We love honest and good tasting foo, especially when it is not overly complex and leaves you with a good comforting vibe to it. That’s exactly what we loved in the newly launched Seramiko bistrot in Keramikos that just expanded its wings from their Thessaloniki’s Sebriko outpost.
Weekday early evening right in the heart of summer and the doors are open at Seramiko. A full team is ready on stand by, their main chef from their Thessaloniki is also manning the crew and Sandra orchestrates the whole lot. It’s not the first few days, the place has been in the works for months, carefully planned, designed and executed. Sandra’s brother, Ilias, knows a thing or two about the dining scene after so many years at Sebriko’s team. He was one of the 11 that started it but eventually took over in 2019. His sister Sandra, originally a film stylist in Doha, is now leading their expansion to the Athenian dining scene already making waves to foodies and travelers alike.
We’re only three of us but each of us with good capacity so want to try a bit of everything. Before everyone arrives my friend prompts me to get the tyrokafteri cheese spread that’s served with crispy chilli flakes and is as promising as it sounds. Along with it I order a tomato salad from Kalymnos with cucumber, kritamos seaweed, tsalafouti cheese and… grilled aubergine nibs that helps everything come together – super!
Along with them I’m also tempted to get a portion of skotyri cheese from Ios that is bold, rich and deliciously compact!
The feast starts taking centre stage as the third one arrives and we natter over things from daily life. Sandra and the crew are super attentive even though it’s almost a full house in the middle of summer. Surprisingly this is one of the very few places in the area with such a sophisticated menu and it seems to pay off. We complement our order with a fava spread, some grilled talagani cheese with marmalade and a chicken skewer marinated perfectly and grilled to perfection.
But the main courses at some point arrive leaving us astounded. A big, hearty portion of a sirloin steak lightly seasoned with carob honey and truffle and grilled just about enough, served juicy and accompanied by some triple cooked potatoes. Oh, what a treat! And alongside that, another big hit of the night… a wholesome hilopittes dish with veal cheeks, tomato nibs and cheese – heavenly made!
There’s still lots to unpack here as they also make their own sourdough bread from scratch, as well as all of the desserts. So we’ll surely be coming back. Seramiko has made a big bang on the night food scene of Athens and deservedly so.
