Mayan by Aliento Experience — Restaurant in Athens

I never write reviews and honestly, I hate the idea of writing reviews especially negative ones, so at some point I’ll go out of my way to write a good one elsewhere since reviews are so relative and people can have off days, but because of my experience here compared to the reviews online, I had to write something as a warning to other people since the reviews make no sense.

I don’t understand how anyone gave this place 5 stars and at the time of this review they have an overall 4.9 stars somehow. I wouldn’t be surprised if they bought reviews or created these 5 star reviews themselves.

I’ve sweat less in a steam room. I know they cannot control the weather, but every other restaurant in the city either has fans or if they claim to be higher end, they have air conditioning. This place has neither and somehow has a patio between large buildings so the air is about as stagnant as their idea of Nikkei food.

We walked in and sat down and knew we had made a mistake, but because we wanted something other than Greek food for a change, we decided to stay because of the heavily inflated online reviews written by people who have no tastebuds or this was their first time eating anything that resembled food from Asia.

I can say even in my most inebriated state, I’ve made better food after a night out of partying and I’m sure just about every person with frozen Asian food has as well. The gyoza and fried shrimp came out in about 2 minutes from ordering so I know they were simply microwaved and they tasted accordingly. I’ve had better at a damned Panda Express made by a disgruntled airport employee.

Since we were the only people there, at least we got attentive service even if it was so awkward because she knew we knew that the food was not great and we were sweating the entire time. I know the chef seemed to care because they even offered us some homemade liquor after we finished in under 30 minutes, but by then I had looked like I’d been hiking up Mount Olympus and just wanted to leave to shower and get food elsewhere.

Go here if you want average food that was rated by bots or people who have lost their sense of taste and smell due to covid and to look like you ran a marathon afterwards. This is just another reminder to us that you don’t go to countries without much Asian culture looking for Asian food, even when you want...

The best dinner we had in Athens!!! The restaurant is literally in the heart of the city with the metro station just around the corner!! Due to the fact that is an exclusive micro fine dining place we had the chance to relax with chill out music and also watch videos of Peru! Pretty clever idea, as it gave us the impression of being in Lima! The personnel was very professional, friendly and polite and helped us with our order. We chose ceviche ( famous signature dish as it has whole cubes of fresh fish, choclo and the most original leite de tigre!!) kamarones de rocas ( with wassabe mayo!), kalamari tempura ( the taste of the sea above the earth!), takoyaki ( so tasty that we had two of those!) and Tirandito ( like the most tasteful painting!) Everything was great taken care of, balanced, fresh, original flavours and superb presented. We also had our cocktails: a pisco sour and a negroni, which were heavenly!!! The wine list included both famous greek, chillian and spanish wines. We asked if they had any other special wine and following the chef's advice we took the Castillo de Aresan: a sauvignon blank organic vegan wine, lively and fresh in the mouth! In the end the brought to us churros ( on the house dessert) with handmade milk chocolate! Although we were full we couldn't resist the temptation: so crispy and tasty,! We enjoyed every minute of our visit!! It's really an exceptional 10 star experience! Thank you Mayan!! We promise to come back as soon as possible!!! Tip: after we left, I Google searched the name of the chef and owner: Stamatis Tsilias!! I feel really honoured to have been one of your...

An Unforgettable Dinner. From the moment we sat down, it was clear that this was going to be something extraordinary. The chef who is also the owner took his time crafting each plate—every dish arrived like a miniature masterpiece, thoughtfully composed and bursting with care.

Empanadas were tremendously flavorful—each bite was a beautiful collision of rich fillings and perfectly crisp pastry.

The Gyoza with the mushroom sauce was a true explosion of taste; the sauce elevated the gyros to an unforgettable crescendo.

Also the kimchi is made in‑house by the chef. It had the perfect spicy, tangy counterpoint that rounded out the savory courses.

The pork cheeks were so soft they practically melted on the tongue—served with potatoes that were like clouds, light and airy.

We couldn’t resist and had to try a dessert, and the cheesecake was truly on another level—creamy, decadent, and the perfect conclusion to the meal.

Every element of the evening—from execution to presentation—underscored why Mayan by Chef Stamatis Tsilias is celebrated as a destination for fine dining. Expect masterpieces on every plate and a dining experience that's well worth every moment,...