Ultra-hip it is. But just because it is a brand new addition on the 2019 Athenian map, doesn’t mean we had to fall for it. As we started gathering though more and more positive feedback from all around, we did eventually visited – a great off the grid (mostly) seafood spot with some nice aesthetics.
On a quiet Sunday afternoon, we drove south just off Syngrou avenue to find the newly created spot of FITA restaurant. Not really sure of what to expect we luckily discovered a laid back, yet nicely designed space serving mostly seafood to a big crowd of (mostly) hip Athenian connoisseurs. Some with their families, a group of friends on the table behind us celebrating the christening of a small baby girl and whatever else you would expect from a Sunday meal out in Athens. Regardless of whether it is best to visit FITA on a mid-week evening or not (probably yes!), we really enjoyed our time there and took home with us the creative twist on the Greek-based menu.
The menu we tried was nicely done with a few meat-oriented dishes but mostly seafood ones. Fresh and high quality produce, cooked and presented in a quirky way. Fotis Fotinoglou, formerly heading up Seychelles in Keramikos, and Thodoris Kassavetis launched the restaurant back in July 2019 with immediate buzz around it – and well deserved indeed, due to the small scale produce they’re mostly sourcing from small farms and producers, as well as the constantly changing menu.
Small and not widely commercial fish like mixinari make for some inventive offerings, together with fresh steamed vegetables that shine! We also tried their grilled sardines that were served on a bed of quinoa and were quite yummy. Their steamed mussels were not as tasty but still good enough as part of the experience.
Grilled sardines on a bed of quinoa salad
Steamed mussels
The real revelation was the sea urchin pasta which was thick, rich-flavoured and yummy! And since we also had meat lovers with us, we had a bite of the juicy sirloin steak served with wafer thin hand-cut french fries. Again, top marks!
Service was a bit off at times but that was surely to do with the business of a Sunday lunch where the place was really packed. Thumbs up for the FITA team for brining something new into town!
Sea urchin pasta
Sirloin steak with hand-cut french fries
