Deana Kartsagouli
After some anticipation build-up the prestigious guide announced its picks for the best restaurants in Athens just in time for the holidays
Amidst the continuing controversy surrounding the unfair exclusion of restaurants outside of Athens from its lists, the prestigious Michelin guide issued, in the nick of time -a few days before the end of 2024-, its selection for the top restaurants in Athens. The good news is that there were many new entries, especially in the “Bib Gourmand” and “Selected Restaurants” categories, some of which are amongst our favorite hangouts -like Akra the conceptual all day restaurant founded by Yiannis Loukakis and Spyros Pediaditakis (presentation-interview soon to follow).
On the downside, Mikrolimano’s seaside fish restaurant “Varoulko” helmed by Lefteris Lazarou lost its star that it had managed to maintain for decades -the famous chef was the first Greek to ever be awarded a Michelin star-, and is now in the “Main Selection” category.
A new star is born
Without a doubt however, the talk of the town since the guide’s announcement is Petros Dimas, executive chef of Makris Athens. In only just over a year since its arrival to the Greek capital and the historic Monastiraki neighborhood, the fine dining restaurant has become a destination for foodies everywhere. They travel to taste the chef’s impeccable dishes made from only the best ingredients, most of which come from his own farm in the Corinth area.
As for the other star-studded venues, they managed to maintain their status from last year. Delta remains the only two Michelin star restaurant in Athens -plus the green one for sustainability-, proving that the Thanos Fescos and George Papazaharias chef duo was no short term wonder. Tudor Hall (Asterios Koustoudis), Hytra (George Felemegas), CTC (Alexandros Tsiotinis), Herve (Herve Pronzato, Grigoris Kikis), Spondi (Arnaud Bignon), Pelagos (Luca Piscazzi), Botrini’s (Hector Botrini), The Zillers (now with chef Vasilis Roussos at the wheel), Soil (Tasos Mantis) and Patio (Panagiotis Giakalis) all have kept their one star. Soil and Patio also have a green star each.
In the Bib Gourmand category, Cerdo Negro 1985, Fine Mess Smokehouse, Jerár and Nolan welcomed Akra and Pharaoh to their ranks. This, of course, was no surprise to anyone since the two restaurants have taken over the Athenian food scene ever since their openings. Both focus on honoring the authentic, everyday Greek cuisine with which we grew up and putting it in the spotlight as it should be.
Last but not least, four new entries, Dolli’s, Esthiō, Gallina and Ovio, grace the Selected Restaurants category, joining the other 14 “veterans”, Aleria, Vezene, Simul, Veri Table, Le Pavillon, Linou Soumpasis k Sia, Merceri, Aneton, Sense, Varoulko, GB Roof Garden, Okio, Annie’s Fine Cooking and Seeds. Congratulations to everyone. Till next year!
