Basegrill Glyfada: The success story continues in the southern suburbs

October 23, 2024
Tasos Mitselis
The second Basegrill opened in Glyfada last January and keeps its flavours high. Although it is an infant, it carries the qualities and soul of Peristeri`s first—and now iconic—restaurant
  • BASEGRILL GLYFADA: THE SUCCESS STORY CONTINUES IN THE SOUTHERN SUBURBS | Restaurant Reviews
7.5
Atmosphere:
Service:
Wine List:
3.5 / 5.0
3.5 / 5.0
4.0 / 5.0
Type:
Quality:
Cuisine:
Casual & Chic
Classic
Meat

2025 will be a milestone year for Basegrill, as the restaurant school that essentially established, developed and evolved Greek meat eating like no other will then celebrate its 20th anniversary. I confess that I was late in discovering Basegrill. I went for the first time in 2012 when the restaurant was amid a boom, and you needed a means to get a table. Still, it eventually took me a couple of years to realise that the saga that accompanies it is not only exhausted by its unabated popularity, which not only does not subside but is constantly updated but mainly in the fact that its creators, Spyros and Vangelis Liakos, have remained steadfast in the values they espouse as restaurateurs, building a timeless relationship of trust with the public and exerting at times a vast and catalytic influence on the evolution of the restaurant scene. 

We may now be familiar with the phrase nose-to-tail, and some restaurants in Greece may be practising this sustainability practice to a very satisfactory degree. Still, it was Basegrill, even in its stone age, that implemented this whole-animal management method in 2006 since it was a one-way street for the restaurant to survive. However, there needed to be more knowledge of the terminology and the channels to communicate it.

Even now, at Basegrill in Glyfada, which - in about two months - will be the subject of this review, nose-to-tail is applied to an overwhelming extent, while the restaurant follows all those values - which we have analysed many times - that have established its big brother in Peristeri as the most timeless but also the greatest - in my opinion - Greek steakhouse in our country. Expanding to the southern suburbs and even the gastronomic desert of Glyfada, where no single restaurant of a similar class has been established for as long as I can remember, was not an easy decision. Eighteen years after the first Base - as they used to call it in Peristeri - you can`t say little for thought before it becomes a deed. But, a year after opening, judging by the crowds that flock to the restaurant and the level of cuisine, it looks like it`s winning the bet there, too. So I won`t be surprised if, in five years, we see a lot of good restaurants opening in Glyfada. They will undoubtedly have their hand in it...

It`s not easy to reproduce such a successful and popular restaurant model. Still, this particular "metaphor" is more than a faithful copy of the first Basegrill, but in the dual sense of the word: accurate as the original and utterly dedicated to what it has always stood for as a restaurant. The restaurant in Glyfada is, of course, much more modern aesthetically, considerably more spacious and more prominent; it has a private table that is given out on special occasions, a large fridge, like a "library" with Greek beef, and a walk-in wine cellar. At the same time, around the perimeter of the outdoor area, they have laid tables covered with beautiful two-coloured linen. Service for the massive volume of people is efficient, very, very fast - this, of course, has to do with the kitchen organisation - and up to date at all times on the wide range of the menu. At the same time, the restaurant`s head sommelier, Yannis Frantzis, manages the excellent wine list signed by Master of Wine, Yannis Karakasis, with great fluency. Work this list at your leisure as it hides a bunch of terrariums, both from the Greek and international vineyards, at reasonable prices. But they have also done a remarkable job at Dimitris Papaioannou`s bar: they even age their rum in small barrels.

Spyros and Vangelis Liakos always remain the two great guarantors of the menu. Still, they were joined in this venture from the start by a colleague from the Cookoovaya days, the experienced and very mild-mannered chef Spyros Pavlidis (pictured above with Spyros Liakos), who is also involved in the business venture. He is a quiet yet severe force who does a masterful job in the kitchen. Although, by now, I`ve been to Basegrill in Glyfada at least ten times, I`m in no hurry to criticise. However, having watched its evolution through this year, the standard of the cuisine is generally and specifically very high, certainly comparable to that of Dove, not to mention that it may sometimes even take a step or two ahead. There may be some missteps here and there once in a while; after all, it is impossible with so many covers to get everything perfect. Sometimes, a roast may not turn out 100% of what you asked for, or a piece of meat may not meet your expectations. However, Pavlidis and his team forage with so much focus that what arrives on the plate is what it should be.


There is no need to list dishes in this review. I`ll say that here, too, this liver is genuinely unparalleled, the famous eggs poured over the potato nest excellent, the sausages and cold cuts prepared by the master of the genre, Vangelis Liakos, with the purest way and without additional preservatives in their laboratory, the Metameat, of touching deliciousness, the marrow served with sweet onion and rich herbs on sourdough bread melts in your mouth. At the same time, I have never eaten better cheese pies in Greece. I leave many things out and don`t get their meats from indigenous Greek breeds that are the same - here and there, they have made a deposit of soul. But now you`ll also find some measured selections of meats from abroad at Basegrill, which they choose with great care and sparingly since, recognising their quality profile, they`ve decided to make them available at both restaurants. I would be remiss if I didn`t mention that two days ago, I tried at the Basegrill in Glyfada an "unusual" piece of lamb chops, so wonderfully cooked and deeply delicious that I count it among the best meat dishes I`ve tasted in general this year. When it`s time for dessert after a full meal like this, I don`t usually throw my hat in the ring, but I have to admit that their profiteroles are consistently good. There is, however, room for improvement in this area.

To recap, I believe that Basegrill in Glyfada, although still in its infancy, has nothing to envy from its counterpart in Peristeri. It is already well on its way, and overall, as a steakhouse, it is at a level that most restaurants of its kind in Greece can only dream of. What makes it even more tempting as an exit proposition is its democratised pricing policy, where if you add to the equation its relationship with the quality offered by Basegrill, the package is unbeatable. 

Scoreboard Key
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*"arrow-symbol": the up arrow to the right of the rating, if it appears, symbolizes a restaurant that is close to moving up to the next ranking rung.
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