Santorinios — Restaurant in Athens

We took a taxi from the Hotel Grande Bretagne to Santorinios, after the hotel rooftop bartender suggested it. The night before we had been to “Spondi” with two Michelin stars. “Santorinios” was just what we needed. A rustic taverna serving delicious Cycladic-island cuisine.

The chef and his Mum were there, cooking and serving. No time wasted on service frills, instead this taverna specialises in traditional Santorini dishes.

The prices were very reasonable, such that we left a decent-sized tip as we could see how much care had been taken to keep to classic food quality.

The feta Saganaki, Tzatziki and Santorini-style Fava were just divine. Plain excellent, healthy home cooking.

The Keftedes were cooked in a village style, with a rich tomato sauce, each meatball topped with some aubergine and a mild local cheese. Each one was like a mini Moussaka, but prepared with such care. Not a morsel was left!

This restaurant is off the tourist track. The staff do not speak much English, but they have managed to translate the menu enough so you can order.

A special mention is for the potted pork. I’ve never tasted anything quite as good in Athens. A pleasure to eat.

The chef and owner is ‘Minas’, and his elderly mother ‘Anna’ was wonderful, greeting us like old friends, although we had just wondered in without even booking a table. We sampled a wonderful sherry-like wine Anna herself had made. It was very nice and the perfect end to a perfect dinner.

I cannot recommend Santorinios enough. This kind of taverna is a fast-diminishing resource in Greece, and is so special and should be preserved and treasured, so unspoilt and classic.

I can’t wait to come to Santorinios again next time I am on holiday in Athens. Don’t miss this special experience before you...

We went here because a friend had spent several very nice evenings here about 7 years ago. We were excited to visit! The tavern looks nice with blue and white accents and flowers. That’s about where the positives end. Maybe we were unlucky and experienced a bad evening for the hosts but we were not happy at all. There was no one but us, the waitress was completely uninterested in our experience, she did not know any of the food on the menu (which was in English) in English when we asked about pictures on the menu pages and which dishes were the ones shown in them. We ended up blindly ordering some random things off the menu by pointing at them. The greek salad had nice feta but that was literally it. The microwave binged audibly every time one of our dishes was done. They were all warmed up unevenly which means they definitely came from a microwave. The three entirely different dishes we had aside from the salad all had the exact same tomato sauce and thick, melted greasy cheese mix poured on top. They were practically Indistinguishable from each other. One was meatballs. Mushy and clearly not fresh, but thawed. Aubergine was soggy and flavorless. The filled puff pastry was uncooked and super greasy, we couldn’t finish it. Every dish lacked flavor and showed zero attention or love. The waitress seemed to be the person warming up and dressing the dishes too. It was bizarre. She did not once talk to us after we ordered. Not a word. No ‘how did you like it’, ‘ok?’, nothing. Do not go here, Athens is FULL of good restaurants that show care, love and...

Santorinios was so good that my boyfriend and I absolutely HAD to go again before flying back to Canada. We happened upon it during our first week in Greece and couldn't have been happier with it being our last dinner before leaving. After ferrying around to 6 different Greek islands and having some of the most delicious food of our lives, I must say Santorinios easily finishes on the podium. It has all the elements of a great meal while still being affordable, and is accessible (2 minute walk from Petralona, green Kifissia-Paraeus metro line) yet nestled between a few neatly kept buildings. You feel like you're eating in someone's beautiful, homey courtyard while being served by a friend. That friend's name would be John - a delightful man who doesn't let your table run out of wine during your meal, and who genuinely wants you to enjoy a long meal.

From what I've seen, they'll treat your kids like family. And cash is the best...