During the first five months I was in Paris, as an Erasmus student (for a European exchange program) I found myself many times in this neighbourhood, where the Greek element predominates. I am not sure if it was because I was for the first time away from home and Greece, seeking a connection with the “patrida” or rather I found it interesting that there is a little Greece (or little Athens as they call it) in the heart of the Latin Quarter in Paris.
Acropolis, Olympie, La Crete, Le Meteora… It looks like a travelogue in Greece but it’s more than that. If you take a walk around the impressive Roman Catholic Church of Saint-Séverin and especially the ultra-touristy street “rue de la Huchette” you will find many restaurants displaying these signs. Certainly, the real surprise does not come from the labels, but the reality of this neighbourhood.
The “Gyros” is king here! Unfortunately, the result is far from the classic Greek “souvlaki” because, in most places, they wrap it with Arab pie, which in my opinion spoils the recipe. That’s because some of the "Greek" places in Paris are actually run by Turks and there is a confusion between gyros and doner. So, they have not experienced tasters of “souvlaki” like every single person in Greece who eats meat!
That was a real disappointment when I tasted it and realised that it would take me a long time before I enjoy again its exquisite taste! But the rest of the non-Greek people in Paris, actually, love it! French call it “Le Grec” or “Un sandwich Grec” (a Greek sandwich). Imagine if they ever taste a real souvlaki!
Apart from the Gyros spots, in the Latin Quarter there is the highest concentration of real restaurants with Greek specialties, like Le Minotaure (The Minotaur), La Taverne Grecque and Le fil d’Ariadne (The thread of Ariadne) among others. I have met some of the owners that are actually Greeks who migrated to Paris several years ago.
You can speak with them in Greek, even if you just pass in front of their restaurant; many of them are standing at the entrance and invite you to go in, just like the employees (dressed up as Evzones, -“Tsolias”) of the meat taverns at Vlachika, at the avenue Varis-Koropiou, in the southern suburbs of Athens.
There are also some of them who smash plates on the sidewalk, yelling 'OPA!' This amusing (but nowadays prohibited) habit that Greeks had at the famous Greek night clubs “bouzoukia” in the 60s. In some of these restaurants, you can actually listen to live Greek music with a bouzouki player, while you taste Greek specialties like Moussaka, Gemista, Tzatziki, or sip on some Ouzo and wine direct from Crete or Samos.
The decor in these restaurants is so… Greek, that actually touches the limits of quaintness (or even kitsch)! There are photos of the Greek islands and ancient Greek civilisation, statues, the Greek flag, the map of Greece (all together!) or even lambs that are spinning on the spit in their window, all year long, as if every day is Greek Easter.
The stage looks like it came from the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. It’s funny but excessive! This is my (Greek) point of view but if we take a look at it more globally, it’s true that they give to the tourists what they want, a big dose of Greece, at least the image that has been built so far, on public opinion. Blue and white colours, the Greek islands, windmills, ancient statues and columns, bouzouki and tzatziki! What else could you ask for?
*Images by Polina Paraskevopoulou (Copyright)
