Oinomageireio Epirus (est.1898) — Restaurant in Athens

This only the 2nd review I've ever written about a restaurant because I am usually lazy to write one. But, Zeus would never let me leave Athina without taking the time to write this one. I hope others will have the same experience!

Imagine walking into a Greek home and smelling the savory aromas and spices wafting from the kitchen, making your stomach grumble and your mouth water from the scent of deliciousness in the air. And then Imagine some of the most friendly faces entreating you to sop up a bowl of savory soup with some crusty bread that can make your mouth water in between each spoonful of divine, umami-fulled broth.

After a 2 week treck through the islands with meals filled with grilled meats, cheeses, and roasted seafood, this home style taverna right in the middle of the butcher's aisle of Monastirak market made even the other best Greek meals we had seem a distant bland. (And that something to say!)

The servers and owner here seemed to take pride in showing every hungry patron the dishes fully prepared and piping hot behind the counter-explaining every dish and all the ingredients that went into making them.

Behind the counter are bubbling cauldrons of very traditional fish, chicken, beef, or tripe soups highlighting a second row of vibrant pastas, sauces, and fresh vegetable dishes. We could only haptlessly conceal our salivation from the other side of the glass. My goodness, this place is goodness incarnate!

The beef soup was something hard to describe in words. It was savory, it was complex, it was deep, I was hardy, there were layers of flavor cooked right into every spoonfull, but it was also so very well balanced and humble. The potatoes and carrots still had a medium bite to them, and the brisket was flawlessly lean, and fall-off-the-bone tender.

It's just amazing the depth of flavor there was without layers of fat and extra seasoning. This is definitely not your couple-hours kind of soup! It takes lots of love and care and time to make this. The kind of love only Grandma would have. A product like this only comes from years of practice, perfecting the same recipe over and over.

You taste not only the ingredients, but the care and patience and respect for the process. I hate to sound hyperbolic, but there is a language communicated from cook to customer here, it was just mezmorizing, and I was a happy hypnotee.

I would challenge any fine dining establishment to attempt to chase this humble recipe, any day.

Once in a while a meal invokes something emotional. Especially when you least expect, along with such warm welcome.

My only regret is that I could only fit 3 different dishes in my stomach. The beef soup, the chicken soup and the Fricassee. Needless to say, we are cancelling our dinner reservations at a particularly good restaurant in a neo-classical building in Plaka and will be returning here befoe they...

This eatery is inside the market, so not really fancy and doesn't feel particularly touristy. That said, the staff are incredibly friendly, helpful, and able to speak English.

So why come here? It's decent Greek food; a great place to stop for lunch during your busy day of sightseeing.

I walked in and I was having a look at what food was behind the counter, so someone came to help and tell me what everything was... What's in each dish, how it's cooked... I stopped her at goat soup - I'll have one of those, I said.

A quick stop at the scrupulously clean bathroom, and my soup was dished up ready when I came back.

GOAT SOUP: Served with a squeeze of lemon and a light dusting of chilli flakes, as recommended, and I wasn't disappointed. A tasty broth, with an equally tasty chunk of meat on the bone, and potatoes. The meat is obviously slow cooked because I removed it without much effort, and used the knife more to cut the potatoes. I was offered bread, which I declined, but found that I didn't need it anyway. It filled the gap all by itself, but go for it if you prefer a larger meal €10.50.

I spent a short time just relaxing and people watching. They had a steady slow of customers, but no attempt was made to hurry me up and get rid of me.

Time and...

Aggressive Gastrointestinal Upset

Went to the Epirus Tavern on a Saturday at noon with a slight hangover. Intended to eat a Patsas soup made of beef stomach with garlic, vinegar and pepperoni. In the tavern, I saw a quite enticing soup being served which they strongly recommended. That was a Patsas soup with goat offals. As I’m always curious and interested in new dishes, I ordered it. It was edible, however, it had a slightly repulsive mineral flavour. Ate a tiny portion of Mousakas as well which tasted pretty bland and had been several times reheated. The whole affair set my around 20 EUR back. Starting in the afternoon of that day and for the next five days and nights I was literally tormented by an aggressive gastrointestinal upset. Spent almost a week in the bathroom. My stay in Athens got completely ruined. The body rejected even water. Some medicine from the pharmacy turned out to be ineffective. After having had destroyed my trip to Athens the spook was suddenly over. Watched the report of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and numerous vlogs about this place with excited anticipation. Bourdain is now long time dead and so is the Epirus...