Hatskar

Cheap but not chic, delicious but not beautiful. These are the words I’d use to describe Hatskar, a small family restaurant in the northern suburb of Maroussi that serves very good, homemade Armenian dishes.

The waiter calls out to the chef after I ask him a question: “Mama, what’s in the pasous dolma (bean-stuffed pickled cabbage)?” Mama, the chef, is a kerchief-clad, plump very good cook who personally brings over the dish. We enjoy every bit of it.

Hatskar refers to a cross carved into wood. The restaurant is small, bright, and very plain. If there were a few cozier touches and a little less light the space would be much more pleasant and would do the food, which is delicious, justice. If it looked better, I'd even recommend a taxi ride north, for those adventurous and curious diners who want to taste the ethnic places that local love.

The menu is filled with dishes that were new to me. For example, lahmatzoun, the paper-thin small round pies typically topped with spicy ground meat, here come in the well-known version but also in another with spinach. The hatzapouri is an open-faced cheese and yogurt pie, which was very good. I loved the garlicky ground-walnut-filled eggplant rolls, which were so filling it seemed they had meat in them. The pickled cabbage dolmades filled with mixed beans came as two large rolls in a light tomato sauce. They were very good. So was the Armenian chicken salad, with mushrooms, pomegranate seeds and walnuts, dressed in a mayonnaise sauce. It was surprisingly light. The Armenian kebab, ground meat pressed around a long skewer, came with ample raw onions and chopped tomatoes and a generous portion of the very thin flatbread that also came in the beginning, with a spicy red pepper dip.

I don’t know if I would come back here to enjoy a lingering meal but I’d certainly order out because the food is real, homemade, delicious, and cheap. The Armenian wine we tried, Areni, wasn’t exactly the Caucasus Cabernet, as our enthusiastic waiter promised! Sip a beer instead.

Cuisine: tasty homemade Armenian dishes
Athens Area: northern suburbs
Decor: small family restaurant, bright and plain
Service: ok, the waiter was very enthusiastic!
Cava: ok
Prices: 12-15 euros per person
Address: 40, Irinis Ave., Pefki, tel.: 210-8064770, 210-6126823