Gardenista — Restaurant in Municipality of Chalandri

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO ACCOUNT CHANGE THIS IS AN OLD REVIEW. PREVIOUS REVIEW WAS TAKEN DOWN AND IS BEING UPLOADED FROM NEW ACCOUNT

I visited the restaurant on Feb. 16th 2020 along with a friend of mine. We ordered an appetizer and two mains along with a breadbasket. The appetizer was chorizo sausage with french fries and eggs and was fairly good. The issue was with the mains. I got the josper-cooked picanha which was served with asparagus, baby potatoes, salad and peppercorn sauce. My friend got the chicked turmeric served with french fries. When the picanha arrived it was cooked medium as I asked it and cut tagliata style but: 1) in half of the pieces the fat was properly trimmed and in the rest the fat- meat ratio was almost 50-50 2) the outside of the meat in some areas was black and left a bitter aftertaste to the mouth. This indicates a very high heat when the meat was inserted in the josper which signifies poor josper- handling technique 3) The peppercorn sauce also left a bitter aftertaste to the mouth The chicken turmeric of my friend also was black in some places and this part was "hidden" with this side down. Also I think that in order to thicken her accompanying mustard sauce, flour was used but I am not 100% certain on that. As I was hungry I ate the whole thing so when the waitress asked us how it was, I mentioned that the picanha was not properly cooked I could not provide an example. I would stay away from eating in the establishment again but I would visit for a coffee/ drink due to the nice environment. Since the owner/ manager replies to reviews, I am pretty curious to see if he will provide feedback...

Gardenista was an oasis of calm, warmth and delicious food. Service was exceptional. We spent a late lunch in early March, outside, in the garden, enjoying some delicious dishes.

The salads are delicious, and the tartar comes with this molecular approach to side sauces and tastes. Very good. The mini-burgers were tasty with a notable... ketchup for the fries :)

The steaks were great, I recommend the first one on the menu, because it has a bit of fatty area just for the taste, and the side of asparagus and baby potatoes is great!

Finally, the deserts are a Must Have: the cactus-shaped, the profiterol based-chocolate and fruits option or the chocolate volcano - they were unexpectedly delicious.

It looks on the inside as a regular restaurant. But the food definitely puts this...

English below

Το μέρος είναι λίγο Χιπστερο-σαχλαμάρα, και η Αθήνα γενικά έχει πολύ καλύτερα μπραντσάδικα: π.χ. the Underdog, Different Beast - κλάσης ανώτερα...

Ο κήπος είναι πολύ ωραίος, και γενικά η ατμόσφαιρα δεν είναι κακή. Το μενού είναι στάνταρ για τέτοιου τύπου εστιατόριο. Γενικά ψιλό-αδιάφορο, απλά είναι δύσκολο να βρει κανείς κάτι χωρίς 10000 θερμίδες.

Το σέρβις από την άλλη είναι κακό, αλλά χωρίς να φταίνε μόνο οι σερβιτόροι.

Το να ζητάς το avocado toast με poché αυγά αντί για βραστά και να σου λένε «δεν κάνουμε αλλαγές στο πιάτο - είναι εντολή από την κουζίνα» αλλά να σου προτείνουν αντ’αυτού «αν θέλετε πάρτε τα αβγά με τον σολομό που είναι ποσέ και να σας βγάλουμε τον σολομό, να σας προσθέσουμε αβοκάντο και να σας αλλάξουμε το brioche με ψωμί ολικής» δεν είναι και ότι πιο λογικό… ούτε θα έπρεπε να χρειάζεται τόση διαπραγμάτευση και γενική ξινίλα εκ μέρους του προσωπικού…

Τα πιάτα επίσης δεν ήρθαν μαζί, αλλά ένα ένα: δηλαδή ο ένας έτρωγε και οι άλλοι κοιτούσαν.

Όταν επιτέλους ήρθε το πιάτο δεν ήταν κακό αν και η σάλτσα της σαλάτας είχε πάρα πολλή ζάχαρη, αλλά δεν ήταν και τίποτα το ιδιαίτερο…

The place is a bit hipstery, and Athens in general has much better brunch places: e.g. the Underdog, Different Beast - far superior...

The garden is very nice, and in general the atmosphere is not bad. The menu is standard for this type of restaurant. Largely indifferent, but it's just hard to find something without 10000 calories.

The service on the other hand is bad, and not only becaise of the staff.

Asking for the avocado toast with poché eggs instead of boiled eggs and being told "we're not making any changes to the dish - it's a kitchen order" but instead suggesting "if you want to take the eggs with the salmon that's poached and we'll take out the salmon, add avocado and change the brioche to whole wheat bread" isn't exactly the most reasonable thing to do... nor should it need so much negotiation and general sour grapes on the part of the staff...

The plates also didn't come together, but one by one: that is, one person ate and the others watched.

When the plate finally came, it wasn't bad and the salad had too much sugar in the dressing, but it was...