From the outside, the shop doesn’t catch your eye. It looks like an 80s cafe with irons and sidewalk tables. Inside the high-ceilinged hall, a beautiful vintage chandelier and an equally vintage mirror adorn the walls. A colourful table and the imposing bar also stand out.
Epta Martyres is a special wine bar because of the people behind it – the chef, Seraphim Athanasiou, the cooks, Manos Athanasakis and Gigis Vahani, and the young bartender, Iasonas Nikolaou.
In my opinion, this team is one of the reasons for the bars success.
Another reason, and indeed a very important one, is the relaxed mood from the early afternoon, the diffuse mild eroticism and sparkling energy of it, which makes everyone forget the problems of everyday life.
On top of the menu are the appetisers, which change every two to three days. Among them are the French oysters, which luckily are always there.
From then on, with every wine/tsipouro/beer you order, you also say how many appetisers you want. These are the mezes that the kitchen prepares according to the available ingredients of the season, inspiration and mood.
So what will you eat here? Among the many is velvety salmon gravlax marinated for 30 hours in citrus zest, salt, and sugar, served with radish sprouts and mustard leaves, charred cabbage — delicious.
The versatile Bradley Tomlinson has put together the wine list with 200 labels from Greek and European vineyards (he is also a writer and stand-up comedian).
Sommelier Grigoris Gounaris is in command of upstairs. On the left are the old vintage reds, and the rosés are next to the whites in the background.
He shows us a final vinification from Hatzidakis’ Santorini 2016, T-Oinos winery’s Clos Stegasta Mavrotragano (very small production), Garalis’ sweet Salome from Limnos and Petrakopoulos’ Robola.
By the time we descended the stairs, the bar was starting to fill up and happy people of all ages were sitting at the round tables. We learned that cars are triple-parked in the evenings, and it is possible to come and see them.
On Sunday afternoons, they play Greek music. On the other days, depending on the mood and who is working, you will hear jazz, soul, funky, hip-hop, lounge, etc.
Info: Menaihmou 3B, Neos Kosmos (reservations at Table Agent)
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