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A dream dinner facing the Acropolis
Emmanuel Tresmontant-2006-07-17
A star of contemporary Greek cuisine, Lefteris Lazarou is a past master in the art of preparing seafood.
In Paris, there is La Tour d’Argent whose picture window overlooks the Seine, the Île Saint-Louis and Notre-Dame. In Athens, there is Varoulko, a restaurant of very contemporary design whose fifth-floor terrace offers an unobstructed view of the Acropolis.
Up until October, Varoulko’s open-air dinners attract some of the most beautiful women of Athens, who proudly wear their evening dresses and their gold jewellery by goldsmith Ilias Lalaounis for the occasion... The high society aspect happily does not rule out relaxation and you can count on the high spirits of the maître d’hôtel to ensure a pleasant evening – far from the tourist traps of Plaka! So, as the scorching air of the day gives way to the cool of night, here you are, in for a feast of the senses that you will remember for a long time to come...
Lefteris Lazarou’s cuisine is just like the venue – at once refined, elegant and jovial, “a cuisine of love,” he tells us, “expressing a lifetime of journeys and encounters in the Mediterranean world.”
At the age of 12, Lefteris set sail on a cruise ship to help his father, who was a chef on board. At 20, he discovered the scents and spices of North Africa. At 30, he became friends with two great French chefs, the greatly missed Bernard Loiseau and, above all, Jacques Le Divellec, who taught him the art of cooking fish “to the millimetre”. But beyond the novelty of the flavours and techniques that he assimilates here and there, Lefteris Lazarou remains profoundly Greek. “My greatest inspiration comes from the Greek women who cook in the tavernas. Their cuisine is carnal, plain and tasty – I am just following their example... By comparison, the technical cuisine of the Spanish “conquistadors” seems so intellectual to me!” Indeed, Lefteris’ creations shine in their apparent simplicity, pure as a dribble by Ronaldinho or a drawing by Matisse... 90% of the products he uses are Greek, such as olive oil from Crete (mild and full-bodied) and produce from the sea at Thessaloniki, “a very rich ecosystem which gives the fish and sea urchins a special flavour.”
As a starter, his cuttlefish ink soup flavoured by the sea is exquisitely smooth. His carpaccio of katsoula (a sort of red mullet) marinaded in oil and lemon goes marvellously well with a white wine from Santorini, both mineral and sensual (see our article). His cuttlefish with pesto tagliatelle and moussaka of langoustine with fresh mint are delicately savoured and out of this world.
Dinner à la carte from 50 euros* without wine.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Varoulko
80 Pireaus Ave Keramikos
Tel: (210) 5228 400
Eridanus
78 Pireaus Ave
Tel: (210) 5205 360
