Why "expensive" restaurants are expensive?
September 24, 2014Spondi
October 4, 2014
Abovo restaurant is permanently closed
I visited Abovo during the end of September 2014. It was my second visit, since I was satisfied from my first visit and I wanted to try again the Chefs dishes. Abovo being one of the restaurants that does not have any international awards, except a Toque d’or from Athinorama magazine. I think that it should have aquired at least one Michelin star. The cuisine of the Chef, Michael Nourouglou, is creative, the dishes I tasted were strong and since I love strong tastes his cooking got me. From the first time I went (6 months ago) he had changed his menu and I think that it was a correct move. He included a menu degustation, he excluded the salad menu and he put his deserts in a different menu. Doing so, I find that he upped a bit the level of his restaurant. It also gives to the customers the ability to create their own menu degustation, thing that gives even greater value. For the wine list I have an objection that I will analyze in the section about it.
FOOD
Whereas I was satisfied from the first time I visited Abovo I won’t refer to the dishes I tasted then even though the smoked eel and the lamb were worth mentioning. Let’s move on to the dishes from this visit. Starting a cold tomato soup as an appetizer and a “welcome” which I found better than the one they served me last time. Next up was “the shrimps”. Shrimp cut into bites wraped around kadaifi on mashed citrus fruit and mixed vegetables and red pepper ice cream. The vegetable briam was good but it had a lot of chili. Moving on, two types of foie gras. A cold terrine de foie gras that was covered by cherry icing and was accompanied by crouton and hot foie gras with chard, ginger and cherry sauce. Well executed dishes where the tastes were great together. Tuna tataki. Amazing version of the known “modern Greek” dish. The tuna was amazingly made, it mathed perfectly with the wasabi mayonnaise and the avocado sauce with chorizo. Even though the wasabi mayonnaise wasn’t hot at all, I think that the avocado sauce had something spicy that changed the dish. Next up was the calf diaphragm with mashed potatoes with truffle scent and sauce from porto and pearls Tapiokias. The dish δροσιζε a chutney of onions and cucumber. Great dish with all the tastes combined in harmony. I may seem controversial but I would like the chutney a little bit spicier so it could be balanced with the cool of the cucumber, unlike the tuna where the spice of the wasabi, I think, was enough. Dishes that were accompanied by two wine glasses. A white multivariaty, Athiri, Assyrtiko and Aidany and red one blacksour to accompany the calf diaphragm. After I finished with the salty dishes it was time for deserts with a great version of cheese cake. Iced sheep yogurt with liquid nitrogen, blackberry sauce, meringue with pink pepper, trimmed mastic cookie and some white chocolate with strawberry in the inside. The amazing thing was that everything was prepared from the chef on my table (a great social move too). Great desert that as time passed by the iced yogurt slowly got warmer and its texture from iced cookie became ice cream. Beautiful feeling in your mouth
SERVICE
The service was good. I did not fell “forgotten”. The flow of the dishes as it must have been. I finished my diner within 2 hours good time for a meal like that one.
ENVIRONMENT
The restaurant is being housed on the first floor of a beautiful building in Kifisia across the Kefalari grove and near the hotels Pentelikon, semiramis and Theoksenia. In its entrance you are being welcomed by a lady for the wardrobe and accompanies you to the elevator that leads to the restaurant. Place southing and well decorated without anything being too much. The only thing I would like would be more light and to be more certain I would like light over every table so there would be no shadows. A great asset was that it had enough heat so the costumer could feel comfortable. The kitchen was visible, good for the costumers that enjoy the chef while he is cooking.
WINE LIST
I would call the wine list rich, however, I saw some notable wines. I would like to be able to choose from a bigger variety my wines. I would like also to be able to ask for the suggestion (of a sommelier for example) for a glass of wine that would accompany every dish I ordered. Every wine glass, that would have different prices, wouldn’t be a full one but less, so with the 4 dishes, for example, I drink 4 half wine glasses. I would also like a sweet wine for the desert. This is a note that is for all the Greek restaurants and not especially for Abovo. In addition I would recommend, without knowing if it’s possible business wise. It exists a machine that gets wine out of the bottle through a needle, without the wine being opened, and fills the hole with nitrogen. Doing so the restaurant can serve any wine without the danger of oksidosi tou. A machine like this would give the opportunity to the costumer to choose from a bigger variety of wines.
CONCLUSION
Creative cuisine without certain inspiration from countries, that I totally loved both times I tried it. A thing that I think the chef should correct is the overuse of the flavourings. Also, from the first time I visited, some dishes, like the sea bass, where a little bit too salty and that time he had used too much chili even for me that I love spicy food. However in a cuisine with high expectations, like Abovo, what you want is balance.The only thing for sure is that I will revisit Abovo, because the presentation of the dishes, apart from their taste, was creative and in addition the comparison of quality and price were very good.
Summary
Rating
Environment: 7/10
Sevice: 7/10
Beverages : 6/10
Food: 7/10
Value for money : 8/10
Intangibles : 7/10
Overall Rating : 42/60
