Efcharis restaurant — Restaurant in Athens

TLDR: We chose this restaurant bc it served 3 of the 4 things we wanted to try that day. Food was decent. Little did I know that it would be one of the worst experiences that I had while on our vacation. The service was extremely poor and it was hard to get anyone's attention UNTIL the end. Why? I was freaking out and staring at my chair because my legs were on FIRE from unknown bug bites that were plaguing me.

Ordering: They gave water and bread and practically nonexistent the rest of the time. We made eye contact with multiple staff, who would avert their gaze and walk in another direction. My husband tried to wave others down and got ignored. I understand if it's busy... But it was so slow at the time we arrived that different staff was relaxing, chatting it up and wandering through the restaurant. I was ready to leave but my husband has the patience of deities. We ordered dolmades (delish), moussaka (yum), kleftiko/lamb dish (eh) and got a free dessert. This was also phase one of the bites. I initially thought it was mosquitos bc we were sat in the doorway next to the outside.

Dining: The only reason why I'm giving this place two stars and not one is because I actually enjoyed my dolmades and moussaka. The dolmades were probably the best part overall. Moussaka had good flavor but also tasted like it was reheated... but not in a great way? The lamb and potatoes were tender but little to no flavor overall and not worth the 19€ we paid. While we ate, no one checked on us. At all. For anything. averted gazes continued That wouldn't have stood out so much if 1: all the other places we had gone to in Athens weren't the complete opposite, 2: we weren't actively watching them give other people who were trickling in the UTMOST attention and 3: I wasn't in phase two of the bug biting saga. I was attempting to eat, scratch and bat at any visible flying things I saw. Redflags. This isn't feeling like a mosquito type situation anymore. I tried adjusting in my seat with no success and the back of my thighs started flaring up with massive itchy welts. I was regretting wearing shorts because they were attacking any skin directly touching the chair.

Payment: We waited far too long to pay to leave. I honestly wanted to walk out again and skip paying bc phase 3: THESE DEFINITELY AREN'T MOSQUITOS! The bugs started going to the back of my inner thighs and I WAS NOT trying to let things progress any further. So I stood, my husband stood, we started staring at my chair/around the table in a panic and I'm clawing at the inflamed area. ONLY THEN do workers take notice to us and ONLY THEN do they try to assist. An older man asks if we're okay, I tell him no and that I'm having a reaction to something and show him the back of my legs. He goes off to look for a first aid kit of sorts but the venture is unsuccessful. I go to try and wash my legs in the bathroom sink to see if it helps barely and came out to a complementary dessert at the table. I ate what I could all while standing and scratching but really needed to leave. As we left, the same older man from earlier pointed us to the pharmacy where they could give me something for my legs. Didn't leave a tip and glad bc that money was spent on a prescription at the pharmacy and for pain and suffering.

Fun fact: I told the pharmacist about what had happened and showed her the back of my legs and her immediate question was "Was the chair made out of wood?" and immediately knew what to give. She wasn't surprised at all. And that bothers me even more...

I had the misfortune of dining here on the second to last day of our trip, can't wear shorts for a while (prescription calls for no direct sun) and stuck dealing with painful, itchy bug bites. It's bittersweet knowing I wasn't the only one with this experience.... This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted to bring something home...

I'll start with the positives and then finish with the negatives. 1)The waiters and the service were polite pleasant and very fast, the plates were very very clean, the staff never bothered us about leaving or paying before we were ready to do so, even though half the tables were full, that's very professional compared to some other places 😉🤝🏻 2)In the end the desert(cake) that was on the house was tasty and not too oily or too sweet, just what we needed. 3)The green salad was hygienic and properly seasoned, it contained cheese which was very tasty(graviera), value for money(portion size)👌🏻 4)The fried calamari was most probably fresh, not too oily, not rubbery, value for money as well👌🏻 5)The tsatsiki that came on the side of the souvlaki, was nice and decent, not watery at all, not too much garlic 6)The souvlaki was either thrown on the grill straight from frozen or it was left on the grill for too long, a bit rubbery, even tho the quality of the meat seemed decent, portion was not value for money, 11€ for one soulvaki with pita, onion, tomato(off season) and tsatsiki on the side is too much, coulda easily been two souvlaki. 7)The pitas that came on the side with the souvlaki were most probably fried(just a but too oily but acceptable), shoulda been just cooked on the grill, with half the oil that they had 😉😉

To conclude, the cooks(or cook) need to grill better or to prepare better(mostly defrost the meat in advance), rather than that I'd recommend the place, it's above average...

I had a great overall experience at this cozy spot in Greece. I started with a Greek coffee, which was really good—rich, strong, and m reminded me of Egyptian or Turkish coffee. For starters, I had the fried cheese bites. Most of them were delicious, crispy on the outside with gooey cheese inside, but one was still partially frozen in the center and a few had a slightly bitter, undercooked doughy taste. For my main, I went with the pork gyro platter, which came with pita and potatoes. The pork was flavorful but a bit dry and not hot enough. I found myself wanting a bit more pita to go with it. The white dipping sauce on the side was creamy and flavorful, a perfect match for the meat, definitely the highlight of the plate. The service was friendly, attentive, and very accommodating throughout the meal, which really added to the experience. At the end, they brought out a free dessert—a soft, fragrant orange cake with cinnamon that was absolutely amazing and easily my favorite part of the meal. That said, the restaurant does strike me as being geared more toward tourists, likely due to its location and a menu that is partly ready-made or pre-frozen. While that doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment, it’s something to keep in mind. I’m giving it four stars because while the food and service were very enjoyable, there were a couple of small execution issues. Still, I’d happily return for the...