Tel: 210.721.8800 Souvlakia on the sidewalk have never been so trendy

Showroom

Spiros & Vasilis

Lachitos 5, Tel: 210.723.7575 Original French cuisine

Stinking Bishops

Loukianou 36, Tel: 213.026.3656 Fashionable gastro pub

Suba Restaurant

Skoufa 58 & Sina, Kolonaki Tel: 210.338.8211 Authentic sushi in the heart of the city

Skoufaki

Dorileou 6, Tel: 210.654.2380 Trendy hole-in-the-wall hangout

Fuga

Vas.Sofias & Kokkali 1, Tel: 210 724 2979 Italian inspired menu by chef Andrea Berton at the Athens Concert Hall

Ginger

Dorileou 10-12, Tel: 210.645.1169 Original dishes and innovative combinations in an elegant atmosphere

St’Astra

Alexadras 10, Tel: 210.889.4500 For an unforgettable roof-top dining experience

To Parko Eleftherias

Next to Megaron Mousikis, Tel: 210.722.3784 Classic recipes and nice atmopshere in a lush green park

MetaxOurgeio EAT Andaman

Ten

Cafés Da Capo

Tsakalof 1, Tel: 210.360.2497 Long-established people-watching hangout

Peros

Kolonaki Square, Tel: 210.364.5068 Enjoy a cup of java if you can find a spot

Tea To Tsai

Briki

EAT

DRINK

Skoufa 52, Tel: 210.364.3603 Great cocktails and specialty tapas

F+W

DRINK

Tutti a Tavola

Haritos 32, Tel: 210.729.0746 Popular haunt of the rich and almost famous, with cosmopolitan cuisine

Cinco

Mavili sq

Alopis 65, Athens, Tel. 211.210.4939, Thai food in an exotic setting

Archeon Gefsis

Kodratou 22, Tel: 210.523.9661 Ancient Greek cuisine makes a unique comeback after 25 centuries

Blue Bamboo

Kydantidon 24, Athens, Tel. 210.342.3124, Thai food with modern interior design

Polly Maggoo

Leonidou 80 & Salaminos, Tel: 210 524 1120 Gourmet cuisine in a post-modern and industrial setting.

New hot spot for the trendy

Tamarind

Soutsou & Likavitou, Tel: 210.338.8941 Tea & tea paraphernalia from around the world

Keramikou 51, Metaxourgio, Tel. 210.522.5945, tamarindathens.gr/eng Thai food in a beautiful setting

insider athens | November - December 2015 55

Insider guide Eat & Drink

Spondi

Monastiraki EAT Bairaktaris

Monastiraki Square 2 Tel: 210.321.3036 Old-world taverna serving traditional Greek fare

Café Avissinia

Kynetou 7, Tel: 210.321.7407 Specializing in regional dishes & live music on weekends

Dos Agaves

Avramiotou 12, Tel: 210.331.3577 Great Cocktail bar and taco joint

Melilotos

Kalamiotou 19, Tel: 210.322.2458 Greek-Mediterranean cuisine with fresh local ingredients

Savvas

Mitropoleos 86, Tel: 210.321.9919 Gyros & Middle Eastern dishes like pastourmali

Sigalas-Bairaktaris

Monastiraki Sq. 2, Tel: 210.321.3036 Century-old restaurant serving a variety of fresh dishes

Souvlaki Bar

Adrianou 7 & Thisiou 15, Tel: 210.515.0550

Stou Meïdani

Sokratous 3 & Evripidou Tel: 210.324.9073, A menu that is sure to please with speciality oven dishes

Thanassis

Mitropoleos 69, Tel: 210.324.4705 A souvlaki lover’s paradise

To Kouti

360 Cocktail Bar

Spollati

Aiolou 27A, Tel: 215.551.3004 A delicious combination of signature cocktails with homemade syrups and funky Mediterranean cuisine

Taf

Normanou 5, Tel: 210.323.8757 Outdoor bar in a neoclassical building with arty atmosphere and great exhibitions

Nea Smyrni EAT Kebabtzidikon Barbadimos

Aigaiou and Spathari 2, Nea Smyrni, Tel. 210.934.7600 Casual, authentic souvlakerie

Plastira Square 10, Tel: 210.701.9530 A pet friendly place with long balcony tables that fill up every night Trivonianou 17, Tel: 210.921.3310 A jazz club with great history, hosting important names from the international music scene.

Superfly

The Clumsies

Praxitelous 30, Tel: 210.323.2682 Features tasty cocktails and premium spirits that attract all ages

Throubi

Aghias Eirinis Square & Vasilikis 1, Tel: 210.323.0926 A cozy and colorful space with a good selection of coffee and cocktails

Toy Cafe

EAT

EAT Spondi

Thio Tragi

Diporto

Themistokleous 2, Tel: 210.383.8485 A traditional Greek ouzeri

Ideal Restaurant

Panepistimiou 46, Tel: 210.330.3000 Greek classics in old-world decor

Trata

Themistokleous 8 and Nikitara 9, Tel: 210.383.8531 Excellent fish taverna in the centre of Athens

Pangrati

Plaka EAT Nikis 48, Tel: 210.322.2839 Creative gourmet dishes that change monthly

Brettos

Efroniou 5, Tel: 210.721.7421 Greek food & political gossip Ariannou 31, Pangrati, Tel: 210.722.3466 Best value-for-money meal in Athens

Spondi

Kidatidon 36, Tel: 210.341.0296 Creative gourmet kitchen with high quality ingredients

2 Mazi

Cucina Povera

Mavro Provato

Avramiotou 6-8, Tel: 210.321.0510 A day&night cultural entertainment center and bar with a vivid 600m2 back-garden.

Abaroriza

Kolokotroni 59B, Tel: 211.215.9534 An evening lounge scene with friendly service and Italian inspired food and drink

Athinaikon

Miaouli 2-4, Tel: 210.324.4244 An urban terrace with the most stunning view of the Acropolis

Six Dogs

DRINK - LIVE BARS

Noël

Psyrri

Fatsio

Plateia Avissinias 3, Tel: 210.323.4814 An all day hang-out with good music, cool atmosphere and great views

Anagenniseos Sq. 7-9, Tel: 210.729.1533 The best grilled fish in town

Bars, Clubs & Lounges

PETRALONA

Ifestou 2, Tel: 210.321.0006

Loukoumi Bar

Trata o Stelios

DRINK

EAT

Omonia

Evforionos 13 & Eratosthenous Tel: 210.756.6008, Greek cuisine with a menu that changes daily

Normanou 3, Tel: 206.700.4917 A young scene with great cocktails and affordable finger food overlooking the Acropolis

Efronionos 13, Pangrati Tel: 210.921.3500, Mediterranean cuisine in chic setting

Karytsi 10, Tel: 201.331.1555 Jazz and funk venue that started the Karytsi street scene

DRINK

Couleur Locale

Trapezaria

Empedokleous 28-30, Tel: 211.404.6076 The new hot spot for retro gamers

EAT

A for Athens

Mavro Provato

Half Note Jazz Club

Adrianou 23, Tel: 210.321.3229 Mediterranean fare right next to the ancient agora

360 Cocktail Bar

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

2 Mich eli

Pyrronos 5, Tel: 210.756.4021 n stars A mix of European & more exotic flavours. Voted one of the best in Athens

Kydathaneon 41, Plaka, Tel: 21.323.2110. Legendary wateringhole in the Plaka district

Daphne’s Restaurant

Lysikratous 4, Tel: 210.322.7971 Refined classic Greek dishes in a resplendent atmosphere

Electra

Nikodimou 18-20, Tel: 210.337.0000 Roof-top dining with Greek cuisine

Mono Wine Restaurant

Venizelou Paleologou 4, Tel: 210.322.6711 Unpretentious gourmet cuisine

Scholarheio

Stilponos 2, Pl.Varnava, Pangrati Tel: 210.752.4354 Sushi on a budget

Tripodon 14, Tel: 210.324.1605 A traditional tray taverna with old fashioned decor & prices

Archimidous 1, Pangrati, Tel: 213.030.7520, Healthy, affordable street-style food.

Adrianou 68 & Eolou, Tel: 210.325.1619 Taditional Greek cuisine

Sushi Bar (The) Tortuga

56 insider athens | November - December 2015

Ydria

Theatrou & Sokratous, Tel: 210.321.1463 Old-world tavern offers bargain basics like salads, sardines & fava

Falafellas

Aiolou 51, Tel: 210.323.9809 Gourmet ethnic street food

Gostijo

Aisopou 10 street, Tel: 210.323.3825 Kosher menu and mediterranean “repertoire”

Ipiros Tavern

Athens Central Market Filopimenos 4, Tel: 210.324.0773 Great traditional Greek tavern, an excellent place for lunch

Kouzina Cine-Psirri

Sari 40, Tel: 210.321.5534 Mediterranean fare & eclectic music

Ochre & Brown

Leokoriou 7, Tel: 210.331.2950 Mediterranean/French cuisine

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Beer Time

Iroon Square 1, Tel: 210.322.8443 Relaxed atmosphere with wide selection of microbrews surrounded by industrial decor

Booze Cooperativa

Kolokotroni 57, Tel: 211.405.3733 A multi-purpose meeting venue for drinks, performances, and games

Eat & Drink Cantina Social

Leokoriou 8, Tel: 210.325.1668 Tiny standing bar, ideal for socializing.

Dude

Kalamiotou 14, Tel: 210.322.7130 Uptempo bar inspired by “Big Lebowski”

Syntagma EAT Amandine Bagels & Gourmandises

Nikis 13, Syntagma Tel : 210.323.9829 Fresh bagels and French pastries

Avocado

Nikis 30, Tel: 210.323.7878 Vegetarian restaurant

City Bistro

Stoa Spiliomilou, Syntagma, Tel. 210 32 11 315, citylink.gr Refined cuisine in chic setting

Dosirak

Voulis 31-33, Tel: 210.323.3330 Japanese & Korean cuisine in the heart of Athens

Furin Kazan

Apollonos 2, Tel: 210.322.9170 A Japanese favourite of expats & Athenians alike

GB Corner

Hotel Grand Bretagne, Tel: 210.333.0750 Luxurious surroundings, Mediterranean cuisine

Indian Kitchen

Apollonos 6, Tel: 210.323.7720

Ioannis

Royal Olympic Hotel, Ath. Diakou 28-34, Tel: 210.928.8400 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine with breathtaking views from the rooftop

Kiki’s de Grece

Ipitou and Voulis 38, Syntagma, Tel: 210.321.1279, Cosy wine bar with French flair

Koi

15 Nikis, Syntagma, 210.321.1099 Affordable street-food style sushi

Meatropoleos 3

Mitropoleos 3, Tel: 210.324.1805 Modern greek grill restaurant

New Taste

New Hotel, Filellinon 16, Tel: 210.327.3170 Mediterranean cuisine with a modern twist

Noodle Bar

Apollonos 11, Tel: 210.331.8585 A congenial place to drop in for a quick noodle fix

O Tzitzikas ki o Mermigas

Mitropoleos 12-14, Tel: 210.324.7607 Savoury Greek cuisine, perfectly combining modern & traditional elements

Osterman

Agias Eirinis Sq, Tel: 210.324.3331 Mediterranean dishes in a setting where minimalism meets retro

Paul

Panepistiomiou 10, Tel: 210.722.4824 A true French patisserie

Plaza Lounges

NJV Athens Plaza Hotel Vas. Georgiou A & Stadiou Tel: 210.335.2400 All day lounge with salads & snacks

The Parliament

NJV Athens Plaza Hotel Vas. Georgiou A & Stadiou Tel: 210.335.2400 International cuisine with Mediterranean accents

Tudor Hall Restaurant & Lounge

King George Hotel Vas. Georgiou A 3, Tel: 210.322.2210 Elegant setting, refined cuisine and an incredible Acropolis view

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges 42 Bar

3 Kolokotroni, Tel: 6948242455, Delicious creative cocktails and mixology

9 Kolokotroni 9, Tel: 210.323.2795 A cozy jazz bar with specialty cocktails

Abariza Lekka 14, Tel: 210.325.7644 A wall of booze for serious drinkers

Baba Au Rum Clayton 6, Tel: 211.710.9140 Amazing cocktails and rum collection with a cozy environment

Barley Cargo Kolokotroni 6, Tel: 210.323.0445 Enjoy a wide selection of international and Greek beers accompanied by live music

Boutique Filellinon 15, Tel: 210.323.1315 Popular Athenian night spot

Drunk Sinatra Thiseos 16, Tel: 210.331.3733 A friendly place to drink to vintage music from the ‘50s and ‘60s

Explorer’s Lounge NJV Athens Plaza, Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.335.2400, Magnificent cocktails and live jazz in an intimate atmosphere

Heteroclito Fokionos 2, Tel: 210.323.9406 A true wine destination with focus on Greek vineyards

Kalua Amerikis 6, Tel: 210.360.8304 Dance the night away in a chic environment

EAT Ai Nikolas

Syngrou Ave. 156, Tel: 210.923.2918 Original seafood dishes, fresh ingredients and simple elegant interior

Avenue

Metropolitan Hotel, Syngrou Ave 385, Tel: 210.947.100 French bistrot inspired by Michel Roux

Café Zoe

Athenaeum InterContinental, Syngrou Ave 89-93, Tel: 210.920.6655 Casual dining and terrific buffets for lunch and on Sundays

Hytra

Onassis Cultural Center Syngrou Ave 107-109, Tel: 217.707.1118, 210.331.6767 Creative gourmet Greek cuisine with stunning views

Kollias

Syngrou Ave. 303, Tel: 210.940.8620 Excellent seafood in a pleasant Mediterranean atmosphere

Ledra Kai

Athens Ledra Hotel, Syngrou 115, Neos Kosmos, Tel: 210.930.0000 Polynesian Tepanyiaki restaurant going strong after 30 years

Peacock

Hotel Hera, Falirou 9, Tel: 210.923.6682 Traditional food with breathtaking Acropolis views

Première

Mama Roux Aiolou 48, Tel: 213.004.8382 A comfortable atmosphere with a variety of international cuisine and an elaborate Sunday brunch

Oinoscent

Syngrou

Frequent wine

Voulis 45-47, tastings Tel: 210.322.9374 Trendy winebar

The Gin Joint Christou Lada 1, Tel: 210.321.8646 Popular drinks, classic cocktails and the fanciest G&T in Athens!

Athenaeum InterContinental, Syngrou Ave 89-93, Tel: 210.920.6981 Gourmet cuisine with splendid views

Thissio EAT Indian Masala

Ermou 129, Tel: 210.321.9412 Amazing Indian food at affordable price in a pleasant environment

Kirki

Apostoplou Pavlou 31, Tel: 210.346.6960 Ideal for a lunch break

The concierge of the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Syntagma Square recommends:

Eat Drink Do

New: Suba, Kolonaki, Athens Classic: Filippou, Kolonaki, Athens Alternative: Vezene, Ilissia, Athens New: CV, Kerameikos, Athens Classic: Oinoscent, Syntagma, Athens Alternative: Minnie the Moocher, Kolonaki, Athens New: Onassis Cultural Centre, Tavros, Athens Classic: Museum of Cycladic Art, Kolonaki, Athens Alternative: Herakleidon Museum, Thissio, Athens

Explorer’s Lounge

Tudor Hall

insider athens | November - December 2015 57

Insider guide Eat & Drink

New Address!

Kyprou 30-32, Tel: 210.963.8770 Vassilenas

The James Joyce

Etolikou 72 & Vitolion, Tel: 210.461.2457 Friendly food and atmosphere

Underdog

Akti Koumoundourou 20, Pireaus, Tel.210.412.7324, Mediterranean dining with a sea view.

Vosporos

Iraklidon 8, Tel: 213.036.5393 Specialty coffees, impressive selection of foreign and Greek craft beers, and exceptional cocktail menu

Zefyros

Southern Athens

Astiggos 12, Tel: 210.323.5055 Genuine Irish pub with typical pub fare

Piraeus

Ak. Koumoundourou 48, Tel: 210.417.5152 Fresh seafood on the quay

Zorbas

EAT

Ak. Koumoundourou 14, Tel: 210.411.1663 Unique flavours of the Mediterranean

Captain John’s

DRINK

Ak. Koumoundourou 16A, Tel: 210.417.7589 Traditional seafood

Dourambeis Ak. Protopsalti 29, Tel: 210.412.2092 Classic fish taverna

Jimmy and The Fish

Matsuhisa

Varoulko

Kuzina

Adrianou 9, Tel: 210.324.0133 Inspired traditional recipes in a cozy arty environment

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Istioploikos Ak. Microlimanou, Tel: 210.413.4084 One of the hip places to see and be seen with a rooftop bar overlooking the yachting marina

Katafigio

Suzanna Orpheus & Chariton 5, Tel: 210.942.8129 Authentic Middle Eastern cuisine

“Flisvos” Marina, Tel: 210.985.3183 Cocktails whith music

Glyfada EAT Bakeries & Patisseries Paul Esperidon Square and Kyprou 70, Tel: 210.894.7169 A real French boulangerie that serves meals too.

Restaurants Kyprou 70, Tel: 210.894.0377 Authentic Italian cuisine in a cosy setting

Faliro EAT

Barin

Rouan Thai

Notara 131, Piraeus, Tel. 210.429.4494, Home-style Thai food

Tony Bonano

Papanastasiou 63, Tel: 210.411.1901 Italian cuisine with a view of the harbour

Varoulko

Ag. Alexandrou 46, Tel: 210.981.8959 Rich list with Italian flavours

Il Tinello Knossou 54, Tel: 210.982.8462 Real Italian home cooking

Kebabtzidikon Kyr.Aristos Zisimopoulou 96, Faliro, 210.982.2320 Dining in a garden setting

Kitchen Bar

Degustation menu Poseidonos 3, Tel: 210.981.2004 Ak. Koumoundourou 52, at just 40 Comfort food overlooking the sea Mikrolimano, € Tel: 210 5228400 Seafood prepared by Michelin star-winning chef Lefteris Lazarou

Le Petit Sommelier

Zaimi 6, Tel: 210.984.2344 French cuisine & excellent wine list

58 insider athens | November - December 2015

Keep Woking

La Casa Di Giorgino Kyprou 30-32, Tel: 210.963.8770 Authentic Italian pizza made in a traditional wood-burning oven

Mama Roux South new

Lazaraki 26, Tel: 216.700.4459 A southern suburb branch of the popular inner-city restaurant also featuring slow-cooked barbeque

Mimaya

Aperitivo

Grigoriou Lambraki 2, Tel: 210.894.8882 Chef Yiannis Baxevanis brings Miamiinspired opulence to Glyfada

Plastira 3, Tel: 210.462.9620 Excellent seafood but difficult to find; reserve on weekends

Laodikis 33-35, Tel: 210.894.6089 Basque “pinchos” in a cozy setting Dimitriou Gounari 70, Tel:211.012.2801 Create-your-own Asian cuisine, fast and funky

Keg ‘n’ Crew

Da Bruno

Inbi Jamon Pintxos Bar

Zinc

Ak. Koumoundourou 4, Tel: 210.413.1612 Club, cafe & beer house

Kollias

Markou Botsari 13, Tel: 210.894.8397 Minimal décor, elegant Italian fare Lazaraki 26, Tel: 210.894.4982 Sushi fusion

DRINK

Ak. Mikrolimanou, Tel: 210.412.4417 Excellent seafood; try the astakomakaronada Akti Miaouli 83, Tel: 210.429.0396 Comfort food and cold beers

Il Salotto

Ark

Russia

n

cuisine 33rd Street Elliniko 13, Tel: 210.963.5416 The fist dedicated Russian restaurant in Athens

Markou Botsari 8, Tel: 210.894.4850 Creative Mediterranean cuisine.

Molly Malone’s Yannitsopoulou 8, Tel: 210.894.4247 Irish pub serving probably the best Irish Stew in Athens

Mutfak Laodikis 38, Glyfada, Tel.210.894.9060 Politiki Kouzina in a romantic setting

Ocean Basket

Food Mafia

Lazaraki 61 & Pandoras 5, Glyfada 210.898.3183 Fresh oysters South African favourite seafood restaurant comes to Greece

Laodikis & Filikis Etairias10, Tel: 210.894.2177 International fare with attitude

Foivis 15, Tel: 211.402.1195 Sardines and seafood in a casual setting.

Giouvetsakia Ithomis 20 and Moreos, Tel: 210.964.8081 Organic mageirefta food

Hama Grigoriou Lambraki 34, Tel: 210.960.0595 Sophisticated Japanese cuisine in a cosy setting

Holy Spirit Laodikis 41, Tel: 210.898.2650 Cocktail Bar with great menu and beautiful atmosphere

Sardelaki Sale Bianco da Salvotoro Markou Botsari 10A, Tel: 210.898.6301 Authentic Italian food in an inviting atmosphere

Su Casa Kyprou 82, Tel: 201.898.5554 Authentic Mexican food paired with any type of tequila you could want

Spiti Lazaraki 12, Tel: 201.898.0080 A perfect place for a family meal with great food and cocktails

Eat & Drink Foivis 17, Tel: 210.894.0260 NY style, organic burgers in a casual and relaxed environment.

To 25araki M. Botsari 8, Tel: 210.894.4112 Fresh seafood at reasonable prices

Vincenzo Giannitsopoulou 1, Tel: 210.894.1310 Value for money Italian specialities with a Southern Italian touch

CreperieS

Voula

Vouliagmeni

EAT

EAT

Coconuts

Baku

Vasileos Pavlou 67, Tel: 210.895.5177 The place to stock up on your quinoa chips, organic granola, and acai berries

Drakoulis Meat Open Project

Vasileos Pavlou 103, Tel: 210.932.0211 A nightclub, gourmet emporium, and Athens’ most glamorous meat boutique all in one

Dulcis in Fundo

Prinkipos Petrou 33, Tel: 210.894.2136 Top-quality authentic Italian

Family To Paramythi Kyprou 9, Tel: 210.894.1361 Creperie in a fairy-tale setting

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Balux Posidonos 58, Tel: 210.898.3577 Waterfront lounging

Bourbon Daskaroli 67, Tel: 210.964.7600 American style bar with rock, blues, soul music and live events

Capri Bay Grigoriou Lambraki 2, Tel: 210.894.9995 Excellent cocktails in a Moroccan style garden

Mikro Laodikis 33-35, Tel: 210.894.1031 Minimal decor with well-known Greek DJs

Vinarte Marangou 18, Tel: 210 894.1511 A wine bar and Italian restaurant with regular art exhibitions and cool decor

Cafes Chocolat Zisimopoulou 9, Tel: 210.894.3442 Satisfies even the most discerning coffee connoisseur

Dourampeis Oyster

Vasileos Pavlou 74, Tel: 212.104.3411 Healthy living smoothies vie with wicked cocktails and chocolate pasta confections

Koi

98 Vas. Pavlou in Voula, 213.032.0890 Affordable street-food style sushi

Naiades

Vas. Pavlou 74, Tel: 210.965.7706 Popular family grill joint

Rey Pablo’s

Vasileos Pavlou 89, Tel: 210.899.2068 Fab smoothies, terrific brunch, and vibey music that draws a young fashionable crowd

Troufa Chocolate Bar

Vasileos Pavlou 80, Tel: 211.012.0004 Heaven on earth for chocoholics

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Alia Brasserie

Astir Palace, Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.8901794 All-day lounge bar and restaurant

Cava Faydon

Island 27th klm Athinon-Souniou Tel: 210.965.3563-4 Award-winning cuisine & an unmatched location

Margi Hotel, Litous 11, Tel: 210.967.0924 Delicious variations of Mediterranean food

Al Bacio

Posidonos 17, Tel: 210.896.0400 Trattoria serving traditional Italian dishes & pizza

Ithaki

Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.896.3747 Beautiful sea view, fresh seafood

Malabar

The Margi, Litous 11, Tel: 210.892.9160 Multinational tastes in a chic Mediterranean ambience

Rafale

Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.967.1184 Traditionally prepared seafood dishes presented exquisitely

Matsuhisa Athens

Astir Palace, Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.896.0510 Celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa serves up sushi favourites with a LatinAmerican flair

Mythos of the Sea

Ag. Nikolaou 10 & Iliou, Tel: 210.891.1100 Gourmet Mediterranean cuisine that blends local produce with fresh seafood

Psaraki

Posidonos 15, Tel: 210.896.2215 Seafood served in an informal setting

Schara

Posidonos 15, Tel: 210.896.2432 Grills with frills in a friendly setting at reasonable prices

Poseidonos 11, Tel: 210.964.6635 A new wine bar changing the game for the stagnant costal enclave

Posidonos 17, Tel: 210.896.1227 Sure to satisfy your sweet tooth

Plastira 3, Tel: 210.899.4965 An unpretentious hang-out with reasonably-priced drinks, themed sports nights, and knock-out burgers

Drakoulis Meat Open Project

EAT Da Vinci

Ag. Ioannou 23, Tel: 210.600.0102 Delightful dishes in fantastic ambience

Nanninela

Peloponnissou 13 Tel: 210.600.5622 Authentic Italian cuisine in traditional decor

Halandri EAT 1920

Ag. Paraskevi 110, Tel: 210.681.3029 Accent on meat in an elegant setting

30 something

Iroon Sq 8, Tel: 210.689.9227 Pizza and cocktail bar in a San Franscisco atmosphere

Chr. Smirnis 3, Tel: 210.689.1222 The only place in Athens to try authentic Persian dishes Kifissias 250-254 & Serres Tel: 210.671.7890 Refined cuisine and cocktails in stylish urban atmosphere

Silver Casa

Nelly’s Gastro Pub

Anahita

Ag. Paraskevi

Apsendi

Agiou Ioannou 28, Tel: 215.510.9975 Mid-range or special edition wine varieties with a giddy range of imported goodies

Cava Vegera

Northern Athens

The Burger Joint

Litous 2 & Apollonos 18, Tel: 210.967.1164, 210.896.4112 Italian restaurant across the water

Waffle House

DRINK

Bo Botrini’s

Vasileos Georgiou B 24b, Halandri, Tel: 210.685.7323 Athens’ best table by far, winner of Golden Hats 2014

Chefi’s

Perikleous 31, Halandri, Tel. 210.681.5774, chefi.gr, Refined cuisine with international flavours and regular wine tastings

El Taco Bueno

En Plo

Posidonos 4, Tel: 210.967.1770 Cocktails overlooking Vouliagmeni Bay

Ethnikis Antistaseos & Psaron 1 Tel: 210.684.0460 Mexican flavours in a traditional setting

Chefi's

insider athens | November - December 2015 59

Insider guide Eat & Drink Ex Anatolis

Vasileos Georgiou 33, Halandri, 210.681.3607 Spicy middle eastern cuisine

Saipan

K. Varnali 9, Tel: 210.685.0644 Exquisite dishes from China, Japan and Indonesia

Psomi & Alati

Eleftherioton Sq 8, Tel.: 210.684.8178 Gastronomic paradise serving Greek dishes with a modern twist

Rakokazano

Irakliou 1, Tel: 210.689.5501 Quality Greek mezzes in a cosy simple environment

Fish Co. Platters Perikleous 11, Tel: 210.671.1976 A modern take on a traditional psarotaverna

Gaspar Food and Mood Dim. Vasiliou Av. & Lykourgou, Tel: 210.677.5011 Creative bistro cuisine ideal fro business lunches

Krithamos Mpoumpoulinas & N. Paritsi, Tel: 210.672.8790 Traditional flavours in an informal atmosphere

Matilde Pizza Bar

Santa Fe

Ag. Georgiou 30’B, Tel: 210.685.9690 Mexican food in traditional setting

Perikleous 7, Tel: 210.671.6803 Italian fare with accent on high quality ingredients

Wine Not

Kalogrezis 12, Tel: 210.689.0007 Industrial setting with eclectic wine list

Ombra Olimpionikon 220 & Lykourgou, Tel: 210.671.1320 Italian food with attitude

DRINK Hide & Seek

Kifisias 254, Tel: 210.677.6747 Great drink menu and perfect garden for spring and summer

Spiti Cocktail Bar

Αndrea Papantreou 9, Tel: 210.683.3677 Great cocktails and sophisticated jazz tunes

Psychico EAT 310 Street

Kifissias Av. 310, Tel: 210.671.0688 Juicy burgers and rich salads with retro look

Albion

Omirou 6, Tel: 210.674.0710 Mediterranean flavours in a cosy atmosphere

Antaios

G. Drosini 7, Tel: 210.675.5493 Relaxed atmosphere with delicious mezedes

Bluefield Burger

Aggelopoulou 3, Tel: 210.677.7739 For real American burgers

The Burger Joint

Solomou 4-6, Tel: 210.671.2222 New York style, organic burgers in an industrial and fresh restaurant environment.

China’s Fantasy

Kambouroglou 32, Tel: 210.674.9889 Chinese cuisine

Piperia Agg. Sikelianou 8 & Andrianiou, Tel: 210.672.9114 Terrific fusion food with piquant flavours

Rena tis Ftelias 25th Martiou 28, Tel: 210.674.3874 Highly recommended Greek taverna

Kifissia EAT Artisanal Zirini 2, Tel: 693.614.4744 Unique lounge & garden with exceptional classy touch

Berdema Skiathou 3 & Strofiliou, Kifisia, 210.620.1108 Family restaurant with Mediterranean fare

Buba Papadiamanti 4, Tel: 210.623.1151 Mixing pot of cuisines from around the world

Cash Diligianni 54, Tel: 212.100.4772 Cosmopolitan hang-out with upscale Mediterranean cuisine

Common Secret Kifissias 324, Tel: 210.623.3810 Coffee and light Mediterranean meals in a pleasant setting

Harilaou Trikoupi & Gortinias Tel: 210.801.3588, Chinese classic popular for the brunch buffet

Gourounakia Kifissias

Kifissias 289, Tel: 210.801.1093 Delicious salads, appetizers, souvlakia & grilled platters

Il Salumaio

Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Specially-prepared Italian meals

Jaipur Palace

Kifissias 222, Tel: 210.808.8318 Indian cuisine and fine wines

Kastelorizo

Platanon 2, Tel: 210.807.5408 Part of a chain of upscale seafood restaurants that is sure to please

Kokkino Psaraki

Evagelistrias 36, Tel: 210.620.1572 Seafood taverna

Kool Life

Life Gallery, Thiseos 103, Tel: 211.106.7400 Innovative cuisine in a cool restaurant cum deli

La Gabinoteca

Andrianiou 37, Tel: 210.671.0100 Delectable seafood and frech oysters

Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.800.1402 Divine food from all over the world

60 insider athens | November - December 2015

Suba

Levidou 11, Tel: 210.8085.586 A blend of traditional and modern Japanese cuisine

Telemachos Barbeque Club

Fragkopoulou 22, Tel: 210.807.6680 Rare meats char-grilled to perfection

The Dalliance House

Kyriazis 19, Tel: 210.623.0775 The 19th century meets the 21st in beautiful setting, with successful recipes

Tomoe

Gortinias 11& Dangli, Kifissia, Tel: 210.801.3553 Great sushi at terrific prices

DRINK Dyo 48

Kifisias 248, Tel: 210.623.0870 New hang out oasis with retro ambience

Stamata Ave. 5, Drossia.

Tel: 210.800.4700 Open from Mondays to Friday from 3 pm to midnight and on weekends from 1pm to midnight

Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.807.7709 Selection of wines from all over the world

Kifisias 363, Tel: 211.408.1132 Fantastic pizza made with local ingredients from all over Greece

Cellier

Harilaou Trikoupi 50, Tel: 210.808.3333 Lebanese cuisine in a cosmopolitan ambience

Maroussi

Mangiamo by Meat Square

Margherita

Nargile

Nui

Gortinias 11, Tel: 210.801.3553 Gourmet mutli-Asian restaurant

Oozora

Agiou Trifonos 15, Tel: 210.801.8515 Japanese-Thai fusion Restaurant

O Tzitzikas Ki O Mermigas

Drosini 12-14, Tel: 210.623.0080 A modern taverna serving traditional dishes at reasonable prices

Paul

Levidou 4, Tel: 210.808.4288 French boulangerie

Rakkan

Gefsis Me Onomasia Proelefsis

Semiramis Hotel, Harilaou Trikoupi 48, Tel: 210.628.4500 Mediterranean cuisine in a hip atmosphere

Mento Café

Prytaneion

Elaias Gi

Semiramis Restaurant

Th. Diligianni 56, Kefalari Tel: 210.808.3988 Tapas bar with decadent atmosphere

Kyriazi 24, Tel: 210.808.7906 Excellent Mexican food & super margaritas

Dim. Vasiliou 16, Tel: 210.671.3997 All day café-restaurant

Dourampeis Oyster

Golden Phoenix

Dos Hermanos

Dexamenis & Olimpionikon 4, Tel: 210.62.00.005 The authenticity of Greek cuisine with stunning views of the city

Dioskouroi

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Kolokotroni 37, Tel: 210.808.9160 Generous portions of Mediterranean fare Kifisias 238-240, Tel: 210.808.7941 Japanese restaurant, bar, lounge with signature cocktails

Royal Thai

Zirini 12, Tel: 210.623.2322 Thai cuisine in an opulent setting

Salumaio di Atene

Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Authentic Italian food & fabulous desserts

Ag. Theodorou 10, Tel: 210.808.0193 Traditional home turned stylish cafe

Vinifera

Food & Wine Kifissias 369, Tel: 210.801.8756 By far, one of the best cellars stocking the finest labels in town

Agani

Kifissias 22, Tel: 210.277.7065 Delectable, inspired Greek cuisine

Altamira

Perikleous 28, Tel: 210.612.8841 Multiethnic cuisine in funky environment

Aneton

Stratigou Lekka 19, Tel: 210.806.6700 Traditional cuisine in a comfy-chic setting reminiscent of the 50s & 60s

Mauzac

Alamanas 1, Tel: 210.619.9902 Clean lines and a beautiful garden make this café, bar, restaurant a must

Pausa

Ag. Konstantinou 46 & Ifestou 3 Tel: 210.617.9290 Italian cuisine accompanied by a selection of Greek & Italian wines

Wagamama

Kifissias 37A, Tel: 210.683.6844 Fresh, nutritious Asian fusion food in a sleek yet simple setting

Whispers of wine Ag. Konstantinou 48, Tel: 210.617.9051 Gourmet food with rich wine list and vintage decor

Acropolis

get a prescription cream made up and have a quick massage

Gifts

Harnn Shop

Greece is for Lovers Valtetsiou 50 - 52, Tel: 210.924.5064 www.greeceisforlovers.com Tongue-in-cheek souvenirs for the discerning traveller

Exarhia Antiques Syllektiko Paleopolio Asklipiou 41, Tel: 210.364.1718 Antiques of all sorts and restoration services

Vinyl Microstore Didotou 34, Tel: 210.361.4544 New vinyls & cds; also reissues from the 60s & more

Yesterday's Bread Kallidromiou 87-89, Tel: 210.881.1233 Imported second-hand clothes; individuality guaranteed

Kolonaki Antiques Kilim Hali Valaoritou 9, Tel: 210.363.7056 www.kilimhali.gr Antique carpets from around the world

Beauty &Cosmetics Apivita Solonos 6, Tel: 210.364.0560 Shop natural Greek cosmetics,

Irakleitou 15, Tel: 210.364.5428 Beautifully packaged skincare and homespa products

Children Jack in the Box

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr Dior Boutique

Paul & Shark

Voukourestiou 18-20, Tel: 210.361.3014 High-end designer fashion

Anagnostopoulou 6, Tel: 210.339.2334 Casual yachting styles

DKNY

Preview

Solonos 8, Tel: 210.360.3775 Classic American sportswear

Patriarchou Ioakim 19, Tel: 210.722.4731 High fashion designer shoes

Elina Lebessi Iraklitou 13, Tel: 210.363.1731 Ethereal frocks, pretty tea-dresses and accessories from around the world

Haritos 13, Tel: 210.725.8735 Beautiful wooden toys and more

Ermenegildo Zegna

Marie Chantal Boutique

Free Shop

Spefsippou 11, Tel: 210.722.2029 Old-fashioned chic for little princes and princesses

Voukourestiou 50, Tel: 210.364.1308 A haven of hip, carrying labels from Balenciaga to Martin Margiela to Marlene Birger

Mouyer

Kalogirou

Kanari 8, Tel: 210.361.7714 Good-quality orthopaedic shoes as well as funkier styles

Patriarchou Ioakim 4, Tel: 210.335.6401 Fetish footwear from Prada, Tod's & Casadei

Fashion Atelier Loukia

Skoufa 18, Tel: 210.361.3700 Home of fine fabrics and handsome tailor-finished suits

Rere Papa Skoufa 62, Tel: 210.364.4300 Distinctive creations by two young Greek women and other international imports

Thalassa Collection Patriarchou Ioakim 30-32 Tel: 210.725.8525 Original silk designs for scarves, ties, shawls & blouses

The Tsitouras Collection Skoufa 10 Tel: 210.362.2326 Designer homeware and accessories

Vlassis Holevas

Lacoste Solonos 5, Tel: 210.361.8030 French take on American sportswear

Anagnostopoulou 19, Tel: 210.361.6167 Elegant fashion with a contemporary twist

Kanari 24, Tel: 210.362.7334 Fairytale dresses in lace and embroidery from Greece's doyenne designer

Lanvin

Flowers

Iraklitou 9, Tel: 210.360.8315 Alber Elbaz's gloriously chic take on the classic French couture house

Fleria

Bespoke Athens

Linea Piu

Anagnostopoulou 15-17 Tel: 210.364.5518, Made-to-measure suits and shirts from top international tailors

Sekeri 6, Tel: 210 360.6125 Collections from exclusive fashion houses including Chanel, Galliano, Lagerfeld and Sonia Rykiel

Boss Store

Luisa

Amerikis 19, Tel: 210.338.9080 Smart separates for a work wardrobe

Skoufa 15, Tel: 210.363.5600 Designer emporium stocked with Chloe, Roberto Cavalli, Ralph Lauren, Missoni & more

Deux Hommes Kanari 18, Tel: 210.361.4155 Greece's design ambassadors create structural separates and heavenly bridal gowns. www.deuxhommes.gr

Marc by Marc Jacobs Xanthou 3, Tel: 210.363.6030 Budget knick-knacks and must-have casuals from America's fashion hero

Bespoke Athens

Patriarchou Ioakim 35, Tel: 210.722.9697

Food & Wine Cava Anthidis Ypsilantou 13-15, Tel: 210.725.1050 Comprehensive wine and liquor wholesalers

Kylix Karneadou 20, Tel: 210.724.5143 Quality picks from the world’s best vineyards; including Greek labels

Wine Garage Xenokratous 25, Tel: 210.721.3175 Browser-friendly cava with helpful service

Ilias Lalaounis museum

Central Athens

Insider guide Shop

insider athens | November - December 2015 61

Insider guide Shop Gadgets Octopus Solonos 15, Tel: 210.363 6677 Quirky designs with a sense of humour

Gifts Benaki Museum Gift Shop Vas. Sofias & Koumbari Tel: 210.367.1045 Artefacts and jewellery inspired by the museum’s exhibits

Liana Vourakis

Anagnostopoulou 26-28, Tel. 2103617705

Home Christofle Koumbari 5, Tel: 210.362.0483 Classis silver and crystal ideal for wedding gifts

La Fenetre Irodotou 21, Tel: 210.723.5029 Elegant objects and sophisticated gifts for the house, mostly from France

Folli Follie

Miran

Tsakalof 6 & Solonos 25 Tel: 210.323.0739 Greece's high-street export stocks affordable watches and everyday bijoux

Evripidou 45, Tel: 210.321.7187 Sausages, pastrami & cured meats

Liana Vourakis Anagnostopoulou 26-8 Tel: 210.362.2564 For unique baptism and wedding gifts, start here

Oxette Skoufa 37, Tel: 210.339.0547 Trendy, affordable jewellery

Ozzi Skoufa 30, Tel: 210.364.2139 Greek silver fashion jewellery

Ivikou 8 & Eratosthenous Tel: 210.722.2774 Natural Greek products made using Mediterranean herbs

Plaka

Panepistimiou 41, Tel: 210.323.7405 Luggage & travel bags by Tumi, Porsche Design, Rimowa & Delsey

Antiques Antiqua Vassilis Amalias 2-4, Tel: 210.323.2220 One of the oldest antique stores in Athens

Voukourestiou 1, Tel: 210.331.0319 The jeweller of the international jetset

Martinos

Fresh Line

Pandrosou 50, Tel: 210.321.2414 Specializes in 19th Century folk art, embroidery & furniture

MAC

Monastiraki Antiques

Food & wine Mesogaia

Normanou 7, Tel: 210.331.1638 Small antique shop in the heart of the flea market

Paleovivliopolio Hiotakis Normanou 7, Tel: 210.324.7835 Historic bookshop houses rare & old books

Pindarou 29, Tel: 210.360.7878 Smartly designed necklaces, bracelets and rings

Food & Wine DELICATESSEN

Elena Votsi

Arapian

Xanthou 7, Tel: 210.360.0936 Conversation-starting pieces in gold and stone

Evripidou 41, Tel: 210.321.7238 Old-style butcher shop offers interesting sausages, pasturma & smoked meats

Patriarchou Ioakim 23 Tel: 210.721.1762, Unique collection of animal and insect pins & earrings

Korres

Bag Stories

Beauty & Cosmetics

Patriarchou Ioakim 33, Tel: 210.723.7656, A range of international brands in crystal, china and other eye-catching homeware accessories

Fanourakis

BEAUTY & COSMETICS

Accessories

Antiques

Darousos

Apriati

Pangrati

Syntagma

Van Cleef & Arpels

Parousiasi

Jewellery

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Bahar Evripidou 31, Tel: 210.321.7225 Well-known herb haven

62 insider athens | November - December 2015

Nikis 52, Tel: 210.322.9146 Packaged & fresh speciality foods

Gifts Amorgos Kodrou 3, Tel: 210.324.3836 Hand-carved & painted furniture

Psyrri Fashion Christoforos Kotentos Sachtouri 3, Tel: 210.325.5434 Glamorous & unique designs

Ermou 30, Tel: 210.324.6500 Fresh organic cosmetics from Greece Ermou 44, Tel: 210.325.8260 International cosmetic brand for women who like to play with colour

Books Eleftheroudakis Panepistimiou 17, Tel: 210.325.8440 The largest foreign language bookstore in Greece

Department Stores Attica Panepistimiou 9, Tel: 211.180.2600 Home to an array of luxury goods

Fashion - Men’s

Home

Pagoni

Notoshome

Akadimias 61, Tel: 210.363.9277 Selling ties and cufflinks since 1933

Kratinou 3, Tel: 210.374.3000 Home décor superstore

Zayiana

Flowers

Chopard

Dromoloulouda

Stadiou 2 & Vas. Georgiou 210.325.0555Legendary time pieces and jewellery.

Voulis 15, Tel: 210.323.2321 Specializing in arrangements with wild flowers, many indigenous to Greece

Food & Wine Aristokratikon Karageorgi Servas 9, Tel: 210.322.0546 Handmade chocolates

Cellier Kriezotou 1, Tel: 210.361.0040 Speciality wine shop

Gadgets Public Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.324.6210, Five floors of gaming, gadgets & books

Gifts Graf Von Faber-Castell Boutique Panepistimiou 41, Tel: 210.321.8564 Traditional hand-held writing utensils

Kori Mitropoleos 13, Tel: 210.323.3534 Traditional & contemporary jewellery

Psarros 1917 Stadiou 3, Tel: 210.322.0908 Executive gifts and smoking accessories

Folli Follie Ermou 18, Tel: 210.323.0739 Trendy & affordable jewellery & accessories

Gofas Stadiou 3, Tel: 210.331.7540 High-end timepieces

Ilias Lalaounis Panepistimiou 6, Tel: 210.361.1371 Fabulous gold designs by famous Greek jeweller

Kessaris

Panepistimiou 7, Tel: 210.323.2919 Wide range of luxury brand timepieces

Marathianakis Voukourestiou 21, Tel: 210.362.7118 Old-world shop known for its original & elegant designs

Omega Voukourestiou 2, Tel: 210.322.7682 Omega, the brand of James Bond and Nicole Kidman, has its own elegant boutique on Voukourestiou showcasing the brand’s collections

Pentheroudakis Voukourestiou 19, Tel: 210.361.3187 Timeless pieces inspired by classical Greek design

Zolotas

Voukourestiou 21, Tel: 210.362.2863 Fine crystal from the venerable French luxury house

Panepistimiou 10, Tel: 210.360.1272 Designs inspired by the antique & classical periods as well as contemporary collections by designers like Paloma Picasso www.zolotas.gr

Jewellery

Shoes

Apriati

Spiliopoulos

Home Baccarat

Pentelis 9 & Mitropoleos, Tel: 210.322.9020 Smartly designed necklaces, bracelets and rings

Bulgari Voukourestiou 8, Tel: 210.324.7118 Opulent designs in jewellery, watches & accessories

Cartier Voukourestiou 7, Tel: 210.331.3600 Two floors of designs & timepieces by the prestigious Cartier maison

Pentheroudakis

Southern Athens

Chopard

Ermou 63, Tel: 210.322.7590 Pick up a pair of Manolo’s at half price!

Vassilis Zoulias Old Athens Akadimias 4, Tel: 210.361.4762 Handmade shoes and handbags inspired by films of the 50s

& 60s

Glyfada Fashion Enny di Monaco Laodikis 41, Tel: 210.894.0153 Carefully selected designs by various international designers

Obervatory Attitudes A. Panagouli 17, Tel: 210.894.2113 The ultimate fashion store www.attitudes.gr

Saltwater Astir Beach, Vouliagmeni 210.894.0813 Designer beach and resortwear

Zayiana A. Metaxa 19 Tel: 210.898.32.69 www.zayiana.com

Kifissia Fashion 21 Kifissia Kifissias 265, Tel: 210.801.3594 Extreme sport paraphernelia

Food & Wine Aristokratikon Argyropoulou 8, Tel: 210.801.6533 Decadent handmade chocolates

Bakaliko Ola Ta Kala Kifissias 238-240, Mela Shopping Centre, Tel: 210.808.9908 Quality Greek delicacies

Sorpresa Italiana Kiriazi 6-8, Tel: 210.801.7886, Authentic fresh Italian pasta, sauces, truffles & more

Stefanidis Finest Foods Dimitrios Square 13, Tel: 210.808.2191 Excellent European delicatessen

Varsos Kassaveti 5, Tel: 210.801.2472 Milk products & patisserie

Jewellery

Maroussi

ZerTeo Metaxa 24-26, Tel: 210.894.6682 Unique jewellery designs

Department Stores Golden Hall Kifissias 37A, Tel: 210.680.3450 131 high-end (and high-street) stores for anyone with a passion for fashion

Food & Wine Provence

The Mall Athens

Posidonos 80, Tel: 210.898.1435 Gourmet French delicatessen

20%

Northern Athens

Shop

Andrea Papandreou 35 Tel: 210.630.0000, Shops, cinemas and food

Off!

Cut this coupon & avail of 20% off on all exclusive brands at Sephora’s stores in Greece.

insider athens | November - December 2015 63

see & do Athinais Cultural Centre formerly a silk factory, this space has been converted into a large cultural centre. astorias 34-36, Votanikos. Tel: 210.348.0000.

B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music Vas. Sofias 9 & Merlin 1, Athens Tel: 210.361.1206 Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre 48 Armatolon-Klephton st.

Athens, Tel: 210.643.9466 Megaron Mousikis (The Athens Concert Hall) live concerts, operas and other performances. Vas. Sofias Ave. & Kokkali. Tel: 210.728.2333 Michael Cacoyannis Foundation Piraeus 206, Tavros, Tel: 210.341.8550 Onassis Cultural Centre Syngrou 107-109, Athens, Tel: 213.017.8000 The Art Foundation Normanou 5, Athens, Tel: 210.323.8757 Badminton Theatre Goudi, Athens, Tel: 211 101 0020 Gialino Music Theatre Sygrou 143, N. Smyrni, Athens Tel: 210.9316.101-4 Pallas Theatre Voukourestiou 5, Athens, Tel: 210.321.3100

Acropolis is open daily and entrance, includes archaeological sites. Tel: 201.321.0219 Ancient Agora was the heart of ancient Athens - the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social life for centuries.

Byzantine Churches many churches dating from the 11th and 12th centuries are found around the city. Noteworthy examples include: Agios Eleftherios, next to the cathedral on Mitropoleos Street; Kapnikarea, halfway down Ermou Street from Syntagma; Agi Apostoli, Agora area south of Stoa of Attalos; and Agia Triada (Russian Orthodox church) on Filellinon Street.

Churches are open to the public on Sundays and holidays, also usually for daily prayers 7am-1pm and 4-6:30pm. Dress soberly when

64 insider athens | November - December 2015

Agora Museum Located in the Stoa of Attalos, Athens. Tel: 210.321.0185.

Atelier Spyros Vassiliou Webster 5A, Athens.

Tel: 210.923.1502, spyrosvassiliou.org Athens University History Museum Tholou 5, Plaka, Tel: 210.368.9502, history-museum.uoa.gr Benaki Museum Koumbari 1 & Vas. Sofias Avenue, Athens Tel: 210.367.1000, benaki.gr Benaki Museum of Islamic Arts Dipylou 12, Kerameikos. Tel: 210.325.1311, benaki.gr

Benaki Museum, Pireos Pireos 138 & Andronikou, Gazi Tel: 210.345.3111, benaki.gr Byzantine Museum Vas. Sofias 22, Kolonaki. Tel: 210.721.1027 Hellenic Cosmos Foundation of the Hellenic world Pireos 254, Tavros. Tel: 212.254.0000. hellenic-cosmos.gr Frissiras Vlassis Museum of Contemporary European Art Monis Asteriou 3-7, Plaka, Tel: 210.323.4678 frissirasmuseum.com Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art Neofytou Douka 4, Athens .Tel: 210.722.8321 cycladic.gr Herakleidon Herakleidon 16, Thissio, Tel: 210-346.1981. herakleidon-art.gr Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum Karyatidon & Kallisperi 12, Makrygianni, Acropolis. Tel: 210.922.7260, lalaounis.com Jewish Museum Nikis 39, Plaka. Tel: 210.322.5582. jewishmuseum.gr Kerameikos Museum Ermou 148, Monastiraki, Tel: 210.346.3552.

National Archaeological Museum Patission 44, Athens, Tel: 210.821.7724 National Gallery and Alexandros Soutsos Museum Vas. Konstantinou 50, Athens.

Tel: 210.723.5857, 210.723.5937 Numismatic Museum Panepistimiou 12, Athens.

Tel: 210.363.5953, nma.gr The Acropolis Museum Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.924.1043, theacropolismuseum.gr The National Art Gallery and Alexander Soutzos Museum Michalakopoulou 1 - Vas. Constantinou 1, Athens, Tel: 210-7235857 Allou Fun Park Kifissou & Petrou Ralli, Ag. Ioannis Rentis, Tel: 210.425.6999, allou.gr Children’s Museum Kydathinaeon 14, Plaka, Tel: 210.331.2995.

Goulandris Museum of Natural History Levidou 13, Kifissia.

Tel: 210.801.5870, gnhm.gr Greek Folk Art Museum Daily Karaghiozis puppet shows!

Kydathinaeon 17, Plaka, Tel: 210.322.9031 Museum of Children’s Art Kodrou 9, Plaka, Tel: 210.331.2621 childrensartmuseum.gr Summit The Wall Sport Climbing Center Ag. Athanasiou 12, Pallini, Tel: 210.603.0093, summit.gr Westin Kids Club Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni, Tel: 210.890.2000 http://www.westinathens.com/en/westin_kids_club/

Just for kids

Galleries

A. Antonopoulou Art Aristofanous 20, Psyrri Tel: 210.321.4994 Artzone 42 42 Vas. Konstantinou, Athens, Tel: 210 725 9549 Astrolavos Dexameni Xanthippou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.4342 Astrolavos ArtLife Irodotou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.722.1200 Athens Art Gallery Glykonos 4, Dexameni Sq., Athens, Tel: 210 721 3938 Bernier/Eliades Gallery Eptachalkou 11, Thissio, Tel: 210.341.3935 (The) Breeder Gallery Iasonas 45, Metaxurgeio, Tel: 210.331.7527 Ekfrasi Gallery Valaoritou 9a,Tel: 210 360 7598 Eleni Marneri Galerie Lebessi 5-7& Porinou 16, Acropolis Tel: 210.8619.488 EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art Vas. Georgiou B 17 - 19 & Rigilis Athens, Tel: 210 9242 111-3 Gagosian Gallery Merlin 3, Athens, Tel: 210 364 0215 K-Art Gallery Sina 54, Athens, Tel: 211.401.3877 Kalfayan Gallery Haritos 11, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.721.7679 Kourd Gallery Kassiani 2-4, Athens, Tel: 210.642.6573 Skoufa Gallery Skoufa 4, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.360.3541 Stavros Mihaliaras Art 260 Kifissias & Diligianni, Kifissia Tel: 210.623.0928 Thanassis Frisssiras Gallery Kriezotou 7, Athens, Tel: 210. 364.0288 The Art Foundation (TAF) Normanou 5, Monastiraki, Tel: 210.323.8757 The Eynard Mansion Aghiou Konstantinou 20 & Menandrou, Athens, Tel: 210 322 1335 Titanium Yiayiannos Vas. Konstantinou 44, Pangrati, Tel: 210.729.7644 Xippas Gallery Sofokleous 53D, Athens, Tel: 210 331 9333

visiting. Technopolis (Gazi) a 19th century gas factory turned major cultural centre for performing arts and installation works.

Pireos 100 & Ermou, Gazi. Tel: 210.346.1589.

Hadrian’s Arch a Roman arch that marked the boundary of ancient Athens and the new city. Located at the corner of Vas. Olgas and Amalias Avenues. Lykavittos Hill is the highest point in Athens. Take the teleferique from the top of Ploutarchou St. Odeon of Herod Atticus built in 161 AD, this is where the Athens Festival takes place. Accessible for €1.50 and open daily from 8:30am. Panathenian Stadium “Kalimarmaro”was the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896. Located at Vassileos Konstantinou and Agras, across from the National Garden. Pnyx Hill here, for the first time in history, every citizen could vote, giving Pnyx the name the “birthplace of democracy”. Close by is the beautiful Old Observatory. Presidential Palace formerly the Royal Palace, this building is used by the President of Greece to host dignitaries. Irodou Attikou Street. Stoa of Attalos shopping arcade built in the 2nd century BC and totally reconstructed in the 1950s. Tues-Sun 8:30am-3pm. Admission to the Agora and museum €3.50. Adrianou 24. Tel: 210.321.0185 Syntagma (Constitution Square) is the heart of the city and the best spot for new visitors to orient themselves. The Evzones, dressed in traditional uniforms, guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament. The changing-of-the-guard ceremony takes place every hour. Temple of Olympian Zeus once the largest temple in ancient Greece, its ruins lie just behind Hadrian’s Arch. Mon-Sun 8am-7:30pm. €2.00. Vas. Olgas and Amalias Avenues, Tel: 210.922.6330. Theatre of Dionysus built in the 5th century BC is where the plays of Aristophanes, Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles were first performed.

Tower of Winds the octagonal tower, representing the eight directions of the wind, was built in the 1st century BC by the Syrian astronomer Andronicus. Mon-Sun 8am-7pm. Just east of the Ancient Agora.

Tel: 10.324.5220.

Museums

Tel: 210.322.9705

Cultural venues

ASSOCIATION OF GUIDES

Zoumboulakis Gallery Kolonaki Square 20, Kolonaki Tel: 210.360.8278 Zoumboulakis Gallery Kriezotou 6, Syntagma, Tel: 210.363.4454

Sites Theatres

ORGANISED TOURS

partner hotels ARION RESORT & SPA

ATHENS HILTON

COCO-MAT HOTEL NAFSIKA

DIVANI PALACE ACROPOLIS

The legendary beauty resort is part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Breathtaking views of the Saronic Gulf, elegant and sophisticated décor in all 123 rooms and suites, private swimming pools and beaches, spa and gourmet restaurants.

Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni.

Tel: 210.890.2000

508 renovated rooms, two pools, banquet rooms restaurants, convention facilities, business centre & spa. The rooftop Galaxy bar has gorgeous city views.

Vas. Sofias 46, Kesariani.

Tel: 210.728.1000

Located in Kifissia, the hotel offers an unforgettable experience thanks to COCO-MAT‘s unique sleep systems in its 22 guest rooms, power breakfast, bike rids and herb garden.

Pellis 6, Kifissia. Tel: 210.801.8027

Located at the base of the Acropolis and close to Plaka. Pool with bar, roof garden restaurant with Acropolis view.

Parthenonos 19-25 Makrigianni, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.928.0100

ATHENAEUM INTERCONTINENTAL ATHENS

ATHENS LEDRA HOTEL

Crowne plaza

GRANDE BRETAGNE

543 rooms with renovated Deluxe rooms and suites. Dedicated business centre facilities and 3.500 m2 of extensive & flexible meeting space. New I-Spa and renovated gym. Award winning restaurants.

Syngrou 89-93, Neos Kosmos.

Tel: 210.920.6000

314 deluxe guest rooms, 18 suites.

Rooftop swimming pool and bar, health club, Polynesian - Tepanyiaki Restaurant, Ledra Kai and sports bar.

Syngrou 115, Neos Kosmos.

Tel: 210.930.0000

Newly renovated, at a very convenient location attracts both business and leisure travellers. Amenities include restaurant, bar, rooftop swimming pool, conference and business facilities, garage parking.

Michalakopoulou 50, Athens.

Tel: 210.727.8000

This city landmark is part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. All 265 rooms and 56 suites are decorated with original artwork and antiques. Reception areas, ballrooms, roof garden with Acropolis view. Luxury spa, indoor and outdoor pools.

Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210.333.0000

ATHENIAN CALLIRHOE HOTEL

CIVITEL ATTIK

DIVANI APOLLON PALACE & SPA

Holiday Inn Attica Avenue

66 state-of the-art rooms, 15 executive rooms and 3 suites. The acclaimed Etrusco Restaurant serves top quality Mediterranean cuisine.

Kallirois 32 & Petmeza, Neos Kosmos.

Tel: 210.921.5353

A tranquil first-class business, sports and family hotel set in the leafy green suburb of Maroussi, with a swimming pool, conference facilities and spacious restaurant with terrace.

Eptalofou 13 – 15, Maroussi. Τel: 210.610.1000

Located seaside with a magnificent view of the Saronic Gulf. All rooms with balconies and sea views. Indoor and outdoor pools, boutiques, beauty parlor, business centre and spa.

Ag. Nikolaou 10 & Iliou, KavouriVouliagmeni. Tel: 210.891.1100

New five-star property on Attica Avenue linking Athens with the international airport. State-of-the art conference facilities, restaurant, two bars, pool and fitness center.

40.2 km Attica Road, between exits 17 & 18, Spata. Tel: 210.668.9000

ATHENS ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL

CIVITEL OLYMPIC

DIVANI CARAVEL

Holiday Suites

Located in historic Plaka beneath the Acropolis. Facilities include bar, restaurant, spa area with indoor swimming pool, business centre, garden and underground parking.

N. Nikodimou 18-20, Plaka.

Tel: 210.337.0000

Right across the Olympic Stadium, its Superior Rooms and Junior Suites are fitted with modern amenities, from free minibar to free wifi internet access and interactive tv.

Kifissias 2A & Pantanassis, Maroussi.

Tel: 210.680.1900

Situated close to major tourist attractions with, rooftop restaurant and swimming pool.

Vas. Alexandrou 2, Kesariani.

Tel: 210.720.7000

Elegant, all-suite hotel offering high standard accommodation. Each suite provides guests with a separate living room and kitchenette.

Arnis 4, Ilissia.

Tel: 210.727.8000

insider athens | November - December 2015 65

partner hotels KEFALARI SUITES

METROPOLITAN

Royal Olympic

THEOXENIA PALACE HOTEL

Turn-of-the-century hotel in Kifissia, part of YES! Hotels.Themed suites with modern facilities.

Pentelis 1, Kifissia.

Tel: 210.623.3333

Beautifully renovated property with views of the sea and the Acropolis. Ten minutes from central Athens, the port of Piraeus and main exhibition centers.

Syngrou Av. 385, P. Faliro.

Tel: 210.947.1000

Near the Acropolis Museum. 265 rooms and 45 unique Panorama Suites, overlooking the Temple of Zeus and the Acropolis. Pool, business center, convention and banquet facilities. Roof Garden Restaurant/Bar “Ioannis”. 28-34, Ath. Diakou Str., Acropolis Tel: 210.928.8400

In an elegant neoclassical building, this hotel has a restaurant, gym, sauna and outdoor pool. Business centre, internet & conference facilities.

Filadelfeos 2, Kifissia.

Tel: 210.623.3622

KING GEORGE

NEW

SEMIRAMIS

THE MARGI

Situated in the heart of the city, it’s 102 guest rooms and suites are elegantly furnished and natural wood floors. Meeting & Conference spaces, restaurants with panoramic views. Vas. Georgiou A’ 3.

Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210.322.2210

Designed by the Campana brothers, NEW, the latest venture of YES! Hotels has 79 luxury rooms, including 18 Studios and 6 Junior Suites. NEW Taste, is the Hotel’s innovative restaurant concept.

Filellinon 16, Syntagma.

Tel: 210.3273000

YES! Hotel designed by Karim Rashid.

51 luxury rooms, 4 suites and 6 poolside bungalows. Ultra-trendy bar-restaurant.

Harilaou Trikoupi 48, Kefalari-Kifissia.

Tel: 210.628.4400

Boutique hotel with 90 spacious rooms and suites and great views to the sea and pine forests. Baku Restaurant offers a unique dining experience while Malabar and the Lobby lounge are perfect for a glass of champagne.

Close to the lake, beach and tennis courts.

Litous 11, Vouliagmeni. Tel: 210.892.9000

LIFE GALLERY

NJV athens plaza

SOFITEL ATHENS AIRPORT

THE WESTIN ATHENS

Modern architecture finds its expression in a minimalist designed building with discreet swimming pools, Zen gardens and ethnic elements. The hotel offers 29 spacious, luxury rooms, including 3 art studios and 2 suites and a spa and fitness centre.

Thiseos Avenue 103, Ekali. Tel: 211.106.7400

Boutique-style hotel with 182 rooms including 23 suites with breathtaking views of the Acropolis, ideally located in the heart of the business and shopping district within walking distance of Plaka. 2, Vas.Georgiou A’ St, Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210 3352400

Airport hotel. Executive floor, business center and conference facilities. Two bars and two restaurants. Health club and covered swimming pool.

Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, Spata. Tel: 210.354.4000

Part of the Astir Palace Complex with 162 guest rooms and suites and views of the Saronic Gulf. Sea view lounges, trendy bars, fusion and Mediterranean cuisine restaurants and private gazebos by an Olympic-sized pool.

Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni. Tel: 210.890.2000

MELIÁ ATHENS

NOVOTEL

ST. GEORGE LYCABETTUS HOTEL

TITANIA HOTEL

Located in the heart of Athens with 136 luxury rooms, spacious dining areas, a modern health club and views of historic monuments.

Chalkokondili 14 & 28th Octovriou, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.332.0100

Located in the center of Athens. Two Bars/Restaurants at outdoor Rooftop Pool & lobby area, play area, gym, free indoor parking, free Wi-Fi and panoramic view from the Roof Garden.

4-6 Michail Voda Street, Vathis Square.

Tel: 210.820.0700

Located in the upper part of Kolonaki, not far from the Lycabettus (Lykavittos) funicular railway. Excellent restaurant, Le Grand Balcon. Rooftop swimming pool.

Kleomenous 2, Dexamenis Square, Kolonaki. Tel: 210.741.6000

Located in the heart of the historical and commercial center. The recently refurbished suites and rooms combine style with comfort. Awarded Gourmet Restaurant “Olive Garden”, underground garage, fitness center. Panepistimiou 52, Omonoia, Tel: 210.332600

66 insider athens | November - December 2015

partner hotels TwentyOne

Herodion

SANTORINI

COSTA NAVARINO The Westin Resort Costa Navarino

MYSTIQUE

A five minute walk to Plaka. 90 guest rooms, meeting facilities and a lovely atrium bar-coffee shop.

Rovertou Galli 4, Makrigianni.

Tel: 210.923.6832

Inspired by old Messinian mansions, its 445 deluxe rooms, suites, 123 with private infinity pools, offer access to an extensive common pool areas, and reflect Westin’s soothing aesthetic.

Navarino Dunes Costa Navarino, Pilos Messinia, Tel: 27230.95000

Mystique is an 18 villa hotel, designed by Frank Le Fevbre.

Mystique, Oia. Tel. 22860.71114

AVA HOTEL & SUITES

HOTEL ELECTRA

The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort

The Tsitouras Collection Hotel

Luxurious apartments and suites in Plaka. Magnificent views of the Acropolis, Hadrian’s Arch and Zeus Temple. Short walk to Syntagma.

Lysikratous 9-11, Plaka.

Tel: 210.325.9000

Within walking distance from all archaeological sites, business and commercial districts. Includes bar, restaurant, lobby and meeting areas.

Ermou 5, Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210.337.8000

289 exquisitely appointed rooms and 32 suites with individual infinity pools.

Traditional Greek design with contemporary touches.

Navarino Dunes Costa Navarino, Pilos Messinia, Tel: 27230.96000

Art and hospitality are graciously combined in the unique backdrop of a dramatic landscape.

Firostefani, Santorini Tel: 22860.23747

amarilia hotel

PERISCOPE HOTEL

A member of YES! Hotels. Modern design and simple architectural charm.

16 ergonomically designed rooms and 5 loft suites. “21” Bar Restaurant for indoor and outdoor dining.

Kolokotroni 21, Kifissia Tel: 210.623.3521

A CATEGORY

evia

VEDEMA

THERMAE SYLLA wellness hotel

An excellent choice for business and leisure travellers. 100 renovated rooms and suites with great sea views, meeting and banqueting facilities, outdoor swimming pool.

Ag. Nikolaou 13 Vouliagmeni.

Tel. 210 8990391

17 rooms, 4 junior suites and a super-lux penthouse suite. Part of YES! Hotels.

Haritos 22, Kolonaki.

Tel: 210.729.7200

Fresh Hotel

Philippos

Voted one of the ten best spas in the world, it has 101 rooms, 7 Suites and 1 presidential suite with an incredible sea view. 2 restaurants offer traditional Mediterranean cuisine Posidonos 2, Edipsos, Evia. Tel. 22260.60100

Vedema has 45 rooms converted from a 100 year old neo-classical captain’s house and a private swiming pool for all the suites. Vedema, Megalohori.

Tel: 22860.81796

PATMOS

SYROS VILLA SELENA

Patmos Aktis Suites & Spa

Situated in the heart of old Athens within walking distance of the Plaka. Enjoy the Orange Bar, rooftop restaurant and pool.

Sophocleous 26 & Klisthenous, Omonoia.

Tel: 210.524.8511

Recently refurbished, all 50 rooms are well-appointed and comfortable. Good value for money.

Mitseon 3, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.922.3611-4

A 5-star luxury hotel situated only a few steps from Grikos beach. Considered possibly the best located hotel in Patmos.

Patmos, Grikos Bay. Tel: 22470.32800

A luxurious five-star boutique hotel with suitably equipped rooms and suites to ensure a comfortable stay. The spacious terrace with a panoramic view is ideal for breakfast or drinks Tel. 22810 86007, www.villaselena.eu

insider athens | November - December 2015 67

AUDIOVISUAL OTE video conference service 7.30am-10pm. Patission 85.

Tel: 210.883.8578, 210.822.0399

Commercial Office spaces Regus Tel: 210 727 9000 Global Business Services Tel: 210.876.4876 Kifissias Ave. 90, Maroussi

COURIER SERVICES

ACS Asklipiou 25, Kryoneri Tel: 210.819.0000 DHL Tel: 210.989.0000 Express City S. Trikoupi 71, Athens, Tel: 210.821.9959 Geniki Taxydromiki Kifissou 14, Renti, Tel: 210.485.1100 Speedex Seneka 24, 15klm Athinon-Lamias, Kifissia Tel: 801.110.0011 UPS 4klm Peanias-Markopoulou Av., Koropi Tel: 210.998.4000

Driving Schools in English Trochokinisi Driving School 28th Oktovriou 126, Ambelokipi, Thessaloniki Tel: 231 072 9092 Driving School Highway Amfitheas and Ag. Triados 30, 175 64 P. Faliro, Tel: 210.988.8098, 699.772.2777 Vlachos Bros 25th Martiou 20, Peristeri; Xenofodos 17, Peristeri; Afroditis 39, Ilion Tel: 210.574.4895, 210.576.9190

Relocation Agencies Allied Pickfords Mourouzi 7, Athens Tel: 210.610.4494 Athens Relocation Centre Zakynthou 10, Glyfada Tel: 210.965.0697 Attica Movers Syngrou Ave. 19, Neos Kosmos, Tel: 210 922 7221 Celebrity International Movers Kapodistriou Ave. 102, Nea Ionia Tel: 210 272 0106 Corporate Relocations Athens Ag. Saranta 32, Nea Erithrea Tel: 210.800.3510 Orphee Beinoglou 27th km Old National Road AthensKorinth Location Elefsinia, Elefsina Tel: 210.946.6100 Octopus Relocation Services Ygeias 7, Marina Zeas, Tel: 210.459.9530

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68 insider athens | November - December 2015

TRANSLATIONS / INTERPRETING Global Business Services Kifisias 90, Maroussi, Tel: 210.876.4876 IBS - International Business Services Michalakopoulou 29, Kaissariani Tel: 210.724.5541

Travel Agencies Travel Plan Christou Lada 3, Athens Tel: 210.333.300, www.travelplan.gr Amphitrion Kyprou 46 & Ploutarhou, Dafni Tel: 210.900.6000, www.amphitrionholidays.gr TravelPlanet24 Karagiorgi Servias 4, Syntagma Tel: 211 107 9684, www.travelplanet24.com Mid-east Travel Vas Sofias 105-107, Ampelokipoi Tel: Tel: 211.211.8888, www.mideast.gr

Embassies Cultural Institutes

Business services

useful information

French Institute Sina 31, 10680 Athens Tel: 210.339.8600 Hellenic American Union Massalias 22, 10680 Athens, Tel: 210.368.0900 British Council Kolonaki Square 17 106 73 Athens Tel: 210.369.2333 Instituto Cervantes Mitropoleos 23, 105 57 Athens Tel: 210.363.4117 Goethe Institut Omirou 14-16, 100 33 Athens Tel: 210.366.1000 Onassis Cultural Centre Syngrou Ave. 107-109, 117 45 Athens, Tel: 213.017.8000 Instituto Italiano di Cultura Patission (28 Oktovriou) 47 Tel: 210.369.2333, 210.524.2646 ALBANIA Vekiareli 7, Filothei, Tel: 210.687.6200 ALGERIA Vas. Constantinou 14, Athens Tel: 210.756.4191-2 ARGENTINA Vas. Sophias 59, Athens Tel: 210.724.4158 ARMENIA K. Palaiologou 95, Athens, Tel: 210.683.1130, 210.683.1145 AUSTRALIA Kifisias & Alexandras, Ampelokipoi Tel: 210.870.4000 AUSTRIA Vas. Sofias Av. 4, Athens, Tel: 210.725.7270

AZERBAiJAN Skoufa 10, Athens, Tel: 210.363.2721 BELGIUM Sekeri 3, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.360.0314 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Hatzikosta 3, Athens, Tel: 210.641.0788 BRAZIL Vassilis Sofias 23, Athens Tel: 210.721.3039 BULGARIA Stratigou Kallari 33A, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.674.8105 CANADA Ioanni Gennadiou 4, Athens, Tel: 210.727.3400 CHILE Rigilis 12, Athens, Tel: 210.729.2647 CHINA Krinon 2A, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.672.3282 CROATIA Tzavella 4, N. Psychico, Tel: 210.677.7033 CUBA Sofokleous 5, Filothei, Tel: 210.685.5550 CYPRUS Xenofontos 2A, Athens, Tel: 210.373.4800 CZECH REPUBLIC G. Seferi 6, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.671.9701 DENMARK Mourouzi 10, Athens, Tel: 210.725.6440 EGYPT Vas. Sofias 3, Syntagma, Tel: 210.361.8612 ESTONIA Messoghion 2-4, Ampelokipoi, Tel: 210.747.5660 FINLAND Hatziyianni Mexi 5, Athens, Tel: 210.725.5860 FRANCE Vas. Sofias 7, Syntagma, Tel: 210.339.1000 FYROM Papadiamanti 4, P. Psychico.

Tel: 210.674.9585 GEORGIA Ag. Dimitriou 24, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.674.2186 GERMANY Karaoli & Dimitriou 3, Athens, Tel: 210.728.5111 HUNGARY Karneadou 25, Kolonaki Tel: 210.725.6800 INDIA Kleanthous 3, Mets, Tel: 210.721.6481 INDONESIA Marathonodromon 99, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.2345 IRAN Stratigou Kallari 16, Patisia, Tel: 210.674.1436 IRAQ Mazaraki 4, Psychico, Tel: 210.677.8276 IRELAND Vas. Konstantinou 7, Mets, Tel: 210.723.2405 ISRAEL Marathonodromon 1, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.670.5500 ITALY Sekeri 2, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.361.7260 JAPAN Ethnikis Antistaseos 46, Halandri.

Tel: 210.670.9900 JORDAN Papadiamanti 21. P. Psychico.

Tel: 210.674.4161 Kazakhstan Imittou 122, Papagou Tel: 210.654.7765 KOREA Messoghion 2-4, Athens.

Tel: 210.698.4080

Ambulance Tel: 166 Doctors SOS Tel: 1016.

They will issue an invoice to claim reimbursement from your insurer.

Ipirou 1, Athens.

Duty Pharmacies Call 1434, Also check newspapers for listings.

Emergency Hospitals Tel: 1434 Fire Brigade Tel: 199 Forest Fire Tel: 191 Poison Hotline Tel: 210.779.3777 Police Tel: 100 Tourist Police Tel: 171 Coast Guard Tel:108 Air Police Tel: 210.964.2000

ROAD ASSISTANCE ELPA Tel: 10400 Emergency Service Tel: 104 Express Service Tel: 154 Hellas Service Tel: 1057 Interamerican Tel: 1158

EUROCLINIC PAEDON Lemessou 39-41 & Aharnon 209, Kato Patissia, Tel: 210.869.1900 PAEDON AGIA SOFIA HOSPITAL Mikras Asias and Thivon, Goudi. Tel: 210.746.7000 PAEDON AGLAIA KYRIAKOU HOSPITAL Livadias 3 and Thivon, Goudi. Tel: 210.772.6000 & 1535

Private Hospitals Advanced Medical Services, Symmetria Building Ethnikis Antistaseos 66, Halandri.

Tel: 210.677.3573 www.symmetria.gr CENTRAL CLINIC OF ATHENS Asklipiou St. 31, Athens, Emergency number 1169 or Tel: 210.367.4000 www.centralclinic.gr EUROCLINIC Diagnostic, surgical and treatment centre.

Athanasiadou 9, Athens, (near Mavili Sq.), Tel: 210.641.6600 EURODENTICA Specialized dental care Patision 150, Athens, Tel: 210.866.3367-8 Alamanas 3, Maroussi, Athens, Tel: 210.619.5760-1, El. Venizelou 162, Kallithea, Athens, Tel: 210.956.5365 YGEIA Kifissias & E. Stavrou 4, Maroussi, Tel: 210.686.7000, www.ygeia.gr IATRIKO KENTRO (ATHENS MEDICAL CENTER) Areos 36, P. Faliro.

Tel: 210.989.2100-20. Distomou 5-7, Maroussi. Tel: 210.619.8100 METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL Ethnarou Makariou 9 & El. Venizelou, N. Faliro. Tel: 210.480.9000 www.metropolitan-hospital.gr IASO Kifissias 37-39, Maroussi.

Tel: 210.618.4000 MITERA Kifissias & E. Stavrou 6, Maroussi. Tel: 210.686.9000

public Hospitals ASKLEPIEION HOSPITAL Vas. Pavlou 1, Voula. Tel: 210.895.8301-4 EVANGELISMOS Ypsilantou 45-47, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.720.1000 KAT HOSPITAL Nikis 2, Kifissia, Tel: 210.628.0000 Specialized trauma unit.

TZANNEIO Afentouli & Tzani, Pireaus, Tel: 210.451.9411-9

PHYSICIANS (ENGLISH SPEAKING) Ioannis Bitzos, MD Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Harilaou Trikoupi 62, Kifissia, Tel: 210.808.0682 A.J. Kanellopoulos, MD Eye Surgeon, Tsoha 17, Athens, Tel: 210.747.2777 Dimitris Linos, MD FACS General Surgeon, Kifissias 227, Kifissia, Tel: 210.612.5001-2 heart & vascular centrE E.N. Deliargyris, MD FACC FSCAI Interventional cardiologist. Southern Athens. Vakchou 2 & Vas. Kostantinou, Tel: 210.897.6276, www.heartline.gr

English media

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Paediatric Hospitals

Newspapers The International New York Times carries the English version of Kathimerini Athens Insider, the bi-monthly magazine for Greece

Radio Athens International Radio 104,4 Good Morning Athens at 10am, english programs at 11am, music programs on weekdays at 9pm, weekends at 1pm. Peiraios 100, Athens, Tel: 210.341.1610

Schools

Greek Language

SWEDEN Vas. Konstantinou 7, Athens, Tel: 210.726.6100 SWITZERLAND Iasiou 2, Evaggelismos, Tel: 210.723.0364-6 TAIWAN Marathonodromon 57, Psychico, Tel: 210.677.5122 Representative office THAILAND Marathorodromon 25 & Kyprou, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.9065 TUNISIA Antheon 2, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.671.7590 TURKEY Vas. Georgiou B’ 8, Athens, Tel: 210.726.3000 UKRAINE Stephanou Delta 4, Filothei, Tel: 210.680.0230 UAE Kifissias Av. 290 & N. Paritsi 2, Tel: .210.677.0220 UK Ploutarchou 1, Athens, Tel: 210.727.2600 USA Vas. Sofias 91, Athens, Tel: 210.721.2951 URUGUAY Menandrou 1, Kifissia, Tel: 210.361.3549 VATICAN Mavili 2, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.3598 VENEZUELA Marathonodromon 19, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.672.9169 VIETNAM Yakinthon 50, Psychico, Tel. 210.612.8733, 210.675.3080.

Emergencies

KUWAIT Marathonodromon 27, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.3593 LEBANON 6, 25th Martiou, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.675.5873 LIBYA Vyronos 13, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.2120 LITHUANIA Vas. Sophias 49, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.4356 LATVIA Vas. Konstantinou 38, Athens Tel. 210.729.4483 LUXEMBOURG Vas. Sofias 23A & Neofitou Vamva 2, Syntagma Tel: 210.725.6400 MALTA V. Sofias 96, Athens, Tel: 210.778.5138 MEXICO Filikis Etaireias Sq. 14, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.729.4780 MOLDAVIA Georgiou Bacu 20, Filothei.

Tel: 210.699.0660 MOROCCO Marathonodromon 5, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.674.4210 NETHERLANDS Vas Konstantinou 5-7, Mets, Tel: 210.725.4900 NIGERIA Streit 17, Filothei Tel: 210.802.1188 NORWAY Vas. Sofias 23, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.724.6173 PAKISTAN Loukianou 6, Evaggelismos, Tel: 210.729.0122 PALESTINE Giassemion 13, P. Psychico. Tel.: 210.672.6061-3 PANAMA Praxitelous 192 & II Merarchias, Piraeus, Tel: 210.428.6441 PERU Semitelou 2, Athens, Tel: 210.779.2761 PHILIPPINES Antheon 26, P. Psychico.

Tel: 210.672.1837 POLAND Chrysanthemon 22, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.679.7700 PORTUGAL Vas. Sofias 23, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.0096 / 210.723.6784 QATAR Perikleous 2 & Kifissias Av. 212, N. Psychico, Tel: 210.725.5031 ROMANIA Emm. Benaki 7, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.672.8875 RUSSIA Nikiforos Lytra 28, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.672.5235 SAUDI ARABIA Palaiologhou 2 & Agias Annis, Halandri, Tel: 210.671.6911 SERBIA Vas. Sophias 106, Athens, Tel: 210.777.4344 SINGAPORE Aigialias 17, Paradissos Amaroussiou. Tel: 210.684.5072 SLOVAK REPUBLIC G. Seferi 4, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.677.1980 SLOVENIA Kifissias Av. 280 & Dimokratias 1, N. Psychico, Tel: 210.672.0090-091 SOUTH AFRICA Kifissias 60, Maroussi.

Tel: 210.610.6645 SPAIN Dionysiou Areopagitou 21, Plaka, Tel: 210.921.3123

Health

useful information

The Athens Center 48 Archimidous Street, Mets, Athens 11636, Greece Tel: 210.701.5242 CELT Athens 77 Academias Street, 106 78 Athens, Greece, Tel: 210.330.1455 Greek House Dragoumi 7, 145 61 Kifissia, Tel: 210.808.5186 Hellenic American Union 22 Massalias str., 106 80 Athens, Tel: 210.368.0900 Omilo Greek Language And Culture Panagi Tsaldari 13 (4th floor), 15122 Maroussi, Tel: 210.612.2706

insider athens | November - December 2015 69

useful information

Universities University of Indianapolis Ipitou 9, Athens, Tel: 210.323.6647 DEREE Gravias 6, Aghia Paraskevi, Tel: 210.600.9800

Citizen’s Rights Ombudsman: 5 Hatziyiannis Mexis (near the Hilton Hotel), Tel: 210 72 89 640 ALBA Graduate Business School Athinas Ave. & Areos 2A, Vouliagmeni Tel: 210.896.4531 American University of Athens Kifisias & Sochou 4, Neo Psichiko, Tel: 210.725.9301 Business College of Athens Tatoiou 2 & Othonos 77, Kifissia Tel: 210.808.8008

70 insider athens | November - December 2015

English kindergartens The Cottage Kindergarten Psaron 74, Halandri Tel: 210.682.7629 Early Learning Rizountos 53, Elliniko Tel: 210.961.8763 Hopscotch International Kindergarten Ag. Triandos 93, Vari Tel: 210.965.3985 Learning Steps Ath. Diakou 81 & Ydras 5, Kifissia, Tel: 210.620.5818 Melina’s Kindergarten Harilaou Trikoupi 16, Kifissia Tel: 210.801.2719 Peek-a-boo PreSchool Vougliameni Tel: 210.967.1970 Peter Pan Lakonias 4-6, Voula Tel: 210.895.9654 Prince Allen The English Nursery School Lysimahou 8, Vari Tel: 210.965.6800

German kindergartens

Money

International Schools

St Catherine's British Embassy School Sofoklis Venizelou 77, Lykovrissi Tel: 210.282.9750 St. Lawrence College Anemon St, Koropi Tel: 210.891.7000 American Community Schools of Athens Aghias Paraskevis Ave. 129, Halandri, Tel: 210.639.3200 Campion School Aghias Ioulianis, Pallini Tel: 210.607.1700 Byron College Filolaou 7, Gerakas Tel: 210.604.7722 International School of Athens Xenias and Artemidos, Kifissia, Tel: 210.623.3888 Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix Chlois & Trikalon, Ag. Paraskevi Tel: 211.300.9121 Scuola Statale Italiana Odos Mitsaki 18, Ano Patissia Tel: 210.228.2720 German School in Athens Homatianou & Ziridi, Maroussi Tel: 210.619.9261 Greek German School 25 Martiou & Vernardou, Vrylissia Tel: 210.682.0566

Weather Attica, Tel: 148, www.hnms.gr

Italian Institut Library Patision 47, Omonia National Library Tzavella 25, Syntagma, Tel: 210.382.0657 Nordic Library 7 Kavalotti St, Makrigianni Tel: 210.924.9210, 210.924.9211

LOST OR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS

Post offices operate weekdays 8am-2pm. The main post offices in Athens are located at SYNTAGMA SQUARE and OMONIA SQUARE at Aeolou 100 and open weekdays 7:30am-8pm, Sat 7:30am-2pm, and Sun 9am-1:30pm.

O mikros Antonis Barbayiannis, Pallini, Tel: 210.603.2527

Italian kindergartens Scuola maternal italiana de Atene Mitsaki 18, Ano Patissia, Tel: 210.202.0274 Il Mulino magico Troados 23, Ag Paraskevi, Tel: 210.600.3148 American School of Classical Studies Blegen Souedias 54, Athens Tel: 210.723.6313 Athens College Library Stephanou Delta, P. Psychico Tel: 210.679.8100 Benakeios Library Anthimou Gazi 2, Athens Tel: 210.367.1027 British Council Library Kolonaki Sq. 17, Kolonaki Tel: 210.363.3211/5 French Institute Library 31 Sina St, Athens Tel: 210.362.4301 German Archaeological Institute Library Pheidiou 1, Athens Tel: 210.362.0270 Goethe Institute Library Omirou 14-16, Athens Tel: 210.360.8111 Hellenic American Union Greek Library 22 Masalias St (7th floor), Athens, Tel: 210.362.9886

AMERICAN EXPRESS Tel: 210.324.4975 DINERS CLUB Tel: 210.929.0200 MASTERCARD Tel: 00.800.1188.703.03 VISA Tel: 00.800.1163.803.04

Country Code: 30 City Code: 210 international calls first dial 00, then the country code.

To call from a Public pay- phone buy a phone card at the kiosks.

Prepaid mobile phone cards (SIM cards) are available for €5 at kiosks, post offices, mini markets and mobile phone company stores.

Phone

Water Supply & Sewage (EYDAP) In case of water cut: Tel: 1202, www.eydap.gr

Public Services Administration Information Center (paperwork assistance) on weekdays 8am-3pm (KEP): Tel: 177, ww.kep.gov.gr

Au petit bonheur 50 Iraklitou, Glyfada, Tel: 210 9658 207 Les Alouettes Spartis 36 & Harilaou Trikoupi, Kifissia Tel: 210 80 11 570 Mary Poppins 4, Kodrou, Filothei, Tel: 210.677.3803 Paramythia Cycladon 11, Glyka Nera, Tel: 210.600.3196 Play and Learn Kassaveti 22, Kifissia, Tel: 210.801.1428

Libraires

Public Power Corporation (DEI) In case of power failure: Tel: 210, 523 9939 www.dei.gr

Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) www.oaed.gr, Tel: 210 99 89 000

International Kindergartens

Road Assistance ELPA: 104

Social Security & Health insurance (IKA) www.ika.gr

Post

French kindergartens Telephone & Internet Services (OTE) New tel: 138, Tel. (defective): 129 OTE customer service: 134 International call information (English, French & German): 169 www.ote.gr

!

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Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, Spata.

Tel: 210.353.0000, 210.353.1000. www.aia.gr.

24 HOUR VIP TRANSPORT SERVICE

Car rental

WSW Skycap Services at Athens Airport provides Meet & Greet, Baggage Hauling and Transport Service.

Tel: 210.353.0100 www.skycap.gr For info about the public bus lines please check our section Getting Around Ada Rent-a-Car Tel: 210.322.0087 Arena Tel: 210.894.6883, 210.614.7400 Auto Union Tel: 210.602.0162 Avis Tel: 210.322.4951 Budget Tel: 210.921.4771-3 Europcar Tel: 210.924.8810-8 Hertz Tel: 210.998.2000 Michael Stamou Luxury Rentals Tel: 210.922.2442/43 Sixt Rent-a-Car Tel: 210.570.6895, 210.922.0171

LIMOUSINES AAA Royal Prestige Tel: 210.988.3221 Astra Limousine Service Tel: 210.922.0333/807.9996 Convecta Travel Agency & Limousine Services Tel: 210.322.5090 Limousines Kacaya Tel: 210.323.4120

Public transport

Airport

Airlines

Aegean Tel: 801.11.20000 Air France KLM Tel: 210.998.0222 Air Malta Tel: 210.965.2300-22 Alitalia Tel: 210.998.8888 American Tel: 210.361.3373 Air Taxis (Helicopter and plane charters) Tel: 210.938.4149 British Airways Tel: 210.353.0453 Continental Tel: 210.353.4312 Cyprus Airways Tel: 210.353.4100 Easy Jet Tel: 211.198.0013 El Al Tel: 210.934.1500-1 Emirates Tel: 210.933.3400 Etihad Tel: 210.324.1010 Iberia www.iberia.com/gr Lufthansa Tel: 210.617.5200 Olympic Airways Tel: 801.801.0101 Qatar Airways Tel: 210.950.8700 Singapore Tel: 210.994.2567 Swiss / Crossair Tel: 210.617.5320 Tunisair Tel: 210.969.6496 Turkish Tel: 210.988.5700

Combined tickets for metro, buses and trolleys (€1,40) are available from metro stations and central ticket booths, valid within 90 mins of validation for all public transport - except the airport service, which costs 8€.

EXPRESS BUS from/to airport

X93 Kifisos Intercity Bus Station - Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to the intercity bus (KTEL) terminals KIFISOS and LIOSION X95 Syntagma – Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to Syntagma Square at Athens city center.

X96 Peiraias – Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to Piraeus central passenger port terminals.

X97 Dafni Metro Station – Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to DAFNI metro station. Tickets available at the Arrivals Hall; validate on board. Fare is €5 One-way travel time estimates**: X93 (65’ min), X95 (70’ min), X96 (90’ min), X97 (70’ min).

For further information dial 185 or visit www.oasa.gr, www.ametro.gr. For info on trains visit www.proastiakos.gr

HELLENIC RAILWAYS ORGANIsATION Karolou 1. Tel: 210.529.7002, www.ose.gr

ATHENS METRO Line 1 (Piraeus-Kifissia) 5am-midnight, Line 2 (Agios Antonios-Agios Dimitrios) 5.30am-midnight, Line 3 (Egaleo-

Doukissis Plakentias) 5.30am-midnight Line 3 (Egaleo-Airport) 5.30am-22.52pm and 06.30am-23.30pm.

The last itinerary is 2 hours later on Friday and Saturday night than it is during the week. www.ametro.gr

tram Tram itineraries are only from Syntagma to S.E.F (in Neo Faliro) and from Syntagma to Asklipio Voulas. From Monday to Thursday, trams operate from 5.am until midnight and non-stop from Friday morning to Sunday midnight. www.tramsa.gr

TAXIS Taxis from the airport have a flat rate of €35 to Central Athens. Between midnight and 5am double tariff applies.

Note: If you suspect that you have been overcharged, you can call the tourist police 0n 171

INTERCITY BUSES

RADIO TAXI Enotita Tel: 210.645.9000 Ermis Tel: 210.411.5200 Ikarus Tel: 210.515.2800 Kifissia Tel: 210.801.4000 Piraeus Tel: 210.418.2333 Radio Taxi Glyfada Tel: 210.960.5600 There is a booking fee of €2 added to the meter, and a €3,40 + VAT for a pre-arranged meeting. For PET taxis there is an extra charge of €5.

Sea ports

Ferries Ferries run year-round. For information on seasonal schedules contact a travel agent or call the Port Police on 210.422.6000 From the Port of Piraeus Northern and Eastern Aegean Islands: Gates A & B Chios, Ikaria, Lesvos, Samos, Dodecanese Islands: Gate E Kalymnos, Kos Leros, Patmos, Rhodes, Saronic Gulf Islands:

Gates G & E

Aegina, Hydra, Poros, Spetses, Crete: Gate A Aghios Nikolaos, Chania, Iraklio, Kastelli (Kissamos), Rethymno, Cycladic Islands:

Gates B, G & D

Astipalea, Folegandros, Kimolos, Kithnos, Milos, Serifos, Sifnos: Gate B Amorgos, Donoussa, Ios, Iraklia, Koufonissi, Mykonos, Santorini, Schinoussa, Syros, Tinos: Gates G&D Naxos, Paros: Gate G

Superfast Ferries

Terminal 1: Buses for Igoumenitsa, Ioannina, Kavala, Loutraki, Patra, the Peloponese, and Thessaloniki. Kifissou 100Tel: 210.512.4910-1, www.ktel.org Terminal 2: Buses for Delphi, Evia, Galaxidi, Karpenisi, Katerini, Lamia, Livadia, Thiva and Volos. Liosion 260.

For KTEL itineraries all over Greece call 14505

Lavrio Tel: 22920.27711, 22920.22089 Piraeus Tel: 210.422.6000-4 Rafina Tel: 22940.22300, 22940.28888

Sea ports & Ferries

getting around

Daily departures, Greece - Italy: from Patras and Igoumenitsa to Ancona and Bari Head office: 23-125 Syngrou Avenue & 3 Torva Street 11745 Athens.

Tel:210.891.9000 Reservations: Athens: 210.891.9130 Thessaloniki: 2310.560.700, www.superfast.com Hellenic Seaways 210 41 99 000 www.hellenicseaways.gr, Anek Lines www.anek.gr Domestic lines: 210 41 97 420 International lines: 210 41 97 430 Minoan Lines www.minoan.gr Tel: 801 11 75 000

YACHT CHARTERS A1 Yacht Trade Consortium Akti Themistokleous 8, Marina Zeas, Piraeus. Tel: 210.458.7100 Ghiolman Yachts Filellinon 7, Syntagma. Tel: 210.323.3696 Northstar Poseidonos 9 & Achilleos, P. Faliro. Tel: 210.988.4000 PGA Shipping Posidonos 61, P. Faliro.

Tel: 210.985.9400 Seahorse Alkyonidon 83 (Marina), Voula.

Tel: 210.895.2212 Seascape Poseidonos Ave. 29, Alimos.

Tel/Fax: 210.985.8301 Valef Yachts Pl. Chatzikonstanti 2, Piraeus. Tel:210.451.2010 Vernicos Yachts Posidonos 11, Kalamaki. Tel: 210.985.0122-8

insider athens | November - December 2015 71

K A L E I DOSCOP E

Gulzare Madina Mosque, Nea Ionia

One Accord International Gospel Ministries (Nigerian Evangelical), Kypseli

End of Ramadan on an open public field, Marathon

Mosque, Omonoia square

Dahiraa Mouride (Senegalese), Agiou Konstantinou street

Afghani Association-Greece, Peristeri

Guru Nanak Darbar (Sikh), Tavros

The World Without Walls [Oneness], Sant Nirankari Samagam, Marathon

Safeena Puntjan Pak (Pakistani Muslims), Peristeri

Worship from Afar An eloquent new photography exhibit at Benaki Museum underscores our vital and deeply human need to worship. What do we photograph when we photograph prayer? Is it a thought, a feeling? Some form of desire? Or are we capturing convention and community? For the thousands of displaced migrants and refugees who have found temporary home in Athens, the question becomes even more potent. An evocative new photographic exhibition titled “Wor(th)ship”, by Athenian photographer Tassos Vrettos, which debuted at the Benaki Museum on November 20, takes us beyond the one-dimensional imagery of Victoria Square to record an “invisible network” in and around Athens: the makeshift places of worship for migrants and refugees. Wor(th)ship will be on view at Benaki, 138 Pireos St, www.benaki.gr, until January 10, 2016. Admission €5.

72 insider athens | November - December 2015

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insider athens | November - December 2015 73