I stole a line from Panos Deligiannis`s post yesterday on his Instagram as we ate at Manári: "Aris Vezenes has done his miracle again"! One might, now, ask, and perhaps in a mocking tone: but what exactly is the miracle? That he opened a meat tavern in the centre of Athens? I answer: No, the "miracle" is that he opened this particular meat tavern, the Manári, that is, dressing with a high level of aesthetics, a marginalised and often plagued by several pathologies category of restaurants.
Tasty grills exist in Greece, with quite a few, but nine out of ten are a cut above the rest. Manári takes this nostalgia and connects it to the taste DNA of Greeks historically many steps further. In this new project, Aris Vezenes, teaming up with Lelos Georgopoulos and Socrates Toulias, creates, in my opinion, the ideal tavern-grill, stepping on the all-time classic textbook while operating the restaurant with quality features on every level: from the cinematic space to the food, which - fortunately I will say in this case - has absolutely no twist. At Manári, we eat all the trinkets and delicacies that we eat at almost all barbecues, with the difference being that here, the raw materials are top-notch, the barbecues are delicious, the atmosphere is a delight, and the prices are impeccable.
I don`t know how they made a restaurant and even a highly atmospheric architectural space such a `difficult` space. By `difficult`, I mean a space that is not typically associated with a meat tavern. Anyway, the courtyard with its yellow lights is a setting in itself, which writes impossibly in the lens of nostalgia. At the same time, inside, in front of the grill, an oversized stainless steel one dominates; the space opposite the open kitchen is a separate room, dressed with faded walls and beautiful, black and white photographs, while between them in the hallway they have placed tables with white linens and candles that add extra charm to the scenario. While the weather lasts, the first cool breezes can be enjoyed in the courtyard, although there`s something bistronomic about the inside that excites me.
We went on the fourth day after it opened to get a first taste, but looking at the menu, which turns on the salivary glands, left a few things out. Mostly salads. In general, the cuisine already perforates at an excellent level, with a perfect balance of flavours and textures. I only observed some overbaking on their otherwise delicious liver and beef burger. The ribs, some of the best available in Athens, would have benefited from a juicier finish. The fried zucchini winks at Aris Vezene`s tenure at the first Milos, the tzatziki light and delicious, and their bright red tomatoes sliced into rings come with fragrant olive oil and capers.
Otherwise, the meat pie and the braised lamb with perfectly cooked, chunky macaroni are sensational. The stars of the evening include the deeply flavoursome linguine boiled in beef stock and served for two for just €12 and their lamb kebab—juicy, aromatic, flawless. Ares Vesenes didn`t leave the desserts to chance, either. Try the caramelised brioche with matching Aegina peanut praline and milk ice cream, but leave some more room for their beautiful sorbets.
Info: Agion Theodoron Square 3, tel.. 2152153804
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