Okio Restaurant Athens, Greece
Location
Okio Restaurant is located in the heart of Athens on the corner of Nikis and Souri Street. This prime location is just a few blocks from the main Syntagma Square and touristy Parliament building. Okio is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner starting at 6:30 PM and on Sundays for lunch from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made on the Okio Restaurant website.
Type of Restaurant
Okio is a gorgeous restaurant offering contemporary Mediterranean and Asian fused dishes. Okio Restaurant is a new restaurant with its doors opening in the Spring of 2021. The modern space has clean lines and a welcoming feel. The mix of neutral colors with a bold green is attractive and well designed. It is quite a small restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating. There is a small private dining area upstairs for small groups or intimate dinners.
The Menu
Okio Restaurant offers a modern sharing style menu that focuses on Mediterranean and Asian cuisines. Their seasonal dishes show finesse and creativity. Head Chef, Vagelis Dagdelenis is highly awarded and has worked with many renowned chefs. Dagdelenis leads his well-trained team to produce the best dishes with high-quality ingredients. Okio Restaurant partners with many local companies to receive the best in-season ingredients. The small sharing plates give you the chance to try a little bit of everything from both, Mediterranean and Asian cuisines.
What we Ordered
Spritz Cocktail – €7,00
Okio Restaurant offers three unique versions of the trendy spritz cocktail on their menu. I ordered the grapefruit-based spritz and was simply delicious and refreshing. The grapefruit sang with a mix of soda and liquor. It was simply a gorgeous and tasty cocktail for a Fall day in Athens.
Sourdough Bread + Homemade Butter – €3,50
Okio’s homemade bread and butter was one of my favorite bites of the day. Okio Restaurant makes this simple global appetizer unique and delicious. The homemade seeded bread was warm with a soft chewy inside and oat crust. Homemade butter glided with ease and added a hint of olive oil flavor to the nutty warm bread.
Amberjack + Tamarind + Radish – €13,00
Amberjack fish was cooked to perfection by a quick one-minute sear on each side. The fish was delicate and juicy and stood up to the flavorful tamarind sauce. Tamarind offers a unique flavor of tart, sweet, and sour with a sappy-like texture. Crisp red radish slices added color and freshness to this flavorful dish.
Beef Tartar + Gruyere + Potato Chips – €13,00
I am usually not a beef tartar person but Okio changed the beef tartar game. Okio Restaurant finesses this international dish by using high-quality grass-fed beef and local Greek gruyere cheese. Capers, cucumbers, and onions added texture and flavor to the meat mixture. One of the best bites was a potato chip with a dollop of beef tartar mixture, fresh arugula, and Greek gruyere cheese. This was an outstanding dish that was light and unique.
Beef Liver + Date Puree + Chamomile + Plums – €19,00
The main course of the tasting menu was the popular beef liver. The beef liver was cooked well with a nice sear on the outside and soft on the inside. A puree of date with hazelnut praline added a hint of sweetness to the strong earthy liver flavor. This was not my favorite dish but I am glad I tried it because it is very one of a kind.
Green Apple + Caramel + Nutmeg – €5,00
My favorite part of any meal is dessert! Okio Restaurant chose their best and most ordered dessert for our tasting menu. This modern deconstructed apple pie reminded me of Thanksgiving in the United States. Warm baked apple was the centerpiece in a bath of homemade warm caramel and fresh apple bits. The crumble was one of my favorite elements. It was crunchy and reminded me of my grandma’s toffee at Christmas time.
Rating
Thank you, John and Okio Team for a new and delicious lunch in Athens.
The Mozart Prague Hotel
