Rustic Greek grillhouse near Athens Tower

I Gonia Tou Babi (a.k.a. To Agrinio)

Address – Area: 18 Sinopis St., [Ampelokipi neighborhood], Athens,

Tel: 210-77.18.384

Date: 2011-06-06, 2010-09-13 and once more

Cuisine: Greek grill-house (psistaria)

Overall Opinion: Neutral / positive.

Methods of payment: cash

Working hours: Mon-Thu:10:30-18:00, Fri:10:30-24:00, Sat:18:00-24:00

Website: N/A

Accessibility: One short stair to get in. Fairly narrow entrance, corridor and W/C, probably non-accessible to regular wheel-chairs.

Our Order (2011-06)

2 beef patties (biftekia)

2 pork souvlaki

1 french fries

Kontosouvli for 2 (grilled, shredded pork)

2 bottles (500ml) of Kaiser beer

1 Greek salad

Price: 30.00€

Presentation / Ambience: A rustic, shack-like structure, in a side street, 3 blocks from the intersection of Mesogeion & Vassilis Sofias Avenues and very close to the Athens Tower. You cross the narrow corridor in front of the grill and cashier and enter a medium-sized hall, with varnished wood plank walls and traditional, smallish, wooden tables (10-15 of them) and chairs. A few old, framed posters are hanging from the wall, with pictures from the western town of Agrinio and its surrounding area (e.g. Rio-Antirio Bridge). Large windows let the light come in and let you check out outside traffic. I’ve only had lunch here fairly early (for Greek standards) and on weekdays, so the place was never packed with people, but neither was it empty.

Your food is not served in plates (except for the salad) but in a large, cooking sheet, spread out on the table in front of you with all the goodies in it. There are menus on the table (but in Greek!) so you may just ask the waiter for what’s available and /or just order a "variety" plater (a little bit of this and that…). That’s what we did all three times. Overall, it’s a very relaxed, informal atmosphere.

Food / Drinks: Simple, well grilled meat, served fairly warm at a reasonable (though not cheap) price. We especially like the kontosouvli (tender, well-grilled, correctly -very lightly- spiced). I also remember ordering kebob meat in a different occasion that we also liked. However, be warned that this place offers a very limited choice of goods. Do not expect a “full-scale restaurant”. This is its main advantage but may also put off some people.

Only basic beer (Kaiser, Fix, Amstel,  Heineken,...) and soda choices.

Service: Very simple, very fast. However, some people may be put off by the rustic / primitive way of serving, without plates. On the contrary, my pals and I find it part of the attraction. Our order was brought to our table almost immediately.

Location / Getting there: Three blocks from 2 Mesogeion Ave. / One block from 137 Michalakopoulou Ave.

Buses and trolleys no. 3, 10, 550, X14 run along Vasilissis Sofias Ave. Get off at Ippokrateio Bus Stop or Athinaion Bus Stop and walk to the corner of Vassilisis Sofias and Mesogeion. At 2, Mesogeion Ave. turn right, into Sinopis St. and walk past the more preppy bars and grills for 3 blocks. You will see the one-storey, white painted structure housing this grill on your right hand side.

Alternatively, within waking distance (10 minutes walk) from Ampelokipi Metro Station.

See map of Athens restaurants at the bottom of this page.


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Visit to the Presidential Mansion's Garden

If you have programmed to stay in Athens for more than a couple of days, with the summer heat steadily above your comfort zone and archeological sites permanently exposed to the sun, you may start craving for the shade of a quiet, peaceful garden. The Greek "Presidential Garden" (Proedrikos Kipos) or, more precisely, the Garden of the Greek Presidential Mansion (Kipos Proedrikou Megarou) may be just the place you're looking for. It's not a typical tourist site, which is not a bad thing in itself but it's right in the center of Athens - next to the National Garden and very close to the Parliament and Syntagma Square. Even most Greeks haven't been here, as it was only opened to the public for the first time in 2010. I wrote about it in a previous post (Athens Staycation 2010), but that information was buried together with lots of other stuff so I'm writing a separate post to bring it to the front.

Where: The Mansion is located across the much bigger National Garden, at the corner of Irodou Attikou St., & Vasileos Georgiou Defterou St.. The entrance for the Presidential Garden is, unsurprisingly, from the side street (what would in past times be called the service entrance :) ), at Leoforos Vassileos Georgiou Defterou (King George 2nd Ave.).

When: The Garden is open only on Sundays (except for official holidays), from 10:00am to 2:00pm. You need to have a passport with you to enter the place but you do not need to call ahead (Update: information still valid on May 2013).

Who: Everyone, with a valid ID or passport may enter the garden. Unfortunately, that does not include people on wheelchairs, as there are several stairs, at several points, that you will need to go up and down to enter the Garden.

What: The Presidential Mansion's origins are kind of humble, as the lot it is built on used to serve as the Royal Cabbage Garden (!!!) back in the times of monarchy. In the 1890's it was decided to build a palace for the Heir to the Throne and this was the chosen lot. Construction started in 1891 and finished in 1897. Since 1909 it has served as the Royal Palace or Presidential Mansion, depending on the system of government existing each time. Today's Greeks associate images of the Presidential Garden with an annual party / ceremony given here by the acting President of the Republic on July 24, each summer. The date marks the occasion of the fall of the military junta on 24 July 1974, and the restoration of democracy.

Going past the first entrance, if you turn back and look up towards the building you'll notice two royal symbols engraved on the wall. They stand for King Konstantine and Queen Sophia, the acting royalties when the Mansion was built.

Moving on, you'll see a small orange grove to your left...

...and then you'll walk up several stairs to get to the main part of the Garden. [By the way, visitors do not have access to the upper, front part of the Garden which is open on Irodou Attikou St.]

It is designed in a rather strict, formal manner, with elements from "French Garden" design but also incorporating more "naturalist" elements and plants native to Greek vegetation such as the super-tall, more than a century-old junipers that dominate the main axis.

There are 140 different plant species present in the Garden. The most interesting feature is probably the sculptures, of various types and materials, that dot the lawns. I especially liked the "lighter" ones, such as this group of metallic rams sitting near the entrance.



Small path leading to the upper, front section of Presidential Garden; non-accessible to visitors. 



The garden is completely hidden from Irodou Attikou St., behind a tall fence and even taller trees, but on the back side you'll be surprised to see the balconies of nearby polykatikies (blocks of flats) peeking into the garden! There is also a small pool, a pavilion, a few benches and some pergolas, along with fairly large parts of lawns and terraces. But don't expect to be allowed to roll around on the grass or spread your towels on the lawn and sunbathe! This is still the residence of the President of Greece, although I'm sure the number of secret service agents and police watching your every step won't let you forget it!

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Sholarhio restaurant / mezedopolio in Plaka

Scholarhio - 'Ouzeri o Kouklis' (also spelt Sholarhio, Sholarheio, etc.)

Address – Area: 14 Tripodon St. [Plaka neighborhood], Athens

Tel: 210-32.47.605

Date: 2011-05-22

Cuisine: Greek, traditional / mezedopolio

Overall Opinion: Neutral / positive

Methods of payment: cash, Visa, Mastercard

Working hours: 11:00am -2:00am

Website: http://www.scholarhio.gr/english/index.php

Accessibility: No. Four stairs up; narrow entrance; downward ladder to W.C.

Our order:

1 bekri meze (veal with red pepper and tomato sauce) 

1 horta (wild, bitter greens)

1 dolmadakia (vine leaves stuffed w/ minced meat and covered w/ avgolemono sauce) 

1 moussaka

1 feta cheese

1 330ml bottle of Alfa beer

1 bottle of water

bread for 2

Price: 29.50€. Prices are very reasonable / low.

Presentation / Ambience: I remember coming here with a group of boy-scouts many years ago, still a junior-high school student, in one of my first trips to Athens. It could be the first Athenian restaurant I ever walked in. It’s a Plaka tradition (their business card says that it’s been around since 1935), and even though Greek palates have evolved with time (thanks to globalization and… EU / borrowed money) it can still stand the test of time, if you factor the low prices into the equation. A wooden patio, holding about 10-15 tables, overlooks Tripodon St. which, being in Plaka, is mostly used by pedestrians. There are a few tables indoors and several more upstairs. The walls are covered with old Greek memorabilia (old singer portraits, black & white photos, drawings, etc.). The tables –kind of small– are wooden with marble top surface and the chairs are of the traditional, Greek coffee-house, wooden / wicker type. Not very comfy but they fit in with the whole atmosphere.

Frequented by both tourists (60% ?) and  -mostly student- Greeks (40% ?), drawn in by the low prices and the place’s informal atmosphere. Another advantage is that you will almost always find people sitting here, so if you like to dine at odd hours it won’t be just you and the staff.

Food / Drinks:

The waiter presents you a large platter of 18 medium-sized, traditional Greek dishes and you choose as many as you want. Prices range from 4 – 6 € per plate. The food is a good enough, affordable introduction into Greek cuisine as long as your expectations are not too high, especially if you consider that you’re inside the country’s primary tourist zone!

Wine: A very limited selection. From experience I knew that this isn’t one of those places I would spend money on bottled wine; better try your luck with the house wine if you insist.

Beers: Only small bottles of Alfa and Fix (Greek, mass-produced lagers).

Service: Very fast. The people who work here are used to dealing with crowds, non-stop, they know the menu in English and the restaurant’s operating method makes their work easier. They will make the occasional comment –between them– on this table or the other [isn’t it nice to have a Greek-speaking spy? ] but this doesn’t seem to affect the overall level of service.

Location / Getting there: In the heart of the Plaka district, equal distance from Monastiraki, Syntagma and Acropolis Metro stations. You pick a map and you walk, trying to find the corner of Tripodon St. and Epicharmou St. where you will see the patio of Scholarhio.

See map of Athens restaurants at the bottom of this page.

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