The OG of Greek Fine Dining
Spondi is the OG of Greek fine dining, boasting all kinds of recognitions, among which that of the country’s best restaurant for 12 consecutive years (golden Chef’s Hat awards). It is a member of Grande Table du Monde, the first Relais Gourmand restaurant, the first one to receive a Michelin star and -until recently- the only 2-star restaurant in Greece. Not bad as far as résumés go – visiting is kind of a must.
The Context
For no particular reason, we had yet to visit – in fact it was the only Michelin star establishment in Athens that we hadn’t visited. Until last night that is. We secured a reservation through Dine Diners, a concept offering specially priced menus across restaurants during the month of March. In the case of Spondi it was 80€ per person and if it sounds a lot bear in mind that – outside this promotional – the restaurant’s discovery menu goes for 170€ per person. It appeared that customers using the promotion where collectively placed at the upstairs area, separated from full price diners like poor relatives. This had a somewhat offensive / somewhat hilarious undertone but otherwise the service was impeccable.
The Menu
Chef Angelos Lantos’ gastronomic vocabulary is rooted in traditional French Haute Cuisine. The 6-stage tasting menu (which, including the bread platter and mignardises, actually corresponded to 8 courses) shared some common ground with the restaurant’s original tasting menu. The portions were plentiful and the dishes visually stunning. As evident in the photos, extreme artfulness and vision have been employed in their creation. Taste-wise they were less impressive. Obviously the food was good, there were even a couple of a-ha moments but overall it was below expectations (this assessment is on the basis of the restaurant’s great renown). We accompanied dinner with an interesting South African chardonnay and a glass of wonderful Bordeaux. We plead guilty on adding a cheese platter too – an excellent selection curated by our table’s extremely competent attendant.
This is the full menu (dishes in order of appearance) ⇩
The Verdict
We had a fabulous time. The experience was rewarding. Everything was premium. But it was not 100% concurrent with the legend. In 2022 Spondi lost its second Michelin star and one can imagine why this happened. At the level of excellence (and pricing) it negotiates expectations run extremely high. Nevertheless, we are waiting and rooting for the comeback.
Spondi, Pyrronos 5, Pagrati, Athens.
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All images © The Real Queen of Stuff with select contributions from (R)Kudos.
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