Finding good Greek cuisine in the heart of Athens can be a rarity. Most establishments cater to tourists, offering mediocre food with poor ingredients and a folkloric vibe. Ateno on the other hand, the new restaurant is changing the game. Opened by the Lias brothers, Spyros and Vangelis, along with chef Nikos Karathanos, Kostas Tranoulidis, and Anthoula Papageorgiou, this spot is redefining Greek dining.

Housed in a beautiful, corner neoclassical building on the pedestrian street of Aiolou, Ateno features a deli on the ground floor, stocked with selected products from small Greek producers. The space also includes refrigerated display cases filled with cheeses and the renowned Metameat charcuterie from the Lias brothers. These ingredients are used to craft hearty sandwiches you can enjoy on the go, at one of the outdoor tables, or in the upstairs atmospheric dining room.

Our visit, however, was not for the sandwiches – which, for the record, are excellent – but for Nikos’s cuisine. Returning to the Athenian culinary scene after some time, Nikos’s comeback is delicious. His daily dishes are rooted in traditional Greek cuisine but have his playful, modern twist. For instance, the Greek salad is served in a peeled, bright red tomato sitting on a bed of feta cream with a dusting of Cretan rusk. When cut, the salad ingredients spill out, finely chopped. The fava is presented in a crispy tart with grilled octopus, a touch of tomato sauce, and hints of kumquat, adding a refreshing acidity. The texture of the fava is also noteworthy. Chickpeas are paired with cod in an intriguing lemon leaf crust, though this dish didn’t impress me as much.

Moving on to pasta, two dishes stand out as must-orders for my next visit. The twisted pasta, which resembles rigatoni, with eel wrapped in lard, graviera cream, and a vibrant Florina pepper sauce, reminded me of the old, good Nikos Karathanos who uniquely combined seemingly mismatched ingredients to create a delicious outcome. The Corfiot tagliatelle (made from semolina) won me over with its rich bacon cream, crispy black pork porchetta, and fried egg, completing the explosion of flavors. It’s a comfort dish – reminiscent of carbonara – that’s hard to share.

Finally, we arrive at the meatballs with Briam and Florina pepper cream, a homestyle dish reimagined for a contemporary, summery take. We finished with moussaka featuring the beloved potatoes from Basegrill. The moussaka is built on these potatoes, topped with luscious, light béchamel and eggplant rolls stuffed with flavorful, aromatic minced beef.

In summary, Ateno brings a new Greek restaurant to Aiolou’s pedestrian street that eschews both modern gimmicks and folkloric clichés. It offers a fresh, contemporary take on Greek cuisine, showcasing what should be presented to the thousands of tourists visiting Athens and us locals.

Info

• Location: Aiolou 52 & Miltiadou
• Phone: 2103 223 223
• Price: €25 – €35 without wine