A quality, cosmopolitan environment with history and a delicious, balanced, and understandable culinary proposal, blending modern elements with subtle Greek references.
Athénaïdos Street is, perhaps, one of the streets in Athens that gather the most notable hotel restaurants. It might sound strange at first, but if one considers that it is a long straight road with different names starting from Vasiléos Georgíou at Syntagma Square, continuing to Karagiorgi Servias, and ending near the Church of Agia Eirini in Monastiraki as Athénaïdos, the picture becomes clearer.
Until recently, this designation was mainly due to the two iconic hotels located at the beginning of the route. Recently, however, another important landmark has been added at the end: the new hotel of the Aria Hotels Group, at 21 Athinaios Street.
The hotel's restaurant, named «1890,» has brought a more upscale gastronomic direction to the bustling area around Agia Eirini, enhancing the neighborhood's primarily casual dining scene. The building, revived by the Aria Hotels Group, boasts over 130 years of history. It was built in 1890 by silk merchant Ioannis Michalopoulos to house his shop on the ground floor and his family residence on the upper levels.
The renovation was carried out with great care and respect for the architectural identity of the building. The high-ceilinged restaurant space retains key elements of the original construction, while simultaneously allowing a visual connection with a section of the hotel area on the first floor. The result is an environment that, in itself, makes the visit interesting, even before the dishes arrive at the table.
Regarding the culinary offering of «1890,» it's worth highlighting the people behind it. The responsibility for the kitchen lies with two young and talented professionals who are actively demonstrating their capabilities through their dishes.
The head chef is Christos Sidiropoulos, while pastry chef Vaso Yamoura stands out in the dessert section. Despite their young age, they avoid fashion excesses and affected trends, focusing on taste and clarity of ideas. The result is delicious and approachable dishes that do not require special culinary knowledge to enjoy.
The menu includes à la carte options, as well as two, most likely, set menus. Although the dishes change often, some highlights are worth mentioning: the excellent sea bream with leek and pear, a dish of balance and flavor clarity, as well as the beef fillet, served with velvety carrot puree and slow-cooked onions with cumin. Complementing the experience with an appetizer and finishing with a dessert, such as the perfectly executed baba au rum, you are sure to enjoy a complete and particularly satisfying dinner.
The conclusion is simple: good food needs no fanfare or «exotic» terminology. The two young chefs at «1890» prove this in the most essential way. It's worth trying them.
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