Days crammed with movies and strolls by way of town make for the proper alternative to expertise Thessaloniki’s evolving meals scene. Whether or not you’re right here for the pageant or planning to go to in future, don’t miss out on these new venues – or the prospect to return to some up to date favorites. Choices vary from high quality espresso, tasty snacks, and tapas to hearty meals and a wide array of wines and cocktails.
Tremendous Ioulios
One of many latest arrivals on Thessaloniki’s wine and culinary scene is Tremendous Ioulios (6 Mitropolitou Gennadiou, Tel. (+30) 2310.276.562), a bar centered solely on pure and low-intervention wines. The area has a lofty, rectangular design paying homage to a classic practice automotive, with minimalist decor, theatrical lighting, and an industrial-style duct that runs alongside the ceiling. As you enter, stools and counter tops line both facet, adopted by wine fridges, whereas within the again an open kitchen affords a view of the meals being ready.
The wine checklist options 66 picks of Greek varieties from throughout the nation, with a couple of third obtainable by the glass. Fastidiously chosen accompaniments embrace Greek cheeses and chilly cuts, like aeromanouro, a kind of goat’s cheese from Vlasti in Kozani, and Lefkada salami from producer Delimari Bros – tasty pairings that completely complement the wines.
“We felt that Thessaloniki was lacking a bar devoted to pure wines. We began with this fastidiously curated checklist and hope to progressively broaden it,” says Stergios Tekeridis, one of many three house owners, identified for his wine bar Tanini Agapi Mou in Athens, and because the co-organizer of a pure wine honest. “A very powerful factor for us is that we have now devoted the area to merchandise harvested from Greek soil. All the things we use is produced within the nation.”
Trying over the wine checklist, it appears fairly daring – particularly for a metropolis that has solely lately embraced wine tradition. But, it’s a real pleasure to take a seat outdoors throughout from the Ottoman-era Bey Hamam sipping a Kakotrygi from Corfu or an Avgoustiati from Ilia within the Peloponnese. These are varieties unfamiliar to many, however Stergios and his crew are bringing them to the fore.
Tzela Delta
One other current addition is Tzela Delta (5 Spandoni, Tel. (+30) 2316.020.106), which opened this autumn, bringing a brand new vibe to Kapani, Thessaloniki’s oldest conventional market. Open from the morning for espresso, it serves snacks and sandwiches, reworking right into a cocktail bar because the day progresses. Its menu options seven signature cocktails, together with distinctive takes on the Negroni and Espresso Martini. The place pulses with good music – digital, rock, and disco – with the tempo choosing up on the times visitor DJs take over the decks from Thursday by way of Sunday.
Estet
Full of life music, starting within the morning no much less, can be a staple at Estet (78 Olympou, Tel. (+30) 693.710.3766), the brand new café by chef Vasilis Hamam and veteran bartender Dimitris Vlasios that launched in September. “We play it loud to carry power to the neighborhood,” Dimitris says with amusing as he prepares a double espresso. “We’re the primary within the metropolis to make use of this particular mix from Taf, the Competitors Mix.” At that second, his companion steps out of the kitchen. “I’m off to seize some substances for the chocolate log – come alongside!” he suggests, and off we go down Filippou Avenue. It is a neighborhood with a human contact, as pleasant greetings fill the air on the close by nut store, O Iraklis, the place Vasilis searches for couverture chocolate and dried fruits (dehydrated osmotically with out added sugar) for his dessert.
“It’s my first day within the kitchen; thus far, I’ve been making all the pieces out entrance. I’ll add some bergamot Turkish delight to the chocolate log for an additional kick of taste and a novel texture,” he explains, a jar of pickled onions sitting within the background. He makes use of this ingredient in one of many 4 sandwiches on the menu, made with sourdough bread from the boutique Sourdough Microbakery, melted kaseri cheese from the Ecological Farm of Livadero in Kozani, and a spicy coffee-infused sauce (espresso sriracha) rather than conventional spices – a signature contact from Vasilis. He first created this sauce in 2016 whereas working in London and has integrated it into each menu since. One other ingenious sandwich on supply is the egg salad served on brioche bread. The drink checklist options choose beers, just a few low-intervention Greek wines, and a few cocktails just like the Negroni.
MOMus Artwork Café
If Estet has really livened up its spot on Olympou Avenue, then MOMus Artwork Café (TIF, 154 Egnatia) is on an analogous mission inside the grounds of the Thessaloniki Worldwide Honest. Positioned on the newly renovated floor flooring of the MOMus-Museum of Up to date Artwork, the café first opened quietly in August and totally stepped into the highlight in September through the Thessaloniki Worldwide Honest. Past museum guests, right here you’ll discover digital nomads who come in search of an inspiring spot to work. The menu contains 100% Arabica espresso from the corporate Fiore, sandwiches, just a few chilly dishes just like the tuna salad, and really tasty sweets ready by chef and proprietor Chrysa Vasara.
For the reason that café stays open till late afternoon, it additionally affords a wide range of alcoholic drinks. Just lately, it has begun internet hosting music and cultural occasions, additional enriching the inventive ambiance of this distinctive area.
Aristotél
Aiming to carry a recent vibe to the decrease facet of Aristotelous Sq., Aristotél (2 Aristotelous Sq., Tel. (+30) 2310.222.202) has formidable plans. Located on the long-lasting sq., Thessaloniki’s second most recognizable landmark after the White Tower, government chef Alsi Sinanaj (with a formidable culinary background from institutions like Hakkasan, Wolves of Kitchen, and P. Field) faces a novel problem: to show that an all-day café-bar-restaurant situated in one of many metropolis’s most business areas, frequented by a whole bunch of tourists day by day, can certainly supply high-quality delicacies, notably by way of uncooked substances and their preparation.
“We solely purchase water and flour – all the pieces else, we make ourselves,” says Sinanaj, as he and his intensive crew put together all the pieces from spice-infused oils to sourdough pita breads. “Our philosophy is predicated on three ideas. First, all the pieces is handmade; second, we fastidiously choose the best uncooked supplies; and third, we prioritize significant recycling practices to scale back our environmental footprint. We make use of all the pieces,” he explains. And whereas on this extra mature section he might not be doing gastronomic acrobatics, his dishes – largely crowd-pleasers – seem like trustworthy to this philosophy. For instance, their carbonara options actual guanciale and egg yolks, and the entire pies are made with hand-rolled filo dough.
Galerie Des Morons
Among the many newest additions to Thessaloniki’s eating scene is Galerie Des Morons (17 Pavlou Mela, Tel. (+30) 2310.264.706), a Greek tapas bar with a concentrate on seasonal substances. This dedication to Greek merchandise shines by way of in each the native spirits and cocktails on supply – as an example, their Margarita is made with tsipouro – in addition to the opposite merchandise. The menu primarily options small plates splendid for sharing, equivalent to assortments of Greek cheeses and cured meats, complemented by just a few important dishes like recent pasta with pork cheeks.
Wine Hideout
Older institutions have additionally had some recent updates. Simply up the identical road from Galerie Des Morons, you’ll discover Wine Hideout (38 Pavlou Mela, Tel. (+30) 2310.263.527), a refined wine bar that opens its doorways at 6 p.m. Though it launched round two and a half years in the past, this summer season noticed the meals choice broaden with the addition of pinsa and the wine checklist enriched. The latter now contains over 400 labels from Greek and worldwide vineyards, with a exceptional collection of aged and recent Santorini wines. Highlights embrace the uncommon Thalassitis Submerged by Gaia – a 100% Assyrtiko wine aged for 5 years in waters of the Aegean – and a magnum of Sigalas Santorini 2018. Alongside the varied pinsa choices, there are well-crafted dishes to pair with the wine, like aged krasograviera cheese matured in wine lees.
Trizoni
The seafood restaurant Trizoni (1 Doxis & Salaminos, Tel. (+30) 2310.542.533) has additionally launched adjustments because it celebrates three profitable years in Thessaloniki and 41 years in Kryopigi, Halkidiki. Proprietor Asterios Sousouras lately launched a “Trizoni Consolation” menu – a preview of the idea for a brand new restaurant with the identical identify, set to open in Kryopigi in the summertime of 2025. Whereas staying true to its core values of high-quality substances and a seafood-focused menu, Trizoni Consolation introduces a parallel menu with extra inexpensive, on a regular basis choices like maroulodolmades (lettuce dolmades) with mussel pilaf, grilled sardine filets, and bruschetta with white fish in a savoro sauce. Past testing the waters for his latest enterprise, Sousouras gives these visiting town middle with the chance for a tasty meal.
Vregmeni Gata
Lastly, Vregmeni Gata (4 Apollonos, Tel. (+30) 2310.909.999), which has been serving meals within the Toumba space for the previous eight years lately started collaborating with chef Giannis Tsikondouras, a well-regarded determine within the metropolis’s culinary scene from his time at Oinotopi-Kapnotopi. The brand new menu is decidedly extra centered, on condition that the seventy-five dishes beforehand on supply have been decreased by about half, but it stays true to the restaurant’s unique method, that includes each meat and fish choices. Additional, as Giannis explains, day by day specials will probably be obtainable relying on what recent substances he finds. “We store day by day at Kapani market, companion with fishing boats in Lemnos, and develop our personal natural greens in Langadas. The uncooked supplies information our recipes, however for winter we’ll have a lot of hearty dishes like giouvetsi (orzo casserole) and fricassee (meat in a lemony herb sauce).”
On the whole phrases, the menu is break up into six distinct classes (appetizers, cheeses, salads, pasta, fish, and meat), and seems to not have pointless culinary frills. Most significantly, it gives clear and real looking descriptions of the dishes on supply. And the way refreshing that’s, to have the ability to sit at a restaurant and have a transparent image of what’s about to land in your desk, with out the necessity to guess about what you simply ordered.
This text was beforehand printed in Greek at gastronomos.gr.
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