Cine...Gefseis

One Friday night, I thought it would be fun to take a friend who’s in the film business up to the place called Cine…Gefseis. I don’t know exactly what I imagined—a place whose menu comes from meals we’ve seen in movies? A place with old Greek movies playing in the background, loops of dining and cooking scenes? Was it a novel concept, like the dinner theater called Rouf Train, which is something of a food cult experience in Athenian dining circles?

Cine…Gefseis is in the main square of Kefalari. It turns out that just a few months ago, this restaurant was something else, different name, different concept, one to which the chef Yiannis Baxevanis had lent his name and menu ideas (MoMo). That apparently didn’t work and so a face lift ensued.

The long, deep space is modern and neutral in design. No great transportive feeling like the one you get from watching a good movie, takes you over here. Instead, it’s very well-lighted. I felt the way I sometimes feel when I walk into a small Greek clothing store with the salesperson hovering nearby, watching your every move. The names of each item come from movies of Greek cinema glory days. Stella fyge, kratao…("Stella, Get Out of the Way, I'm Holding a Knife") for example, is a boiled vegetable salad. The kitrina gantia ("Yellow GLoves") is fava (Greek yellow split pea puree). Mia Italida ap’ tin Kypseli ("An Italian Girl from Kypseli") is grilled vegetables. That's about the extent of the movie industry's influence on the menu. 

The titles might be humorous to a Greek who knows them, but the food is boring in every language. A salad of fresh greens, dried fruit, and pear vinaigrette was drenched in dressing and busy. The grilled talagani cheese, a new cheese from the Peloponnese, was hard to mess up: a disk of cheese slapped on the grill. OK. H Kori mou y Socialistria ("My Daugher the Socialist") is a plate filled with small Cretan greens pies (hortopitakia) and these were ok but far from homemade. A braised lamb dish seasoned with rosemary and Mavrodafne wine sounded promising but disappointed because the flavors were bland.

So, Cine…Gefseis is hardly a show worth watching. Whoever is directing this performance doesn’t have a clear idea of what he wants to do. The plot's not interesting. If menu items are the cast in a restaurant, then the actors need rehearsing—better delivery is badly needed.

Cuisine: Greek
Athens Area: Northern suburbs, Kifissia
Decor-Atmosphere: Neutral modern
Service: Fine
Wine List: Small, mainly Greek, with some Italian labels
Prices: 35-40 euro a person
Address: 37, Kolokotroni str., Kefalari, Kifissia, tel. 2106234074