Anyways.....
Spondi, a fine-dining institution in Athens, was opened back in 1996 and they are the first restaurant in Greece to garner two Michelin stars. To my driver's defense, it's located in somewhat of a weird location (for a fine-dining restaurant) inside a residential area near the Panathenaic Stadium.
By the time we finally arrived, it was already 8:30pm so rather than wasting more time on the food menu, we simply went with the tasting menu (without even looking at the a la carte menu).
First some amuse bouche including foie gras torchon with honey, cucumber and wasabi marshmallow and finally some peanut butter waffles. That should get our palates ready.
Next came more small nibbles, this time (from right to left) a glass tube comprising of what I thought was a gazpacho that turned out to be alcoholic featuring an interesting mix of tomato, celery and vodka. That really got our adrenaline going. We finished things off with the more soothing cantaloupe mousse (middle) and thin sheet of dry-cured ham (left).
The first course of the tasting menu was foie gras terrine beautifully decorated with popcorn and lemon zest on top. The richness of the foie gras was wonderfully matched with a layer of jelly made with candied dates while tonka nuts and millet seeds delivered some textural contrast for a strong finish.
This was followed by seared sea scallop served with grapefruit, pepper mint and red pepper. Toppings of quinoa provided some slightly chewy texture to the mix.
[I had enough of the (romantic) lighting here so I started turning on the flashlights. Apologies to the other guests!]
Beautifully cooked Atlantic cod fish, topped with a green zebra tomato wafer and fresh herbs was presented on a bed of olive oil and crusty rice. This was a really busy dish with an abundance of flavors coming together wonderfully and harmonizing the silky cod fish.
My main dish was veal tenderloin topped with a ravioli which has been stuffed with veal filling, finished off with a strong parsley purée and veal jus.
After our main course, it was cheese trolley time.
Following our cheese and pre-dessert, we were presented with the first of our two desserts. This tasted almost like a panna cotta with fresh strawberries buried on the bottom, topped with a layer of light vanilla cream and then a scoop of strawberry sorbet. The cherry kirsche provided the dessert with a lovely, powerful kick.
Our second dessert was poached Granny Smith apple served in a foam made with lemon, cardamom, cinnamon and coconut. A separate chilled melon soup came on the side to provide the finishing touch.
More interesting nibbles, this time as our petite fours. More marshmallows (forgot the flavor), white chocolate infused with orange liquor which was dressed like an orange on a skewer and last but not least, some spherification with mango juice in the middle.
There's never really a dull moment from this amazing meal that lasted almost 3 hours. So much have been said about Spondi's head chef Arnaud Bignon being one of the brightest young minds in the culinary world these days and now that I have experienced his classic yet creative French cuisine myself, I couldn't agree more with all his critical acclaims. As one of the youngest chefs to ever earn two Michelin stars at the age of 32, he and his brand of haute cuisine certainly deserve all the attention.
Food Rating: 7.5/10
Price: €€€€
Address: Pyronnos 5, 11638 Pagrati, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 21 0756-4021
Website: www.spondi.gr
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