Bungalow 7: Dinos Foteinakis flies to the Asteria of Glyfada

It`s about time that the Athenian Riviera finally got its act together. The super-productive project in Elliniko may still be coming in a long time. Still, the beach is slowly adorned with outstanding hotels and restaurants raising its quality level.

Bungalow 7 opened in the famous Asteria Glyfada, where if we turned back sixty years, we would see Onassis and Callas, JFK and Jackie Kennedy sitting at the tables next to each other, and the Broyer sisters singing on stage. And yet, the Stars in Glyfada once radiated charm and cosmopolitanism. However, they declined relatively quickly until the Papatheocharis Group joined forces with Grivalia this year to revive this historic venue, and thus, Bungalow 7 was born.

Apollo Papatheocharis is an artistic personality, a fact he proved in Bungalow 7, as he curated this oversized beach restaurant bar from end to end with great elegance. The bar in the indoor lounge steals the show: even I, who hasn`t been fond of them for a few years, thought of sitting down for a drink as soon as I saw it. Otherwise, I found many elements that I found elegant in this micro-universe that hint at that distant era without losing touch with the excellent taste of today. Then you step outside onto the beach, where the restaurant`s summer tables are spread out in front of it, and there`s a large pool with day beds and a separate area where they serve their sushi. The service is professional and cheerful. If I have one point to make, it would be about the wine list: it`s exciting and relatively wide-ranging, but it still needs a lot of improvement to make it enticing.

Moving away from the image of Bungalow 7, what puts it at least under our microscope is the presence of chef Dinos Foteinakis (Spondi, Bill & Coo Mykonos) in the kitchen and the way he has sprinkled his distinctive style on a cleverly structured and relaxed menu, which emphasises meats, yet has excellent dishes along the "way": Here, like the well-made pain au let with avocado taramas and salmon eggs. The airier the base becomes, the more points it will gain. At Bungalow 7, I tried this time, probably the best kale salad I`ve ever had in Athens. They serve it with a fantastic sauce of sesame oil, cucumber pickle and smoked eel. But also, in the "raw" section, the very talented Foteinakis - we are talking about one of the best cooks we have in Greece - is doing well: of what we had, I single out the excellent prawns from the valley served with natural wakame and Aegina peanut. This dish could stand in any award-winning restaurant, and they should hang its photo in the kitchen to show them the way to excellence.

Several specials hover close to this high standard. Still, dishes such as the wagyu dumplings need texture, and the utterly uninteresting mini burgers need improvements to stand up to Bungalow 7`s intense flavours. Dinos Foteinakis is a high-end cook, and when he wants to throw aces off the sleeve, he finds ways. His delicious pasta with raw red prawns and caviar in a rich yet delicate tomato bisque blew my jaw away. In this setting, I don`t mind the high element at all, especially when the technique, precision in details, and flavours of the sushi are there. It is curated with passion and executed on the spot by Grigoris Apostolou. 

The desserts at Bungalow 7 also have their grace: terrifically delicious Paris Brest, but the dough must be lightened up. Much better is the Instagram tea-ramisu with bright matcha green tea cream and elegant density.