Pierre Gagnaire
July 1, 2014
Ramsay vs The square
July 1, 2014

Hytra

A restaurant I believe that it will contribute, with its creations, into making Greece known on the worldwide gastronomical scene. Hytra is being housed by “stegi grammaton kai texnon”      ( sygru avenue ) in the 6th floor. In that building along with “Hytra gourmet” , the restaurant I ate at, coexists the bistro “simple Hytra” for a more simple approach on “food” than the gourmet version of Hytra and a bar which makes interesting cocktails. We can describe Hytra’s cuisine creative. The chef introduces dishes of his inspirations using unique materials combining them successfully together and creating dishes with a Greek flavor but with signature of Nikos Karathanos.

FOOD

The welcoming begins with four different bites. Macaron coloured with cuttlefish ink and stuffed with taramas (Greek traditional salad in the form of paste, which I personally love it). Interesting flavor. Next is a shrimp flake with cream made of tomato and ouzo, similar to the last one, interesting as well. Third bite is a spoonful with yogurt a tiny bit of truffle and the last bite an iconic truffle mostly out of chickpea.

The first dishes began with beetroot. Dish based on beetroot which came into different forms and texture with an aioli sauce and “fake” dirt made from cuttlefish ink and citrus fruit.

Next up is the “mushroom”. Porcini with truffle mayonnaise, hazelnut crumbs, foie gras, potato chips and before that consommé. Amazing dish with all the flavors coexisting in harmony.

Cuttlefish. I still wonder how he managed to create the texture that the cuttlefish had, which had as a base ingredient cuttlefish pulp and cuttlefish ink with spinach and cuttlefish consommé side by side with a rice chip and cuttlefish ink. Around the dish there was crumbled fish roe. A great output of the classical cuttlefish with spinach dish.

After the first dishes ended we moved on to the main courses. The first one was lam. It was an astounding creation. I can’t refrain from writing a lot for this dish. In Crete the lam is considered as one of the best treats. After the female lam has given birth they do not let her breastfeed her child so the milk will get “petrified” in her and later on kill her and cook her. I have indeed tried that dish and I have to admit it’s one of the best lams I have ever tasted. I do not know if the chef of Hytra, Nikos Karathanos , got inspired by that way of cooking the lam but the result left me astounded. The taste can’t be described, the combination of the flavors unique. To sum up, lam slow cooked with mushed carrot and cumin, carrot chip, tuber and milk crust in the bottom.

Next up is the croaker accompanied with mashed beans and scallop consommé, scallops, salami and beans, jelly from cuttlefish ink and green pepper chip. Well-cooked and matching perfectly with the mashed beans and the consommé the fish was great.

Another creation of the chef that left me excited was the rooster cooked in two forms, accompanied with mashed potatoes puree, chives mayonnaise and mustard seed mousse.

We finished our dinner with the dessert which was a bar of chocolate and ice greek cream with the flavor of Greek coffee. Amazing as always.

SERVICE

Service was almost perfect. The waiters were near you when you needed them, the presentation was short but informing. However, I had to call the waiters to clean the table something that should not happen.

ENVIRONMENT

Hytra is located on the 6th floor of stegi grammaton kai texnon in a hall along with the kitchen of the restaurant, behind a glass partition, the bistro, the bar and the restaurant which was supposed to have view to acropolis. However, something like a curtain made of metal was blocking the view. Great decoration with only “mistake” the Christmas balls on the illuminants.

WINE LIST

Unfortunately I did not have the chance to look at the wine list since I got a menu that included only two wines.

CONCLUSION

First of all, when I have the chance I will revisit the restaurant. It had been one of the few times that I have gone to high class restaurant and I want to go again just to taste some dishes again. Also important the fact that I did not pay such a huge amount as usual. I suppose that during the summer it will be even better. I’ve already said in another presentation that Greek chefs do know how to cook meat or actually know how to cook meat in a way that the average Greek person will enjoy it. All meat was well cooked and also juicy. The chef of the restaurant Nikos Karathanos is creating dishes of high “quality” and if the restaurant improves the service they are bound to get a second Michelin star.

Summary

Date of visit: February 2014

Awards: 1 michelin star, toque d’or of Athinorama magazine

Website: Hytra

Rating

Environment: 7/10

Sevice: 7/10

Beverages : 7/10

Food: 8/10

Value for money : 8/10

Intangibles : 7/10

Overall Rating : 44/60

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