Thisavros ton Gefseon

It’s not every week that a charismatic young African-American wins his 10th in a row U.S. primary, that a charismatic 80-year old Fidel Castro steps down as the longest reigning leader in the Western world, and that a small land-locked country in the middle of Europe declares independence. All that and more required some serious conversation around a table filled with food that didn’t pose unnecessary quandaries. A taverna. As simple a one as possible, which is how I ended up with a group of journalist friends at a small, humble place with a big name: O Thisavros ton Gefseon (The “Treasure Chest of Flavors”) in Halandri. It’s a place so humble and nondescript that I had passed it many times without noticing it at all. At the insistence of one friend, a regular customer, we went.

The owner, k. Apostoli, is the arbiter of taste and kitchen here, warning us not to order excessively. He was right, of course, and confident that his fish soup would be perfectly sating, which it was: a lemony-yellow, light, carrot-and-celery filled traditional fish soup as good as my sailor-cook dad used to make, with pearly white pieces of sea bass floating within. On the side, we nibbled on Apostoli’s lovely Taramosalata, creamy and silky, made with white Tarama, which we spread over toasted oregano-and-oil flavored bread slices. His boiled winter salad is a taverna classic. Grilled pleurotus mushrooms brushed with olive oil, oregano and lemon juice added an earthy tone to the meal. The small sardines on the grill, a little dry, are another taverna classic that we savored happily. My friend did the unthinkable and ordered youverlakia (rice and ground meat balls) after her fish soup. They were good, tight and juicy in a nice lemony broth. Greek grandmothers would approve.

The best thing though was the dark, dense not-so-sweet halva served in two large cubes on a plate.

To all of the above, we added a fair dose of spiced up conversation about the current state of the world and to all of the above we clinked glasses with a simple, white house wine. Simplicity is a good thing in these exciting times…

Cuisine: Fish taverna

Athens Area: Halandri (suburb, 20 min. from Syntagma)

Decor: As simple as it gets

Service: Friendly

Wine List: Greek and house wines

Prices 15-20 euro a person

Address: 46 Vas. Georgiou str., Halandri, Tel: 210 6845261