In Thessaloniki, every moment presents an opportunity to indulge in little pleasures. Clean Monday is a traditional Bank holiday in Greece that comes with its own customs; it is a holiday that inspires sharing and cordiality, elements that are linked to both the more traditional aspects of Thessaloniki’s culture and the more modern features of the city.
Of course, there are also some neighbourhoods with their own flair and distinct identity, which are ideal for short getaways within the city itself. These include, for example, Themistocles Sofoulis Street in the eastern part of Thessaloniki and Karambournaki.
Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki
13th km Thessaloniki – Peraia highway, +30 2310 401234
Clean Monday’s long weekend calls for escape, fun, live music and delicious Lenten delicacies. All these tempting delights can be enjoyed at the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki.
On March 7th, you can enjoy a traditional festive meal at the hotel’s restaurant, “Ambrosia”, where the award-winning executive chef Apostolos Altanis and his team will prepare a rich buffet to celebrate with plenty of wine and Lenten delicacies.
This is the menu that will be served on Clean Monday, accompanied by a live music program by Achilleas Sofoudis & Thanos Youletzis:
Hyatt’s Clean Monday menu:
Starters:
Beetroot salad with garlic, balsamic vinegar and walnuts
Hummus with onion and lemon
Olive dip with capers, lemon and thyme
Fava
Salads & Appetizers:
Traditional dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves)
Tabouleh salad with shrimps and bulgur
Mixed vegetable salad with sun-dried tomato, balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Iceberg and spinach salad with dried fruit, petimezi sauce and hazelnuts
Black-eyed peas, onion and lemon salad
Cabbage, carrot, celery and chilli salad
Potato salad with sun-dried tomato, fresh onion and olives
Lenten eggplant salad with Florina peppers, parsley and tahini
Traditional white tarama dip
Roasted peppers with vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
Assorted pickles
Olives
Lenten dishes:
Mussels saganaki
Steamed mussels with vegetables and aromatic herbs
Seafood pilaf with shrimps, squid and octopus
Fried squid
Octopus casserole with pepper and fennel
Cuttlefish with greens and aromatic herbs
Imam Bayildi with caramelized onion and Florina pepper
White kidney Prespa beans
Baked potatoes with rosemary
Pasta with tomato sauce
Desserts:
Assortment of Lenten desserts
Tahini pie
Semolina halvah
Macedonian halvah
Samali cake
Chocolate salami with dry biscuits and halvah
Fresh seasonal fruit, peeled and cut
Of course, Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki has many surprises in store for the next day, Tuesday, March 8, Women’s Day as well.
So start this special day with breakfast at “Ambrosia” to the sounds of the flute of Efi Gatziola. Then enjoy your coffee or tea in the lobby lounge listening to pianist Nelly Tsakiridou. Afterwards, Maria Papadopoulou will warm up the room with the enchanting sound of her violin. And just like that, it will be time to kick off your evening enjoying a special cocktail, such as the Peppermint, accompanied by Sofia Moisiadou’s saxophone.
Treat yourself to a gift of total relaxation and pampering. Harmonia Zen Massage is a special 50-minute beauty and rejuvenation package. It is a combination of COS-Paris organic oils “Dream Garden”, “Fig” and “Verbena”, which ensures a totally soothing experience – an invigorating massage that offers true well-being.
Regency Casino Thessaloniki
12th km Thessaloniki – Airport highway, +30 2310 491234
Regency Casino Thessaloniki has been a leading entertainment and leisure venue in Thessaloniki for almost 26 years. And for this year’s Women’s Day, it offers special evenings, as well as many surprises, including a draw for a trip to Milan.
On this day, Regency Casino Thessaloniki will host a celebration in its main hall with live music, offering all ladies a signature cocktail inspired by female power.
In addition to the special draw for a trip to Milan, cash draws continue as normal every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 21:30 & 23:30, as well as the Up & Go draw game every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 23:00 & 01:00, which gives away up to €5,000 cash per draw.
At La Terrasse restaurant, March is dedicated to the cuisine of Istanbul, bringing the flavours and aromas of Eastern gastronomy to every dish.
Vergina Theatro
12th km Thessaloniki – Airport highway, +30 2310 491291
March is coming in strong for the Vergina Theatre, which has got us used to high quality performances anyway. For this month it welcomes one of the greatest folk voices of Greece, the popular and unique in her genre Glykeria.
The popular singer will present a delightful music show with hits from her long career and her collaborations with great artists. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Smyrna Catastrophe, the show will bear a strong emotional and ethnic character stretching from Izmir to Istanbul and the Bosporus. She will be accompanied by the beloved Greek-Turkish singer Dilek Koc.
Performances every Friday and Saturday 04, 05, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 March & Thursday 24 March. Starting at 22:00
To Manitari
57, Themistocles Sofoulis street, Kalamaria, +30 2310 415289
Created with love by Giannis Ziagas and his wife Niki Tserepi, To Manitari is located a few minutes outside the centre of Thessaloniki, on the east side of the city (Kalamaria).
“We opened in September 2010, during the economic crisis, in an area where most restaurants were closed, even though it was always a dining destination”, Ms.Tserepi tells Travel.gr, recalling the restaurant’s first steps. The restaurant began its journey at a difficult time. But the years have passed, the area has now prospered and new, beautiful shops have opened. And this “has a positive impact on all entrepreneurs”, says Ms. Tserepi and adds, “we want Kalamaria to become a gastronomic destination again”.
The bright hall of the award-winning restaurant – recently renovated by Natalie Tsifutidou’s technical office – stands out for its monastic-style tables, special fixtures and new wall coverings. “Although the space is small, we chose to keep the large tables, comfortable sofas and armchairs in it,” she points out. The outdoor space is also attractive.
The menu is signed by the well-known chef consultant Dimitris Pamporis, while the “pillar” of the restaurant is the chef de cuisine Leonidas Pantzioukas. Based on Mediterranean creative cuisine and high quality ingredients, the menu includes vegan and vegetarian options, while one of the most popular dishes on the menu is the mushroom risotto with truffle.
It is also worth trying the risotto with egg lemon foam and ground buffalo meat from Kerkini, the crispy beef dumplings with garlic-less smoked tzatziki mousse, cod with hazelnut crust, buffalo couscous with pickled mussels, as well as the braised pork cheeks with fresh truffle and celeriac puree. These are some of the dishes served at To Manitari, whose name came about by accident, but which actually has several options that include mushrooms. Open daily, 13.00 – 24.00.
Clay Action
57, Themistocles Sofoulis street, Kalamaria, +30 2314 003450
Clay Action is a pottery shop featuring ceramics made by local artisans and has been operating for 8 years. “Our vision is to bring together contemporary Greek ceramics in one place”, says its owner Evangelia Stergiopoulou to Travel.gr. As she explains, Clay Action started a decade ago as an online store, with the innovative goal of bringing together contemporary domestic ceramics “in order to share it with the world”. Indeed, utilitarian and decorative objects, stone and porcelain clay sculptures, engraved with motifs or hand-painted – always bearing the signature of their creator – have travelled as far as Australia.
Clay Action has also started a new collaboration with the ceramics workshop “To Mirmingi”. In addition to retail, B2B partnerships with hotels, architects and interior designers are also being promoted, as a variety of high quality items are offered for every interior.
Omilos The Beach Club
12, Megalou Alexandrou avenue, +30 2310 869950
Overlooking Mount Olympus in the distance, the city and the port, Omilos The Beach Club boasts a magnificent view at all hours of the day. Tables are spread out on the terrace – just a breath away from the sea – and the elegant interior with its innovative décor, wooden floors and large windows, so you won’t miss this exceptional view.
The renovated space, designed by architect Nikos Mikos, combines simplicity and elegance. It opens at 10 am offering coffee, brunch and snacks. After 13.00, the main menu is served, which includes (among others) fish carpaccio with bottargo and lemon, fresh salads, sea bass with lemon risotto, fennel bressé with citrus and bottargo, orzo shrimp with lemon marmalade and herbs, papardeles with beef ragout and goat cheese, Thessaloniki armenonville with Aegina pistachios and caramel for dessert, etc.
And as evening approaches, the time of sunset is the most blissful moment. Enjoy it with a signature cocktail, such as an agade & clouds with tequila, rum, strawberry and soda or a negroni on the beach with gin, Greek vermouth, bitters and soda.
Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation A.U. Thessaloniki
159A, Agiou Dimitriou street, +30 2310 247111
More than 150 works – sculptures, drawings, documents – are presented in the new exhibition dedicated to the work of Giannoulis Chalepas, which takes place at the amphitheatre of the Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in co-production with the Onassis Foundation. The occasion for the major exhibition on Chalepas was the recent acquisition of a remarkable set of sculptures and drawings for the Onassis Collection.
The exhibition emphasizes the themes that the Greek sculptor chose to work on throughout his life. Emblematic of the Athens period is the sculpture Oedipus and Antigone. Exceptional funerary, two-sided works, creations related to antiquity, portraits and subjects of everyday life, as well as early works he sculpted for the family business in Bucharest complete an insightful walk through Chalepas’ gaze. At the same time, his life in Tinos and Athens comes to life through rare photographic material.
Of the 150 works on display at the Teloglion, 80 belong to the Onassis Foundation’s collection. The rest come from the Collection of Art Works of the Telloglio, the National Gallery Alexandros Soutsos Museum, the Foundation of Tinian Culture, the Yiannoulis Chalepas Museum in the village of Pyrgos on Tinos, as well as from private collections. Open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 09.00-14.00, Wednesday 09.00-14.00 & 17.00-21.00, Saturday and Sunday 10.00-18.00. Monday closed.
