F&B around cities is bubbling, despite all the grey gloom of the economy. And more so in the city of Athens where entrepreneurship is taking a new edge. If you top that off with specific high-profile names in the pastry scene, then you get to stumble upon a creative combo like in the case of Ourse – one fine pastry confectionery store in Glyfada.
As I go through my Instagram stream, I land on a beautiful array of some finely-made chocolate pastries from a friend. OK, you have my attention! I immediately ask my friend about the place, but him being a chef makes kind of wonder whether this is just some friendly post… where the actual produce is below par. How wrong can I be?!
Fast forward to today and 24hrs later I set foot in this beautifully designed space in Glyfada made with extra care and love. Stefanos Tsoukalas, known from the great school of Gikas Xenakis at Aleria, and Vicky Dalagianni brought this boutique pastry shop to life back in October 2020, amidst the pandemic crisis. They worked with probably the best pastry chef in Greece, Spyros Pediaditakis from Spondi and the result is just wonderful!
As we go in, we’re surrounded by chocolate bars wrapped in finely cut see-through boxes and lots of portion-sized pastries stocked in their fridge. Stefanos’ brother is tending the ice cream bar (you should definitely try the pistachio with sea salt flavor and the caramel crumble nuts one!) while pastry chefs are refilling the shelves.
We tried the Bitter Chocolate Cherry – a fine bitter chocolate mousse, combined with chocolate crumble, cherry compote and a touch of Madagascar vanilla notes – simply amazing! Their St Honore is also a classic by now, carefully layered with puff pastry base, pate a choux pastry, crème patissierie and caramel! And, last but not least, their Millefeuille with a twist.
All pastries made with high quality ingredients, something you will taste from the first bite! Well done guys!
