To start off the meal, they gave us two small shot glasses filled with a clear alcohol. We thought at first it was ouzo but then we heard some other people talking and they said it was an alcohol that was stronger than ouzo. Maybe tsipouro? It was strong and smooth, but we unfortunately don't remember much else about it.
One thing we noticed about restaurants in Greece is that they often drop off things on the table that would seem complimentary (for example, bread) that you actually get charged for in the end. I'm not sure if we were charged for the alcohol or the bread, but, whichever it was, it was a nominal amount.
I believe the olives were free. Not being a huge fan of olives, I think I had only one, but don't remember too much about it. A remembers the green olives weren't pickled, so they were harder and more bitter than he's used to, but the kalamatas tasted good and salty.
We also got a loaf of bread, which I barely remember, but I think was good. It was a nice accompaniment for several of our dishes.
We also ordered a Mythos. When in Greece, drink Greek beer. Mythos is a crisp and refreshing beer that is light but still full of flavor.
The first dish we ordered was the Tzitzikas salad (ten different freshly cut vegetables, Anthotiro and Manouri cheeses, mustard dressing).
This salad was so good. There were salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, red peppers and a bunch of other vegetables. Everything tasted so fresh and, other than the cheese, the salad tasted incredibly light and healthy. The cheese was amazing. Both were soft Greek cheeses (I forget which one was the slightly harder one) and it was our first time having them. We absolutely loved them and thought they were perfect for salad.
We also got a loaf of bread, which I barely remember, but I think was good. It was a nice accompaniment for several of our dishes.
We also ordered a Mythos. When in Greece, drink Greek beer. Mythos is a crisp and refreshing beer that is light but still full of flavor.
The first dish we ordered was the Tzitzikas salad (ten different freshly cut vegetables, Anthotiro and Manouri cheeses, mustard dressing).
This salad was so good. There were salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, red peppers and a bunch of other vegetables. Everything tasted so fresh and, other than the cheese, the salad tasted incredibly light and healthy. The cheese was amazing. Both were soft Greek cheeses (I forget which one was the slightly harder one) and it was our first time having them. We absolutely loved them and thought they were perfect for salad.
We love dolmades (grape leaves) so we ordered the Filiani dolmades (spring onions stuffed with spinach, cheese, bacon and aromatic herbs).
We weren't sure what to expect from these dolmades. The description sure didn't sound like the grape leaves that we often get (usually stuffed with rice and sometimes pine nuts), but I don't think either of us expected them to be as creamy as they were. They were really rich and soft, and very cheesy. (The blocks of cheese below are from the salad, not the dolmades.) Cheesy spinach stuffed onions.
The pita "berze-berze" (minced meat flavored with oriental soutzouki in grilled pita) was also really good. It consisted of a crispy pita on the bottom, topped with ground meat, lots of onions and tomatoes, some yogurt and lots of spices. Such a simple combination but so delicious. The pita was crisped on the outside and chewy on the inside. The yogurt also added a nice coolness and tartness that acted like a much healthier sour cream.
We also tried the saganaki (4 cheeses cooked in olive oil and boucovo (red pepper flakes)). The saganaki we usually get at home is a block of griddled cheese in olive oil which is flambeed and then put out with lemon juice. The saganaki we had in Greece was nothing like that. Most were like this one, consisting of little blocks of cheese melted together in olive oil. This one also had a lot of tomatoes and red pepper flakes. It was smokey and tasted like there was bacon in it even though we knew there was none.
Lastly, we also ordered the meatballs (made with fresh mint and served with homemade fries). The meatballs weren't bad, but this was our least favorite dish. The meatballs did have a nice flavoring from the mint, but they were a little on the drier side. Also, the meatballs and fries just didn't seem so exciting compared with the other dishes on our table. If we were to drop any of the dishes from our meal, and we should have based on how much we ended up eating, it would have been this one.
We were so full on savory mezedes so we didn't even consider ordering dessert. With a good meal filling our bellies, we wandered around the stores near the restaurant for a bit before heading back to our hotel and resting for our early morning trip to Piraeus!
We weren't sure what to expect from these dolmades. The description sure didn't sound like the grape leaves that we often get (usually stuffed with rice and sometimes pine nuts), but I don't think either of us expected them to be as creamy as they were. They were really rich and soft, and very cheesy. (The blocks of cheese below are from the salad, not the dolmades.) Cheesy spinach stuffed onions.
The pita "berze-berze" (minced meat flavored with oriental soutzouki in grilled pita) was also really good. It consisted of a crispy pita on the bottom, topped with ground meat, lots of onions and tomatoes, some yogurt and lots of spices. Such a simple combination but so delicious. The pita was crisped on the outside and chewy on the inside. The yogurt also added a nice coolness and tartness that acted like a much healthier sour cream.
We also tried the saganaki (4 cheeses cooked in olive oil and boucovo (red pepper flakes)). The saganaki we usually get at home is a block of griddled cheese in olive oil which is flambeed and then put out with lemon juice. The saganaki we had in Greece was nothing like that. Most were like this one, consisting of little blocks of cheese melted together in olive oil. This one also had a lot of tomatoes and red pepper flakes. It was smokey and tasted like there was bacon in it even though we knew there was none.
Lastly, we also ordered the meatballs (made with fresh mint and served with homemade fries). The meatballs weren't bad, but this was our least favorite dish. The meatballs did have a nice flavoring from the mint, but they were a little on the drier side. Also, the meatballs and fries just didn't seem so exciting compared with the other dishes on our table. If we were to drop any of the dishes from our meal, and we should have based on how much we ended up eating, it would have been this one.
We were so full on savory mezedes so we didn't even consider ordering dessert. With a good meal filling our bellies, we wandered around the stores near the restaurant for a bit before heading back to our hotel and resting for our early morning trip to Piraeus!
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