The truth is that 24 hours is not a goodly amount of time spent in Thessaloniki. Even 24 days might not be enough to discover the city’s culinary treasures. However, this time we will take a short – say- tour of new and old haunts that you should visit, if in Thessaloniki, also known as the “Nymph of Thermaikos”, for a brief stay.
For me, a good day starts with a bougatsa (Greek custard-filled phyllo pastry), although for many locals that’s how a good day ends after a late night out. Therefore, “Bougatsa Giannis”, behind the White Tower, is my first stop. It has been operating since 1996. The pastry, handmade and based on a traditional recipe, is filled with custard, cheese, minced meat, chocolate & hazelnut spread or anything else you can imagine. My favourite is of course the traditional one with vanilla-flavoured custard, icing sugar and cinnamon. So, after adding a little sweetness to my breakfast, I head up to the Iktinou pedestrian street.
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There, at number 6, you will find one of the city’s best coffee shops, “Valenio” (6, Iktinou Street, +30 2311 291518). Valantis Lamprianidis, a green bean lover, barista trainer for many years and judge in coffee competitions, decided about three years ago to open his own café and give daily quality coffee lessons. Try one of their single origin varieties – they are always changing depending on availability- or their cold brew.
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Heading towards the end of the pedestrian, one finds “Cin Cin” (22, Iktinou street, +30 2310 223350), a beautiful all-day bar that serves delicious brunch and well-made drinks. If the weather permits, I usually sit in the courtyard adjacent to the old catacombs and the church of Agios Ioannis. The interior is equally beautiful and subtly peculiar. And by peculiar I mean that, although “Cin Cin” is a bar, it does not have a bar. This was the original plan of the owners, Dina Koutsou and Vassilis Kalaitzis (responsible for the excellent cocktails you’ll try here).
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On the other corner, we find “Estrella” (48,P. Mela Street, +30 2310 272045) with its now famous “bougatsan” – a hybrid of traditional Greek bougatsa and croissant. Apart from that, however, “Estrella” also features an extensive brunch menu with many delicious options and, of course, exuberant pancakes, which you’ll see on every table. Note that during peak hours you might need to wait a little while to get a table.
Located on the other side of the city, in the historic district of Ladadika, “Ypsilon” is modern hub combining quality coffee, great food, drinks and art. “Ypsilon” is housed in a stunning 1870 building. The latter, built by Ioannis Kyrtsis, was once one of the many inns of multicultural Selanik – a Turkish variant of the city’s name. Whenever I want to work in a beautiful and peaceful environment, I always come here.
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From there I always pop into “Vomvidia” (35, Vas. Herakliou Street, +30 2310 281939), one of the city’s oldest haunts, located in Stoa Modiano, where you will try the juicy spicy soutzoukakia (traditional Greek aromatic meatballs in tomato sauce) called “vomvidia”. Located in the central market of Thessaloniki since 1982, it serves in oil paper and remains open until 18:00 in the afternoon.
There are many mainstream restaurants in Ladadika, which attract a lot of people – especially young people. Yet, to be honest, almost none of them is my cup of tea. Of course there are exceptions such as “Haroupi” (4, Doxis Street, +30 698 8526262) that honours Cretan cuisine.
Chef Manolis Papoutsakis follows the tradition of his homeland, but adds modern touches and creates scrumptious dishes; for instance, apaki (traditional Cretan smoked pork) carpaccio with vinegary sauce and aged gruyere cream, hohlioi boubouristoi (traditional Cretan dish with snails) in aged red wine vinegar and roasted garlic, fried mushrooms in raki batter, gemista (stuffed vegetables) with orzo and cream of Cretan cheeses, handmade carob ravioli, and gamopilafo (traditional Cretan wedding pilaf), which will make you a sinner.
Another exception is the relatively new “+Trofi” (7, Doxis Street, +30 2310 540260). Chef Yiannis Loukakis set up an urban restaurant whose menu – based on seasonal and organic ingredients- changes daily. Everything is prepared in the open kitchen that takes up almost the entire interior. I always prefer to sit at the bar so I can see what’s going on behind the fires and pots and pans.
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The urban restaurant “Clochard” (Komninon 10 & Mitropoleos 23, +30 2310 239805) has recently moved in a more comfortable space close to Aristotelous square. This is also one of my favourite restaurants for lunch. I always have cabbage rolls or briam (Greek roasted vegetables) cooked in the wood-fired oven.
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And after all this food, it’s time for coffee and dessert. I head back towards the White Tower and the Stratigou Kallari pedestrian street. A quick stop at “Father Coffee & Vinyls” for a nice espresso, some jazz and funk tunes and a warm smile from the guys behind the bar.
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Coffee in hand, I quickly head to “Armenonville” (102,Mitropoleos Street, +30 2310 525112), where two friends – Evgenia Kalatzi and Elena Kogimtzi- reinvent the city’s traditional dessert with a few modern touches – I adored the lemon cream version. If you are a carrot cake fan, visit “Sugarela” (12, Nikiforou Foka Street, +30 2310 308979). The make the best carrot cake in town.
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It’s time for an aperitivo (to whet my appetite again) or a refreshing spritz. “Giulietta Spritzeria” (33, Palaion Patron Germanou Street, +30 2310 242020) is the ideal place. The “Cin Cin” team along with that of “Apallou” and “join Juice Bars” have created a cheerful hangout in a semi-basement, where early drinks are the order of the day.
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And just when a white Negroni &Tonic has kicked in and has worked up my appetite, I head to “Surfer Maya”(8, Skra Street, +30 2310 235033), a street food restaurant set up by the Estrella team, namely Maria Sbilis and brothers Kostas and Yiannis Kapetanakis. Delicious burgers, exuberant sandwiches (don’t miss the pastrami), tacos and playful tacros (tacos-shaped croissant dough) elevate the concept of street food.
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It’s time for cocktails. First stop at “Casablanca Social Club” (18, Vassilissis Olgas Avenue, +30 2311 243609). In this imposing white mansion with the large and beautiful garden, Alexandros Sourbatis and his team serve sophisticated drinks with interesting flavours and aromas. They also have a wide selection of whiskies and rums. Ask Alexandros to guide you -he is a great guide.
Centrally located, “Vogatsikou” (3, Vogatsikou Street, +30 697 2016783) is one of the best bars in Thessaloniki. Thus, every night it’s packed. Yiannis Kedes, co-owner and bartender, along with the rest of the team create sapid and characterful cocktails. My personal favourite is the aged Negroni.
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Last stop at Ano Ladadika and the youthful “Gorilla” (3, Veroias Street, +30 2313 086274), where Achilleas Plakidas experiments with different flavours and creates unique spirit combinations in a very playful way.
