In the second marina of Glyfada, where the white fishermen's kiosks still stand, Astakos by Alexis Papagiannakis (Noah, Okra, Diego, Santiago) and Giorgos Kesetzis (Oh Mama) recently made its debut.
The two restaurateurs state, "Food is the occasion to sit around the same table for our collective memory, our tradition, and our mood to connect with the other."
Thus, they decided to open Astakos.
The renovation project was undertaken by the interior designer Georgia Tiligada. By connecting wood with metal and stone with tiles reminiscent of old paving stones, she gave the space a modern character with earthy colours and plenty of traditional elements, always aiming to integrate it "with the adjacent fishermen's neighbourhood", as she said.
The huge windows surrounding the restaurant allow the eye to wander to the sea, while in the spacious hall, the straw lampshades embrace the lights and the open kitchen, headed by the well-known chef Aggelos Bakopoulos, steal the show.
"Astakos is a Greek seafood restaurant with simple, familiar flavours," the chef told me. The restaurant aims to make the "hook to fork" displayed on the entrance sign below its name evident to diners.
The meal at Astakos begins with a great love of the Greeks - mezedaki. Among them are the vinegary sardine with cucumber oil and herbs, the lakerda that is laid on taramosalata with dill and chickpeas, the marinated octopus with capers and pickled onions, as well as the tsiros with fennel cream and marinated fennel.
The trawl salad with steamed fish of the day, lentils, smoked taramosalata, herbs, and lemon arouses interest by its name alone, while, in the raw dishes, the oysters of the day stand out.
Among other things, calamari, shrimp and anchovies are offered at Astakos, while shrimp moussaka, Corfu Bianco with cod, octopus stifado, as well as a range of seafood, including lobsters and crayfish, are cooked in the wood-fired oven, while on the grill are shrimps and fish, such as bream and flounder.
The menu includes slightly spicy fish of the day and pasta dishes with lobster and shrimp.
Andreas Hotza put together the wine list, which includes bottles from Greek vineyards. The drink options also include fine spirits, tsipouro and ouzo.
As for the desserts, they bear the signature of pastry chef Argiris Poptsiou. Among them stand out the "burnt" galatopita with fresh vanilla cream, bergamot syrup and ice cream, as well as the Constantinople halva with orange jam, cinnamon cream, caramelised almond and cinnamon ice cream,
Info: Astakos, 46 Diadochou Pavlou, 2nd Marina Glyfada, tel. 2108947342
Eleanna Gousi is a columnist for Olive Magazine. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
