There are fewer and fewer food establishments in Athens that stand strong in the passing of time and ever growing trend of ethnic dishes. And whilst I love trying new things, I equally bow to the restaureteurs that insist on serving Greek classics. The cookhouse of Leloudas, with about 100 years of history, is a fine example of that!
There are certain places that when you read about them, you simply want to visit in the first chance you get. And that’s exactly what happened with Leloudas, a family-run cookhouse in the old neighbourhood of Elaionas (literarily 10min from the city centre) last week. On a glorious day with the Athenian shining bright we set out to try this lovely outpost in an area full of warehouses and trucks next to Petrou Ralli avenue.
The place opened in 1928 by Dimitris Leloudas, originally from Kythnos, who set up a pantry shop for the residents of Votanikos (a lot of with origins in Minor Asia) and the workers in the nearby establishments. During lunch break they used to serve a couple of dishes, one of which made it to today getting them raving reviews – their delicate golden fried cod.
I remember entering the place and immediately getting hit by the joy all around the tables. At Leloudas there is rarely music playing, but still you can hear the lullaby of friends sharing food and genuinely enjoying themselves. Dimitris, the grandson, took over from his father in recent years and given his background in winemaking he is now offering a few varieties of white wine, like Savvatiano and Roditis, and a couple of red, Cabernet and Merlot.
Their menu is quite simple and you’ll hear about it from Dimitris himself who is manning all of the tables picking on daily specials they offer. Apart from their fried cod which is a must, their fried potatoes topped with minced meat and dry myzithra cheese was a top favourite! We also enjoyed a delicious Greek salad with bright red, juicy tomatoes, tangy feta cheese and crunchy slides of red onion.
For main, we shared a portion of fried meatballs and a beef tomato stew served with pasta – both homemade style. By the end of the meal, we were enjoying the friendly atmosphere out in the porch under the Athenian sun but we still wanted a final touch. Dimitris came to the rescue serving us some halva and a few pieces of pasteli. Just about what we needed to leave smiling.