Mr. George Mamouzelos is a great guy. Chef - Restauranteur, who loves good food and great fresh produce, always searching and reinventing himself and has been doing that for the past 30 years. He started from a little taverna in another part of the island of Kalymnos but then moved his business to Pothia (port city of Kalymnos) where it is stationed till now. 

Chefs such as George really impress me because in a way they have something Japanese in their values.  A Japanese sushi chef can and will wash the sushi rice for years and they always do it well, with the same zeal and energy. And most importantly they do it with the same passion and without cutting corners. These same principles characterise George: for years now he continues to value his clients and goes on creating tasty dishes that are just admired by all who come and try them. 

Another wonderful thing about George is that he does not claim to know everything about cooking. He knows what he can do and where his limits are. And this is of great value. 

We have been in many restaurants where the chefs, especially the older ones, trying to copy dishes from other restaurants but do it in the wrong way. Not that they cannot master the techniques, but they cannot get the "aesthetics" of the dish. The history behind it, the restaurant that it will be good for etc. And you can see that in the menu of the restaurant. Certain things stand out like a sore thumb. George does not do that. He has a feel for what it is right, for what works and what doesn't. You may taste some dishes at Mamouzelos that you had in other places but George always they will have his touch and the dish will be on par with the rest of the menu and will work well with the restaurant and it's clients. In this matter he has an ace up his sleeve.

Mr George has a great Sous-Chef in the kitchen. A young, talented chef whose name is Michalis Glynatsos with a depth of knowledge that is really vital for the success of the restaurant. By teaming up with Michalis, George has taken the restaurant to the next level. To be honest it is as good a restaurant as most in Athens or anywhere in the world. A restaurant that it has become a much experience destination in Kalymnos, alongside the wonderful bronze statue in the archaeology museum and also feasting on the wonderful rusks at Talas bakery... 

Now, don't visit the restaurant if you are looking for fancy decor or to pose. Come here if you are looking for fresh, authentic and absolutely delicious food. I love the wood and the colour scheme but that is about it. When weather permits they bring tables out close to the sea and that it really nice. 

I would suggest coming with a group so that you can taste as many dishes as possible. Also base your order from the specials menu because each day the chefs create little jewels with what the sea provides. They smoke their own fish etc so it is worth it to try those little experiments. 

One little suggestion I have for the restaurant. They have some really mouthwatering salads but the portions are humongous and if possible it would have been great to have them in half sizes. Especially if you visit the restaurant and you are only two there is no way you can have the salad plus mains... 

What ever we tried we really loved. The shrimp of the day were exceptional, the smoked octopus carpaccio was to die for, the fresh and warm bread, their cuttle fish risotto with squid ink,  the grouper with the local greens and pumpkin puree is reason enough to come again and again. 

I also have to comment on the good service, the wine list that features some of the best Greek varieties and their attention to detail in general. 

This is the fourth time I have come to the island and I have come to this restaurant time and time again. I have visited other restaurants on the island that I will post about and show you their food. For its size, Kalymnos is full of wonderful places to eat. But I wanted to start with this wonderful restaurant because it is really special for me. 

Once more I will state that I do not get payed to write about the restaurants that I visit. And also I try to visit the same place two or three times before I feel comfortable enough to write about it. Also I only post about the restaurants that I love and not about the ones where I do not like the food. Cheers! 

I hope that one day you will be able to come to Kalymnos and try the wonderful dishes of mr George and Michalis! 

I really love my friend Damianos…have done for years now…

Genuine, a native of Piraeus, straightforward and an Artist. 

As far as his culinary skills are concerned he simply always leaves me speechless.

He didn’t start out as a chef. And as I also didn’t start out as a chef I feel it makes us closer. 

Of course he started working with a force of nature that was Fabrizzio Bouliani so he was thrown immediately into the deep end.

“Shall we get a mixer to beat the egg whites into meringues faster?”

“Why?” Was Fabrizzio’s reply. “Don’t you have any hands?”

Well! When you start that way and learn exactly the point at which the egg white starts to thicken, when the dough for pasta is ready, when the caramel has reached exactly 120c, whatever happens in the kitchen after that, you are capable of handling it.

These old fashioned classic chefs are the best type for new chefs to meet who have a good mind and an appetite for their work. And of course without the old Greek mentality whereby the top chef showed you nothing, who came at night to makes the sauces in secret and other tricks.

Fabrizzio and Damianos made ‘big men’ and ‘chefs’ out of certain businessmen who stole their money and took advantage of them over the years and now want to give them awards…

Anyway…I didn’t want to say all that but I lived through that stuff with the boys and as the Greeks say “the fish stinks from the head first” In other words it’s normally the management at fault not the chefs when things go wrong.

Fabrizzio sadly has been gone for a year now and everyone who had ever eaten his food, who heard and felt his passion for it, count ourselves very fortunate. And Damianos remained by himself to manage the ‘orchestra’ like the maestro he is..

And he jumped into the deep end…He took on the kitchen of 7Epta in Ermou a restaurant which had been closed for a while and he is slowly making a name for himself in town there..

I have already been quite a few times; one of the first times I went I took my good camera, to take pictures of the food and the place  and the people.

The cuisine is Italian, profound, tasty and simple.. there aren’t any flashy dishes or weird ingredients but all is prepared with a wonderful talent which really is quite shocking.

You should definitely try the Gnocchi with courgettes (zucchini), you must try the Ravioli, The salads, especially the one with the artichokes . You will eat wonderful pasta dishes and if you are a large group, you will stop talking amongst yourselves to savour the flavours of the food.

The interior of the restaurant is a little heavy with chandeliers, heavy wooden furniture and doesn’t really go with the light cuisine and simple tasty dishes. Thank God it’s summer now and we can eat outside on the pedestrianised road and upstairs on the roof terrace with the views of the Acropolis.

In winter the decor may put you off but it’s worth putting up with it for the food.

Beware those amongst you who have problems with glass floors that reveal archaic remains in the basement and although it may not suit all some may enjoy literally walking on air :)

Finally I will talk about the desserts… or what can I say about them..Simply to say you could come and eat only the best desserts in the city. The AbFab (Absolutely Fabulous/Fabrizzio), the Zuppe Inglese, the Perfetta chocolate is stunning.. and it would be good not to have eaten anything before as you absolutely must try all the desserts!!!

So.. I don’t have much more to say. Ah! The incredible view from the roof terrace is yet another reason to visit and visit Markos Markou responsible for the entire project who is marvellous!!!

I hope I have convinced you to try it out…

Ermou 119 and Astigos 10 Athens

Tel. 2103212010

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In Thessaloniki (Salonica) recently we were both struck down with a heavy cold and a chest infection….

Thankfully the Airbnb where we stayed had its own separate gas central heating which we could control and we got a bit better, but with the cold rainy weather and being tired from the journey by car up from Athens ,we found it difficult to find the enthusiasm to enjoy the culinary delights and great restaurants of the city.

A young girl we met via Instagram sent me a message and spoke of a really good and well loved place which was only 150 metres from our apartment.

As it was close and the reviews online we checked out were also good we decided to go early one evening…

That’s how we ended up at Extravaganza…I wouldn’t call it a restaurant, or a taverna..something in Thessaloniki that I didn’t imagine or expect to find, sort of like a gastro-bistro I would say.. A small space with an open kitchen where the chefs make tasty food which is uniquely different…

And indeed it was…whatever we ate was tasty, also what we drank and generally we had a great time there…

The fact that we were able to enjoy the meal without much sense of taste or smell caused by our colds, I would say made that meal  a really great success !

We had little cheese pies with a stunning onion jam.. a wonderful beetroot salad and cabbage dolmades with cabbage in the filling.

For mains we had a spring lamb dish and a wonderful beef tagliata.

Both were superbly cooked and fantastic plates of food…the tagliata had a mushroom sauce and the lamb was accompanied by beans and other wonderful goodies!

We had cocktails and great wine from their selected wine list.

The service was professional a little too formal but efficient.

They don’t allow people to smoke in the restaurant -Bravo!!

The decor was nothing special but the crowd which came to dine were very cool and gave the place its own unique vibe.

A real find!

It”s definitely worth a visit!

Στοά Πτολεμαίων 29Α με Αμβροσίου, tel. 2310529791

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