Varoulko
Author: Anothertravelguide.com1 COMMENT
This is one of the most famous restaurants in Athens and the proud holder of a Michelin star. For almost 20 years it was housed in a building on Piraeus Street but then, on the eve of the Olympic Games, Varoulko moved to its present home, the much more stylish and classy district of Gazi. The restaurant is now located next door to the Eridanus five-star boutique hotel, built at the same time. The chef patron of Varoulko Lefteris Lazarou belongs among the famous greats of the Greek art of cooking.
Varoulko, of course, was awarded its Michelin star for the food: its speciality is fish cuisine. A distinctive feature of the restaurant has always been its lack of a printed menu: the waiter informs you of the day's offer as you arrive. While at the old place the decor definitely played second fiddle to food, in its new incarnation Varoulko attempts to kill two birds with one stone. The two-storey restaurant even has a roof terrace with a fabulous view of the Acropolis. Needless to say, it is almost always jam-packed. And yet Varoulko is still a place worth visiting more for its food than the design - the latter being slightly eclectic and coldish rather than cosy.
The service is excellent and, considering the absence of a menu, you would do wise to consult your waiter properly before ordering your food - not least because the helpings are truly generous (that applies to the starters as much as to the main courses), and a word of advice might save you from overrating the capacity of your own stomach. Anothertravelguide.com plumped for an absolutely fabulous risotto with crayfish tails. It hasto be said, though, that the cuisine could hardly be called experimental - it is best described as proper traditional fare. The same goes for the serving style. The best time to visit Varoulko is a warm eveningideal for eating on the open-air terrace. The view of the lit-up Acropolis is one hard to forget, and the tables are arranged so as to offer maximum visual pleasure to each and every diner.
80 Pireos
Phone: 210 522 8400
Your comments
Adomas
Visited: 30.04.2009
Terrace was still closed. We were seated on the ground floor, alone. Then a family from Brazil was seated and two greeks, became somewhat livelier but still a bit quiet.
Food was superb but its delivery and overall service was not at its best with minimal description of the food brought, no chef's specials and little interest from the waiters' side overall.