Milos Athens

Some things get better with age. Milos is definitely one of them.
Thursday afternoon is not a propitious time for lunch in this city of night owls gearing up for the weekend’s food and drinks splurge. So, it was a surprise, to say the least, to see Milos Athens’ stunningly spare dining room filled nearly to the brim with what seemed to me like pretty loving and loyal customers. More than a few local stars, from glittering socialites with royalist leanings, to intellectual heavyweights to old family progeny filled more than a few seats. This is, obviously, the place to be between the hours of 2 and 5.

So be it. It’s the best deal in town, too. For a mere 20.08 euros, you dine like a king on a prix fixe lunch that includes one of two excellent salads (either classic tomato-onion-and feta “tis hyras” or a crisp, fresh endive and radicchio salad. A burger, a pretty generous piece of grilles salmon and almyrikia and a vegetable dish make up the three choices for a main course. A choice of two desserts ends what is, by all measures, a most satisfying, civilized meal.

Not being able to withstand the temptation, I ordered off the other, bigger, menu, too. I wanted to try the cabbage salad with orange pieces and bits of krassotyri Kos . It was a subtle, beautiful salad, a tad too salty, but I thought a great, light way to introduce one of the most pungent of Greece ’s regional cheeses. Other regional touches take the same elegant, subtle approach: the Evritania sausage served in yogurt sauce, the lakerda, the Kythera goat baked in a gastra.
Milos has always done the simplest foods best, by sticking to a tried and true formula that relies on great raw ingredients. That’s exactly what this elegant, light, delicious meal was all about.
The star of the afternoon was, by far, the delicate rosettes of a Japanese fish called aftokratoras, served raw and marinated in a light mix of olive oil, lime, salt and pepper.

My only regret is that I let so much time pass since this and my last visit.

Cuisine: Fish par excellence and a mean steak, too

Decor: Sleek, modern, gorgeous, a place to see and be seen, located in the Athens Hilton

Service: Excellent

Wine List: Excellent, Greek and International

Price: Prix Fix lunch and earlybird dinner at 20.09 euro per person, a la carte in the 50-80 euro range

Address: 46 Vas. Sofias str., Athens Hilton Hotel, Ilisia, Tel.: 2107281000