Metaxourgeio

Gazi, Keramikos, Metaxourgeio. These are the areas of so many Athenians’ nights out, mine included. On the last several forays down there, roaming the area looking for parking, I couldn’t help but notice one of the last of the Moheekan: an 80-year old taverna right on the corner of Leonidiou Street that looked great from the outside. Dating the 1933, Metaxourgeio as this simple place is called, reminds anyone of another era, one we all kind of yearn for these days, an era when tavernas were the meeting point of whole groups of the population, where music happened and the food was good but secondary to the talk.

This place circa 2009 has gone through a major renovation, of course. And I am sorry to say that the outside touches a lot more nostalgic notes than the inside. For one, two floors have been added. But beyond that, the patina is all new, despite the exposed stone clichés, the wood, the general air of imposed rusticity. Only the great big, old wooden staircase, a little uneven at each step, harkens to another time.

It was very quiet the Tuesday night we visited Metaxourgeio, as Tuesday nights are apt to be throughout most of the Athens dining scene. The menu here is classic taverna fare, executed competently from what we could see by the spate of plates we ordered, but in need of something extra, some individual brushstroke to give the food a little character. The tigania, for example, pan-fried pork, unctuous tomato sauce and delicious fried potatoes (which had soaked up a fair amount of sauce, making them even better) was over salted and unnuanced. The melitzanosalata, my own bellweather, the dish by which I judge many a restaurants, was the standard mayonnaised up commercial rendition, chunky but almost milky, with none of that smoky aroma that draws so many of us to countless eggplant dishes. We ordered the florina peppers clay baked with feta, a very mediocre rendition of a simple, but, when well prepared, delicious, dish. Here, the peppers came straight out of a jar, so there was no sweetness to counter the saltiness of the cheese, only brininess. Ditto on the eggplant baked with cheese, which was brought out by mistake but which we kept. I ordered the stewed eggplant as a main course; when these two dishes were side by side, the only thing that distinguished them was the addition of feta in the one. The salad, a medley of winter greens and radicchio came with whole, huge pieces of arugula and other greens that made it awkward to eat.

Grilled salmon came laden with vegetables every which way: boiled zucchini, cauliflower, potatoes, and greens. The plate was overloaded and the main part of it bland and dried out. Saving grace here: the portion is large. Portions are generally generous, as evinced in the last dish we sampled, the pork chops, which were simple but well cooked.

Metaxourgeio could be better, lots better, if only the kitchen makes an effort to do something a little interesting. This is a menu that has played out in Greek restaurants all over the world. A lot of us love simple Greek fare, but we also like the sense of effort that goes into designing a menu aimed at showcasing something original, even if it’s simple. That’s what is lacking here.

Cuisine: Classic Taverna Fare

Area: Downtown Athens

Decor: Rustic Retro

Service: OK

Wine List: Small and decent; house wine is a light rose

Prices: Around 20-30 euro a person

Address: 25 Myllerou & 1 Leonidiou str., Avdi Square, Metaxourgeio, Tel.: 210 7050103, 6944678930