Dinner at Strofi

svoulaki

 

Strofi has always been poor service, expensive, but at least the food good. Not last night, the food very poor.

Greeted at the door by a man who asked what I wanted? And how many people?

Taken to first floor.  Small rooms knocked into one large room. Last time one small room. Maybe different floor.  Not asked  if wished to go to rooftop.

Soup? No soup. What restaurant has no soup? Waiter claimed had run out of soup. No soup listed on menu.

Svoulaki, pork poor quality, tough. Potatoes almost cold, and were cold after a few minutes.  Vegetables likewise almost cold and only half cooked.  Plate cold. Portion size meager, if not minuscule.

Windows wide open. It got colder and colder.

View of The Acropolis through the open windows.

As always, poor service.

I left cold and hungry and 16  euros lighter of pocket.

I should have eaten in Plaka, where cheaper, better quality and decent portion size.

cena en El Maná

cappuccino

Following a concert with OpenArt Ensemble at Abaco, I was on my way to eat at Los Gemelos. They were full, as an extremely rude waiter informed me. Their loss, and my gain, I ate at El Maná.

El Maná has very limited menu, the specials chalked up above the open kitchen.

I chose pumpkin soup for starter. It was excellent, and even included soup art.

For main, tagellete. I am no great pasta fan, but it was all I fancied.

No olives please, I hate olives.

The chef came out and explained, it was not olives, it was an olive sauce, but I would still have the bitter olive taste, would I like pesto, as otherwise I may find a little boring?

The tagellete was excellent. The only time I have had pasta of this quality was in Bassano del Grappa  cooked by a chef who was president of a northern Italian food association.

To drink, water, though I noticed they had an interesting range of local craft beers.

A young blonde pursuaded me to have a coffee. I did not expect anything other than undrinkable coffee, always the way in restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised. She knew how to make coffee, freshly ground Colombian coffee. Maybe  a tad too hot, but it was excellent coffee.

I learnt, talking to the chef, who is also the owner, of a skilled barista in La Laguna.

El Maná, vegetarian, organic, located in Calle Mequinez.

• PHOTOS cena en El Maná

Christmas dinner

carrots, celery, onion, to raise chicken above base of baking tray

chicken in baking tray on raised bed

Christmas dinner, fresh chicken, roast potatoes, broccoli.

Fresh chicken from local butcher, cooked guidance of Jamie Oliver.

Lay carrots, celery, in the base of baking tin. This lifts the chicken up off the base, allows air to circulate and aids cooking. Chicken smeared with butter (to stop drying out), add a little salt and black pepper (for flavour). Half a mandarin stuffed inside the chicken. No stuffing.  Cook for 20 minutes per pound, plus a extra 20 minutes.

Not sure of weight. assumed 4 lbs. Cook for two hours.

I was worried it would be overcooked, but no, cooked to perfection.

Potatoes added around the chicken for last hour, after par boiling.

After chicken was removed from the oven to rest prior to carving, green water added, a drop of very high quality Port. Excellent gravy.

Roast potatoes were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

To drink, champagne (strictly speaking sparkling wine a gift from Cyprus).

• PHOTOS Christmas dinner

Dinner at Restaurant Plaka

bread

souvlaki served with salad and chips

I would not normally return to the same place. I had intended to walk further afield, but I had been out all day.

Vegetable soup excellent, served piping hot.

I queried lack of salad with pork souvlaki yesterday. Today came with salad.

As last night, musicians terrible early on, then improve.

I raised this with them. They agreed I was correct.

I suggested they recorded the good stuff and release on bandcamp.

I was treated differently to the previous night. Then someone off the street, tonight a welcome regular.

Restaurant Plaka is a basic taverna, serving reasonable quality food. It is therefore surprising the bad reviews on TripAdvisor, which is becoming less and less reliable.

Yes, you can find better, for example Strofi, but you can also find far, far worse.

I had hoped ice cream as last night. Coco’s ice cream was closed, had closed early. Ice cream from the ice cream parlour opposite, was nowhere as good.

Dinner at Strofi

souvlaki

view of The Acropolis from rooftop restuarant

Strofi is located a couple of blocks away from  The Acropolis Museum.

From Akropoli, walk past Acropolis Museum, take last street going down, and should find on the corner.

I was told the roof was full, and guided to a room on the first floor, but barely had sat down, than was taken upstairs.

There were a couple tables free near the outer wall. Could I go there? No, reserved.

It was very noisy. I wished to get as far way from the noise as to enjoy the view.

Strofi is overlooked by The Acropolis.

Skewered pork, with a little bit of pepper was excellent, quality pork, succulent and tasty. A pleasant contrast to  the disgusting meat served up by  Liopetro a few days ago.

For dessert baclava.

Service was not good. Having asked for a table by the wall, and been told no, reserved, annoyed to see a couple offered a table by the wall. Long wait for dessert. I went and asked. Long wait for the bill. I had to ask.

Excellent food, albeit pricey, and the service not good. Excellent view of The Acropolis from rooftop restaurant.

Dinner with a view

view of The Acropolis whilst dining

cold cucumber soup

slow roast belly pork

Temple of Zeus

six lane highway

Dinner with a view from rooftop restaurant with a view over Athens.

Excellent cold cucumber soup.

Followed by slow roast belly pork.

Rooftop restaurant at The Athens Gate is a rare example of somewhere worth eating in Athens, albeit pricey.

Dinner at Liopetro

I walked by Liopetro yesterday. It was empty.

The only reason I walked by, I saw the street I wished to be in, otherwise I would not have walked through this dark alley.

I walked by again this evening. Again empty. Hardly a good sign.

Nor a good sign, a man outside, who also doubled as waiter, trying to drag pople in.

I asked a few questions. The owner came out, demanded to know what I was wanting to know.

I returned later. Not much different. A few people outside, a couple inside smoking.

Prices over the top. 7 euros for a bowl of soup! What was it? Lobster. Maybe that justifies the high price.

Seven euros for a bowl of soup, and they had the gall to charge 1.5 euros for bread.

The soup came. It was luke warm vegetable soup. No sign of lobster. The closest it had been to lobster, the lobster had been dropped in, and jumped straight out. I asked was there lemon juice? A check with the chef, yes.

Two euros for water. Many places provide water free.

The main course was disgusting. Revolting processed meat, that made even McDonald’s look good.

Yesterday I had souvlaki in The Greco’s Project, a very trendy place. 1.7 euros, 2.8 euros with pitta bread and salad, the water free. The meat was not of the highest quality, but then the price was not high either, but compared with Liopetro, it was superior quality.

I did not even risk the sweet. On my way through Plaka, I had an ice cream.

It was easy to see why Liopetro was empty each time I passed. Why then did it have a Certificate of Excellence from Tripdvisor? It was down at something like No 500.

The reviews on TripAdvisor sent alarm bells ringing. All singng from the same hymn sheet, all saying the same thing, all praising Liopetro. Their comments bear no resemblance to reality.

Plaka area of Athens.

Dinner at Vangelis

Last night, dinner at Vangelis.

Excellent tomato soup. Different to last time, no added potato. A big improvement.

Huge pork chop, and this  was small.  Succulent and tasty.

Greek salad. Not as good as Nicolas Tavern, but still good.

To drink water and a local beer from a microbrewery.

Complimentary sweet, a small cake.

I was later than usual. Before nine noise not too bad from rough bar Bell’s. After nine noisy and later very unpleasant. Loud moronic music, moronic DJ in love with his own voice shouting, drunks screaming and shouting. I would have sat in the garden out the back, but others had had the same idea.

There are two excellent traditional Greek-Cypriot tavernas in Protaras, Nicolas Tavern and Vangelis Taverna.

Vangelis Taverna is s long established family business. This summer first year in Protaras for the summer season. In a couple of weeks they will close and return to Paralimni.

Dinner at Vangelis

Mushroom soup for starter.

Pork kebab, with pitta bread, grilled vegetables and chips.

To drink water and a small bottle of Leon.

My dinner shared with a cat and four kittens.

Tonight packed with Cypriots. I sat in the garden out the back.

Vangelis is one of many businesses being impacted by the noisy bars. Maybe when everywhere is closed the mayor and police will finally act.

Vangelis Tavern is a  long established family business. During the summer they close in Paralimni and open in Protaras. This is their first year in Protaras.

Dinner by the sea

This evening, dinner by the sea, at the restaurant of Vrissaki Beach Hotel.

For a buffet dinner, the quality was high. Had I eaten earlier, the quality would have been even higher.

A good choice, the leak and potato soup was excellent, the salads were well presented and fresh, the tortellini excellent.

Then sat by the coast path eating an apple and reading The Bat.