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Trippin’ in Greece Part 3: Starving Ourselves in Efxaris

Trippin’ in Greece Part 3: Starving Ourselves in Efxaris

We were quite lucky this day.  It was October 28 and we had planned to see the Acropolis of Athens.  Fortunately for us, it was a public holiday called “Ohi Day” or “No Day,” which was to commemorate the start of World War 21.  October 28 was the day that the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas said “No” to Mussolini when the Axis Powers demanded Greece let them pass through.

OK, so what does this boring history have to do with the trip?  Well, everything was basically free that day!  That includes the entrance to the archeological sites in Athens, the museums, the food… OK, not the food.

We joined the Athens Walking Tours for our trip to The Acropolis.  So why pay extra when we could’ve gotten in for free?  Basically because of the commentary.  Being history geeks, my cousin and I knew that you can’t really appreciate ruins without a story behind it.  And you can’t really know these things without a guide.

Me by the Acropolis of Athens

Here’s a bit of geeky, might-be-boring history for you guys.  ”Acropolis” means “top city.”  Every city built their own structure on the top-most part of the city so literally, every city had an acropolis.  It just so happens the one in Athens is the one associated to this name.  The more accurate term should be The Acropolis of Athens.

Fast forward to the end of the morning and instead of heading for lunch, we headed to the Acropolis Museum for a couple of hours before heading to lunch / dinner2. The place recommended by our guide, Despina of Athens Walking Tours, was quite perfect in the sense that portions were huge enough to fill us up for the day.

The restaurant was called Efxaris, located in Monastiraki Square.  Monastiraki Square is just below the Acropolis / Plaka Street and there are tons of shops for souvenirs and where the best-rated restaurants3 are located.  It’s, at the very least, a very good view and ambiance.

Service took a while to seat us, but things looked really well to begin with.  The bread looked great and grilled properly and the olive dip looked great.  I hate the bitter tastes of olives, but the dip was nicely made.

Olive dip (Left) and Grilled bread (Right)

I ordered a Pork Souvlaki, which came with the standard rice, fries, pita bread, and tzatziki.  My cousin Jeff ordered a Veal Chop, which had the rice and the fries.

Pork Souvlaki (€9.50 or P570.00)

OK, just one comment really: Greeks don’t know how to cook meat.  They do it well-done and I don’t mean this in a good way.  Meat is cooked all the way through, which leaves the meat to be a bit tough and very dry.  It was poorly seasoned because there wasn’t really much taste to it besides the char.  The great thing though is that it’s a HUGE portion.  Like Fred Flinstone-type huge, especially the Veal Chop.

Veal Chop (€12.00 or P720.00)

Rice was good (as was the norm in Greece).  Fries were OK, probably frozen / processed ones.  Tzatziki was fantastic, but again it was fantastic in every place in Greece, as was the pita.

Clockwise from Top Left: Tzatziki, Fries, and Rice

Oh, and the Semolina Halva from Athinaikon?  They gave us one here for free!  I still didn’t like this dessert dish, but I’m glad I didn’t have to pay for it.

Semolina Halva

To put it into context, the only reason why this meal was fairly satisfying is due to the combination of our hunger4 and the size of the portions.  So why am I rating this meal slightly higher than Athinaikon?  Precisely because I walked away happier.  I didn’t feel like I got screwed5 and I didn’t feel like I overpaid for my meal.

address-overlay 49A Andrianou Street, Monastiraki, Athens, Greece

phone-overlay 210 3226330

web-overlay http://www.efxaris.gr/

email-overlay info@efxaris.gr

e were quite lucky this day.  It was October 28 and we had planned to see the Acropolis of Athens.  Fortunately for us, it was a public holiday called “Ohi Day” or “No Day,” which was to commemorate the start of World War 2.  October 28 was the day that the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis …

Review Overview

Food
Value for Money
Service

Overall Experience

Summary : Great ambiance, really generous portions, but mediocre cooking.

50

About Lester

Lester likes red meat, white meat, and is allergic to vegetables. He thinks PETA is for pussies, and his favorite basketball player is Robert Jaworski.

3 comments

  1. Les, I agree with your star rating for both Athinaikon and Efxaris.

  2. It’s not my first time to visit this website, i am browsing this
    web site dailly and obtain pleasant facts from here all the time.

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