Best of the best in gastronomy: Greece’s top 2020 restaurants receive Toques d’Or awards

“[When it comes to Greece’s tourism product] We can’t be all ancient monuments and sun; we must go for more. And more is, above all else, our gastronomy,” said acclaimed journalist, Pavlos Tsimas, acting as MC to the annual Toques d’ Or (Chrysi Skoufee) award ceremony held last month at the Grand Ballroom of the Grande Bretagne hotel in downtown Athens.

Already in its 27th year, the prestigious event, organised by legendary Athinorama (www.athinorama.gr) city guide under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens, hands out culinary awards to the top restaurants around the country.

This year’s ceremony – boasting a dazzling menu prepared in situ by none other than Italo-Argentinean star chef, Mauro Colagreco, currently deemed the world’s most influential cuisinier – hosted socialites, artists, entrepreneurs, journos, and, most tellingly, scores of politicians from all sides of the ideological spectrum. There’s a need to further boost and broaden the country’s tourism product by capitalizing on the lauded Mediterranean cuisine and the ingenuity of local gastronomical talent. And this is by now a dictate shared by everyone involved, however directly or obliquely, in the yummy industry.

Few people in the Western world have never heard of Greek souvlaki, Greek horiatiki salad, or even moussakas and tzatziki.

Equally few, though, have indeed heard that in the past two decades seven Greek restaurants have been awarded with one or even two coveted Michelin stars for culinary excellence. What the Toques d’ Or institution aspired to, and indeed achieved, is to bridge these two extremities by showcasing and honouring the multitude of restaurants throughout the country that manage to concoct and serve delectable dishes; from molecular cuisine foams to decent tzatziki with a twist.

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This year, a total of 28 restaurants were awarded one, two, or three Toques d’ Or depending on their degree of expertise. Well, actually, just one restaurant got the twofold kudos, the rest won one Toque, while no three-Toque prize was handed for yet another year. Another 39 eateries, spread all over the country, were awarded distinctions in the newly-introduced section entitled Top Notch and pertaining to restaurants which are but a notch inferior to the Toques d’ Or ones.

Greece’s top restaurants for 2020, based on their score, are: