Like the genre of books I’m reading, my appetite has its mood swings.

One whole week I would be craving all kinds of traditional Greek food and the other I would be all about Japanese or Italian or whatever foreign cuisine I would be tasting at the time. I’m kind of going with the flow of my stomach on that area.

Italian is one of my all-time favorite cuisines, possibly because I’m Greek and our dishes are very similar. I like the strong flavors, the spicy little mixes they put in their pizzas and of course, let’s not leave out the most delicious spaghettis they are masters of. Italians are very well known of their homemade pastas and the different shapes and recipes they have come up, making a rather simple dish be so delicious and fulfilling.

I found out about this particular Italian restaurant in Athens a while back and I was very eager to try out their food selection. Time was rarely on my side, but I did manage to have dinner there at least once and this is my experience.

First of all, let me tell you about how good the service there is. Kind people, very helpful, ready to answer any question you have. The waiter introduces himself (or herself) and let’s you know immediately about the daily special dish and wants you to inform them of any type of allergies. They are there to help you pick the right dish for you and eager to explain the ways their dishes are made. I like it when the service in a restaurant is approachable, because it immediately lifts up my mood and makes me feel like I won’t be eating something made quickly just to eat and go.

The restaurant reminded me of an Italian trattoria straight out of the streets of Italy. If you ask me if I’ve ever been on Italy I’ll tell you no, but I will someday and until then I have Italian movies to inform me of their architecture and interior decor habits. Small space with mirrors on the wall to give you the impression the place was bigger than what it actually is, a very smart move because it also helped with the way the tables were put around the space and against the mirrors. There was a small space where a man was making spaghetti right there and then, a detail I loved because I kept looking at the skillful way the man was making the pasta.

The kitchen was also semi-open so the guests were able to see all the different dishes the chefs were preparing. Like a live kitchen show.

We opted for a very refreshing Ceasar salad – classic and perfect for our meal- along with some appetizers like cheeseballs with some mousse on the side and a chili-honey pizza. The interesting thing is that they knew exactly how and when to bring you the salad and the appetizers and the minute we finished them off the pizza was served on tall plate and our waiter cut it off with scissors. I wanted those scissors, I am not going to lie, because I always thought they mainly cut off their pizzas with that round, knife-like pizza cutter. Mario & Luigi give you a new way to cut your pizza and I am going to honor them by buying a pair of scissors like that for my own house.

Drinks you ask me? Well, I opted for an alcohol-free lemon drink that came bottled up. Interesting taste, cool and refreshing, perfect for our meal, but I did want a homemade lemon beverage, that I know most Italian restaurants have.

If you ever find yourself in Athens and want to visit the restaurant then you should put on your GPS Leof. El. Venizelou 190, Ilioupoli and the GPS will take you right where Italian flavors meet the Athenian Greek city. It’s truly a very nice idea for date night, trust me!

Thanks for reading!

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