Small Talk

Small Talk

One thing we restaurant reviewers savor is a meal in a place with a menu that’s actually worth reviewing. Ironic as that might sound, in Athens, a city where so many eating establishments serve forth pre-fab food or simple, standard taverna fare, it’s an issue.

Small Talk, located right across from the Polis parking area and the National Research Foundation is definitely worth, well, talking about. Sotiris Evaggelou, the young chef here, puts forth food with flair and elegance. Not everything we sampled hit the high notes, but everything was interesting enough to…talk about.

The design is sleek: Wall murals display spa-like, life-enhancing messages. The hanging light fixtures illuminate hanging olive branches. The neutral colors are soothing. The noise level is acceptable to these aging ears.

The same sleek, Mediterranean aesthetics permeate the menu. I expected more out of the beef cheeks (magoula) hounkiar. The cheeks themselves, small, very tender bits of gelatin-rich, boneless meat, were delicious. The eggplant cream was bland though, lacking depth and smokiness and the round, buttery mouthfeel that comes from mixing the roasted eggplants with a proper béchamel. The plate could have used some color. We loved the roasted beet cubes with the lightest of aioli sauces. The beets were perfectly cooked and earthy. The aioli, a kind of Frenched up skordalia made with potato, was a tad on the gummy side but tasty. The chick pea-avgotaraho duet was an elegant, high-class ode to the amazing flexibility of the Mediterranean’s oldest legume. I liked the fact that the chef doesn’t get stingy with the avgotaraho (botargo), which is cut into thick squares and portioned generously. The dish could have used some olive oil or stock to make it even more luscious and the chick peas could have been a little less al dente. But overall it was very good. Other dishes that intrigued me but that I didn’t try: cauliflower pureée with clams and shrimp and the Santorini fava with squid.

We tried a main course fish, the tsipoura (gilt head bream) with stamnangathi (spiny chicory) fricassée. This is a simple, well-executed dish, not extravagant, not a showcase for fanciful techniques or flavor marriages. It was very good. The farfalles with sausage and calamari recalls similar combinations in Spanish paella, but here the dish was flat. It lacked counterpoint and interesting flavor-texture playfulness.

Dessert: we ordered one dark, one white chocolate dish. The dark chocolate soufflé came with a ball of chocolate ice cream and berry compote. It was more than competent. The white chocolate cream with orange and citrus sauce was very, very sweet.

Small Talk is a place worth keeping an eye on. The food is more than good, the location prime, and the prices set accordingly (it’s not cheap).

Cuisine: Modern Greek and Mediterranean fare

Athens Area: not far from Syntagma, near Panathinaiko Stadium
Atmosphere: contemporary, sleek

Service: slow starting but competent

Wine List: well balanced and reasonably priced, with plenty in the 20 euro range

Prices: 50-70 euro a person
Address: 2, Naiadon str. & Antinoros str., Pagkrati, tel. 210-7222607