Athens : two exceptional restaurants promising a sustainable fine dining experience

"Located in the heart of Athens, in a neo-Classical house in the trendy Pangrati neighbourhood, this restaurant conceals a huge organic vegetable garden in Alepochori about 60km from the capital, blessed with a view of the silvery waters of the Gulf of Corinth and brimming with vegetables, fragrant herbs, plump fruit and edible flowers. Here, the menu is tailored to the daily harvest from the kitchen garden, demanding constant adaptability—“When produce isn't ripe, we can't use it; when it's ripe, we have to hurry up and incorporate it into our menus before it's too late,” says Tasos Mantis, a humble, highly talented cook and skilled gardener who learned to cultivate the land from his father on Lesbos. After experience abroad, he returned with a desire to serve sustainable cuisine inspired by the bounty of his native Greece, guided by a ‘farm to table’ philosophy that ensures he knows the origin and ethical, impeccable quality of his raw materials; even the ceramics are custom-made by craftsmen whose expertise and livelihoods are sometimes in jeopardy, extending the restaurant’s commitment to sustainability." - The MICHELIN Guide