Κatsourbos Cretan Cuisine — Restaurant in Athens

I walked by this establishment twice before finally making a reservation. What strikes you first is the placard of a cute lamb. Every time I passed, I felt an aura of intrigue, like a hidden portal lay behind the door. Oh boy, I was not disappointed!

This establishment specializes in cuisine from Crete. When you walk in, you are taken by warm rustic walls and an interior with earthy 🌍 green 💚 and brown 🤎 colors—the space has an old-world elegance to it. From the inside looking out, you notice climbing plants cascading down the many glass panels: to my taste, the combination gives a perfect balance between a dark and lit feeling.

To top it off, despite a busy afternoon and our tendency to joke around, our attendant Georgios, a high school teacher by trade, was amazingly warm, accommodating and helpful with recommendations.

We ordered several dishes:

Dolmadakias: rice wrapped in grape leaves. Here, unlike others I've had, they are bite/pinky finger sized, and I really liked that.

Roast lamb: the best I've had in Athens. The best. Look, if you prowl through my reviews, lamb is all over, especially grilled. This was roasted lamb and oh boy! 🤤

Tarama salata: creamy as hell and tasty

Santorini tomato fritters

Green salad with feta, figs, pecans, grenadine, dried raisins—one of the best salads I've had. What hit me the most were the smells when they laid most of the dishes on the table, simply amazing!

We also had cheese-filled dough rolls! 😍

I would highly recommend trying their organic wine from Crete, especially the white one. The red paired really well with the lamb.

Last but not least, the traditional Greek music just transports you to another place!

Overall, this is an elegant establishment suitable for many occasions, including dates, outings with close friends, family...

Unfortunately disappointing. First of all, the guy in charge has a bad attitude. It seemed like we were a bother to him from the first minute. Should have probably left right away but stayed in hopes that the food would make up for it. The starters were alright, but nothing out of the ordinary. Portion sizes were too big for the starters. The Fava for example was huge but nothing special. I’d rather have a smaller portion but better quality. The lamb was an absolute disappointment, and this is coming from someone who loves lamb, especially the way it is normally prepared in Crete. This lamb was 80% fat and bones. Despite the big portion, there was very little actual meat on it. It just wasn’t enjoyable and made me feel sick for the rest of the evening. I would definitely not return. Considering the portion sizes it is not that expensive, but when you look at the quality, the price is just...

A Cretan cuisine restaurant, with exceptionally good raw materials and authentic taste. Well hidden in an inconspicuous location of Athens.

Having eaten a lot of Cretan food at home and at restaurants in Athens and in Crete, I can say with confidence that this restaurant stands out from other similar ones in Athens for its simplicity, raw materials and authentic taste.

We had tsigariasto, gamopilafo (in the top ten I’ve tasted), potatoes & eggs with staka (the best I’ve tasted) and chortopitakia & sarikopitakia (with a thicker dough than usual and much less fried taste) and red house wine from Archanes.

The staff was attentive and sensitive...