Spondi restaurant in Athens has been named in the top 100 list of the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants List.
It is the second year in a row that the Michelin star awarded restaurant has been included in the prestigious list and the only restaurant in Greece listed both years (2012-2013).
The winners were announced in London earlier this month.
This award comes shortly after Spondi retained its two-star Michelin Guide rating and the restaurant’s listing as one of Europe’s best in The European 50 Best Restaurants announced last December, a recognition that was also achieved in the years 2009 and 2010.
“We are extremely proud and honoured to be amongst the world’s top restaurants,” said Spondi’s owner and creator, Apostolos Trastelis.
“It is testament to our team’s dedication and commitment to maintaining and consistently raising the bar in quality and service, even during challenging times.”
Described by Trasetlis as a creative-gastronomic restaurant, Spondi was launched in 1996 in Pagrati, an historical district in the centre of Athens, in the vicinity of the Panathenaic Olympic stadium, site of the first modern Olympic Games, 1896. Executive chef Aggelos Lantos is known to change the menu seasonally and always produces works of art on a plate.
For those visiting the restaurant these days there could be some tough choices to make. Starters include foie gras with orange and spicy xocopili chocolate or frog legs coated with peanuts and accompanied by a celery and coconut mousse. In the main course department dishes include a platter of milk-fed lamb in a herb cocotte with lemon paste and eggplant-coriander polenta, as well as veal sweetbread with aromas of ‘Haiti Komet’ Arabica coffee, Jerusalem artichoke and liquorice. Meanwhile, a selection of tapas offers another insight into Spondi’s table culture, while the six-course ‘discovery menu’ gives a taste of the restaurant’s best. The winner of Best Restaurant went to El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, a title formerly held by this year’s No. 2 winner, Denmark’s Noma.
Spondi was also voted for seven consecutive years (2001-2007) ‘Best Restaurant in Greece’ in ‘Athinorama’ Golden Chef’s Hat Award.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is organised by Restaurant magazine, one of the UK’s leading industry magazines. The list is created from the votes of The Diners Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 900 international leaders in the restaurant industry. Members list their choices in order of preference, based on their best restaurant experiences of the previous 18 months and there is no pre-determined checklist of criteria.
For the full list please visit www.theworlds50best.com