Oh! Dio Athens, the new wine-bar restaurant in Thissio by Fotini Pantzias (By The Glass) and Angelos Damoulianos (botilia.gr), opened its doors for the first time shortly before the end of 2023, occupying a position in the building where the Athenaeum Conservatory housed Maria Callas. In fact, the portrait of the famous soprano, which appears next to the entrance, seems to welcome visitors.
A large bar, stone walls, wooden floor and comfortable sofas compose an elegant and warm setting, while the tables spread out on the spacious pavement of Adrianou offer a beautiful view of the monuments of another Athens.
The distinctive cuisine of Stavriani Zervakakou stimulates the pleasant mood.
"Our menu is comfort and it may not change every day, but it has regular changes, while the season, and the ingredients that each one brings with it, plays a decisive role in its creation," Stavriani Zervakakou tells me.
Chef Maniatissa's dishes have plenty of freshness, beautiful acidity, fine use of spices, and matching combinations of ingredients and flavours that express her completely personal opinion on the identity and course of Greek gastronomy.
The creations that I tried on the day of my visit were very tasty, among them the lightly marinated bonito with crayfish, mandarin slices, seasonal greens and red onion that skillfully combined sour and bitter elements, as well as the exuberant fish soup with beautiful hints of citrus with cod, mussels, cardamom, bitter butter and flavoured bukovo.
The creative surf n' turf - a marriage that the chef loves very much - with lamb sweetbread, mussels, orange juice, lemon, garlic and cumin was also special.
The dish that stood out to me was the lamb shank that literally melted in the mouth, accompanied by yufkades pasta and eight-month aged Syros beef gruyere.
Among the desserts, it is worth trying the baked rice pudding made from buffalo milk, garnished with grated Mount Athos hazelnuts and flavoured with thyme, cardamom and muskmelon.
There is of course a massive wine list, which currently numbers around 120 labels, but there are plenty of worthy choices from the international vineyard.
As Christoforos Christophorou, the sommelier of the wine bar restaurant, informed me, his list will soon be enriched with natural and mildly vinified wines.
Every Wednesday, Oh! Dio Athens hosts Greek wine producers who present their wines and share their stories with patrons.
Info
Adrianou 3, Thissio, tel. 210 321 3170
Open daily: 11:00AM – 02:00AM
Photos: Anna Tasiula
Eleanna Gousi is a columnist for Olive Magazine.
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