Efxaris: Surprisingly Amazing Greek Food

You may be wondering why I think this meal was surprisingly amazing. Well, it is because I have an innate distrust of most restaurants in touristy areas and Efxaris (the spelling is in Greek and looks like EYXAPIE) happens to be in a very touristy area. On the trek down from the Acropolis, my parents decided it was time to eat. We strolled along Andrianou Street, which is right in the heart of touristy ville at the bottom of the Acropolis, until we came upon Efxaris. Something about the restaurant seemed good enough — presence of people, pretty interior and lack of aggressive host/ess. And since we were flying back to London that night, we decided to eat well now and then enjoy a light snack later. I can now say I’m glad we came up with that plan.

First up was a Greek salad (surprise, surprise), which was just as delicious as the countless other Greek salads we had in Greece. I’m thinkin’ it’s all in the feta. In addition to the salad, we were served toasted bread with a green olive tapenade. By this point we had decided not to indulge in bread and make room for the rest of the meal, however this proved very hard once we tried the bread. It was fantastic and the tapenade should be jarred and sold, mostly to me.

Greek Salad

Toasted Bread with Green Olive Tapenade

For a starter, I picked the spinach “pie,” which was more like a spinach spiral than a pie. Regardless, it was very tasty and stuffed with spinach and cheese goodness. The dough was fried but not greasy, which I appreciated. I try and stay away from deep fried foods but if I’m going to have something deep fried, I don’t want any lingering grease to make me feel guiltier than I already am.

Spinach "Pie"

Lastly, we decided to share two entrees — moussaka and souvlaki chicken with pita, potatoes and rice. By this point the chicken was nothing new so I didn’t spend too much time on it but the little I did have was good. Instead, I turned my attention to the moussaka, which is sort of like your Greek lasagna. Sliced eggplant is layered with ground meat and then topped with bechamel sauce. It was my first time trying it and it certainly, certainly will not be my last. I found the taste very rich but not overwhelming. It was, quite simply, a meal of deliciousness.

Souvlaki Chicken with Pita, Potatoes and Rice

Moussaka

So, maybe restaurants in touristy areas aren’t ALL bad. Efxaris did a pretty good job of proving that to me.

Rating: Love

http://www.efxaris.gr/

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