Monday 19 September 2011

Dinner at Filistrons

Since we had such a short time in Athens, I wanted to make sure we had at least one memorable meal while we were there (remember, our trips are mostly about the food and the wine, lol).  After hours spent reading reviews and posts on the Greece forums on Trip Advisor and Fodors, I chose Filistrons for the food and the view of the Acropolis from their rooftop terrace.

We left the hotel around 6:30pm and walked along the beautiful pedestrian walkway that circles the Acropolis.  It was a beautiful evening, warm with a very light breeze and the setting sun was lighting our way.  It was a leisurely 30 minute walk to the restaurant, including many stops along the way for Den to take his pictures.  My passion may be planning our trips, but his is certainly photography.






When we arrived at Filistrons' the view was even better than we could have imagined.  Our reservation at 7pm meant we were very early by Greek standards but also ensured we got one of the best tables on the terrace.  We wanted to just sit and enjoy the million dollar view in front of us, so we ordered some ouzo and spent about an hour just sipping it and gawking (oh, and Den took a few pictures, lol)



After losing my ouzo virginity, we ordered dinner and wine (please tell me you're not surprised!).  Filistron's is a traditional meze restaurant, so there is no regular set menu.  Instead, you order a series of small plates, or mezes, and they are served at the same time.  We ordered 3 cold plates and 2 hot ones.  Everything was very fresh and delicious, including a killer tzaziki with lots of garlic, an eggplant dip with sweet red peppers which added a different flavour, a light and airy moussaka (probably the best one I've ever tasted), fried haloumi cheese which was smoky and squeaky when you bit into it and tiny vine leaves stuffed with rice, meat and pine nuts.  The meal was served with warm crusty bread and we chose the house white, which was a Greek muscat which went very nicely with all the different flavours of the meal.

We sat and ate and drank and talked and were grateful that we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy such a wonderful meal in such a magical setting.





Dinner was a very leisurely 2 and a half hours and we probably could have sat there all night if we wanted to.  Service was attentive and friendly, helpful and never pushy.  We were happily surprised at our final bill of 58 euros for a wonderful meal that included a million dollar view.  The owners could charge 3 times the price and tourists would still come for the view, so this tells you all you need to know about the pride they have in their restaurant.  When we left at almost 10pm, the terrace was still full with happy diners.

We walked slowly back to our hotel, enjoying the balmy evening full of people out for a Monday night stroll.  Now it's 4am and I can't sleep from excitement about our time in Athens and our upcoming island hopping which starts with a 7:30am ferry ride to Paros.

1 comment:

  1. oh this is a fabulous read!! So glad you enjoyed your beautiful dinner with the million dollar view! Great value it seems!! :-)

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