No longer operating under the shadow of Jul’s Ibiza, Humain — now with Chef Yiannis Kaldis at the helm — is making a serious effort to define its own gastronomic identity. His approach blends the philosophy of French cuisine with ingredients and techniques drawn both from Greece and from the wider international culinary landscape. The first impression one gets upon entering Humain is that of considered luxury. The dominant palette revolves around deep shades of blue and grey, while the stone-textured walls create the sense of a space sculpted by an artisan’s hand. Black marble tables and wooden chairs upholstered in soft grey fabric underline the restaurant’s contemporary yet warmly inviting character. The tables are set with restraint — a grey linen napkin and a single flower in a small vase — and the lighting is intentionally low, with individual lamps placed on each table to allow diners to clearly see their food. The overall effect is a setting that balances modernity with warmth, providing the ideal backdrop for the culinary experience that follows.
When it comes to flavour, the new degustation menu by Yiannis Kaldis, “Flavours 2.0”, is not simply a collection of dishes but a narrative that balances technique, emotion and boldness. Chef Kaldis imitates no one. He creates a storyline that clearly bears his own signature — both in taste and in plating — and the menu unfolds like a pleasurable journey: from sea to land, from the simple to the complex, and from nostalgia to surprise.
The chef welcomed us with three amuse-bouches. The first was a tart topped with steamed mussels, shrimp mayonnaise, fermented grape, tomato paste and fennel.
The second, a sourdough French toast with aged graviera espuma, onion compote and shaved black truffle. The third, a pane puri (the Indian semolina-based dough), filled with fig jam, taramas mousse and a thin slice of house-made cured beef. All three were well crafted, although the flavours of the individual elements were not always clearly defined. Moving on to the main courses of the tasting, the restaurant’s new culinary direction becomes more apparent. The first dish was lightly cured red porgy finished with nori and lemon powder, served over a base of kiwi and turnip, with a kefir sauce infused with horseradish and ginger oil. Despite its aromatic intensity, the dish had intentionally low impact, designed to prepare the palate for the “flavour party” that was about to follow.
The beetroot with eel that followed may sound like an unusual combination, yet here the chef adds crisp, airy pork fat and creates a dish with playful textures and rich, clean flavours. The squid with yeast, XO, Corfiot salado and yuzu had deep savouriness, maritime clarity and an almost “electric” aftertaste. The cod, served in a Savoy cabbage taco with plankton emulsion and miso sauce, was the most iodine-driven dish of the dinner, rounding off the first part of the menu, as the following courses moved from sea to land.
The first dish of this section was the aubergine with kimchi ketchup — properly caramelised, lightly dusted with cumin and topped with guanciale — completed by a slightly thick, glossy, semi-transparent smoked-chicken broth. It is a dish whose complexity never shouts; instead, the flavours unfold slowly, like a scent that reveals itself with time. The tasting menu, with its particularly high intensities, concluded with an exceptionally tender milk-fed lamb, accompanied not only by the necessary sauce but also by a generous amount of avgolemono-fricassee espuma.
Moving into the sweet part of the dinner, I tasted the pre-dessert of hibiscus, strawberry and yoghurt, which acts as a refreshing interlude, while the “chocolate explosion” in various textures, finished with an orange sauce, brings the menu’s narrative to a perfectly coherent close.
Info: 43 Agras Street, Athens, tel. 210 7010040
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