Spondi Restaurant
Restaurant · Pagkpati ·
Mediterranean haute cuisine with French influence, vaulted stone dining
Mediterranean haute cuisine with French influence, vaulted stone dining
"In this elegant restaurant close to a busy square behind the ancient Panathenaic Stadium, enjoy highly professional service, attractive vaulted dining rooms, and two Mediterranean-inspired terraces perfect for alfresco dining and a romantic candlelit supper. The cooking here is centred around elaborate and highly visual contemporary French cuisine that is showcased via an array of à la carte dishes as well as on an enticing “Discovery” tasting menu. Seasonal produce is very much to the fore here, although some ever-popular ingredients (crab, langoustine, lamb, chocolate etc) feature all year round. Particularly friendly and attentive service is a constant here!" - Michelin Inspector
"In the pleasant village-like district of Pangrati, I met Arnaud Bignon in a strange little vaulted room with brick walls that serves as his informal office; even at 3pm he was already on deck for the evening, receiving the last deliveries of fresh vegetables or fish and working out the final details for dinner at a restaurant that has been awarded at least one Michelin star for over 20 years. The cooking here is French at heart yet deeply Greek and lighter now—he says he no longer wants to make beurre-blanc—leaning on Greek olive oil, pine oil, seaweed, mountain herbs, fresh almonds, morels, and local truffles, which stand up very well. He reinvents classics, like a Greek salad presented in a sphere that delivers all the dish’s characteristic tastes in a single bite; serves sea bass with rocket and bottarga from Trikalinos; plays with figs reduced to oil for a mayonnaise; and, for dessert, combines local citrus—bergamot, lemon, kumquat—so freshness is always on the menu. Surprising with unusual and surprising combinations is his trademark, and he often organises 4-hand dinners here with chef friends from France and elsewhere." - The MICHELIN Guide
"Spondi is a restaurant with a long-standing reputation for its refined cuisine. At the helm is French chef Arnaud Bignon, mentor to many chefs in Athens. He serves up an unforgettable meat and fish menu, featuring culinary tours de force such as delicate toothfish in a dashi and shiso broth. As for the wines, there is a wide selection of Greek and French labels." - The MICHELIN Guide
"Spondi, with a French accentIn the Pangrati neighbourhood, on a square whose terraces spring to life whenever the sun comes out, the restaurant Spondi occupies a group of maisonnettes clustered around a Mediterranean garden. In winter, dinner is served inside, at tables set out beneath a magnificent vaulted stone ceiling ; in summer, diners merrily decamp to the two outside areas bedecked with bougainvillaea and secluded by stone walls.For many years, Spondi has been a benchmark in the world of Greek gastronomy. A number of young local talents have cut their teeth here under the watchful eye of French chef Arnaud Bignon, who worked for a time for Éric Fréchon at Épicure. Returning to Spondi after a stint in London, the chef does not hesitate to ship exceptional ingredients over from France – turbot from Brittany and duck from the Vendée, for example. The star of the show is the restaurant's land and sea menu, a real showstopper that will satisfy even the most uncompromising foodie. And don't miss out on the generous cheese trolley – packed with dairy masterpieces from Greece as well as France and elsewhere, it is one of a kind. When it comes to wine, you can rely on the recommendations of the excellent French sommelier." - MICHELIN Guide
"For dinner, one of the terraces here suits a refined evening at a restaurant with a long‑standing reputation: under French chef Arnaud Bignon—mentor to many chefs in Athens—an unforgettable meat and fish menu features culinary tours de force like delicate toothfish in a dashi and shiso broth, and the wine selection ranges widely across Greek and French labels." - The MICHELIN Guide
