Athena Phenomenon
The restaurant “Athena” by Ava Team (Anton Pinsky, Artem Losev, Vitaliy Istomin) opened on the site of the once widely known cafe “Academy.” As you can easily guess, the restaurant is Greek, and chefs Artem Losev, Vitaliy Istomin, and head chef Romanos Iliani work in the kitchen. The chefs say that they wanted to open such a restaurant after a trip to Greece, this is their first Greek comfort food on their resume. The interior is in the generally accepted fashionable Moscow style, with natural materials in details (lots of wood, marble, and greenery), and the hall is crowned with a bas-relief by sculptor Vasily Selivanov “Feast of the Greek gods” covering the entire wall.
On all tables, except one (for a large group, which divides the long hall into two parts), white tablecloths are laid out. The kitchen and bar are open so you can watch how moussaka is prepared. There is plenty of light here, large windows, and a welcoming atmosphere. The staff is polite and knows the menu inside out. As a compliment, they serve chips with a soft, almost airy feta cream. The famous Greek salad (it is called that on the menu) is served with large croutons. A signature touch that has already made its rounds on social media is a bouquet of dried oregano, which is shaken over the salad to add dried spice to it. The menu features many classic Greek dishes. Mini appetizers like tartare of fresh seabass and red shrimp drizzled with olive oil, beef tartare served with a spicy tahini sauce, vongole clams served with chicken broth, minted potatoes, green oil, and crumbled kefali caviar. Several types of flatbreads on a yogurt base are very soft, fluffy, and pastry-like. It is best to pair them with mezze, but you can also have them separately; for example, flatbread with sesame seeds, reminiscent of Adjaran khachapuri, with feta cheese in the center and egg yolk.
For the main course: stuffed ramiro pepper with beef served with a tomato and parsley sauce; a very meaty scallop, two pieces, with zhug sauce (chicken demiglace sauce) and cucumber tartare; half a chicken with tzatziki and spinach; whole flounder on a large plate in a tomato sauce, with capers and olives. Be sure to order the “Athena” cocktail, served in a seashell, and desserts. Among them is a cheesecake made of feta cheese, resembling a Greek salad, which will be served on vegetables, with mint oil and olive ice cream; yogurt souffle with blueberries, resembling crab sticks, and amaretto sauce.
2/6 Bolshaya Bronnaya Street
Daily, from 10:00 to 23:00
Wine Friday
One of Moscow’s most talented sommeliers and renowned wine experts in Russia, as well as a true aesthete and wonderful storyteller, Sergey Aksenovsky (Maison Dellos) on April 5th will host a wine dinner “Underrated Wines. In the Shadows of Great Terroirs” at” Coffee Mania Chef`s.” The wine menu of the dinner includes seven rare wines and one liqueur that Sergey Aksenovsky will offer to taste and discuss in an intimate atmosphere. The restaurant’s chef, Alexey Petrichenko, will offer pairings of his own signature dishes.
Price for a set of eight servings with wine pairing – 19,000 rubles. Dinner starts at 19:00.
17 Spiridonievsky Lane
High Gastronomic Vocabulary “Kommersant Style”
Lately, the ingredient called ganache is very often found in the dessert sections. What is it? “In fact – a cream in which chocolate, black or white, takes up the main part, plus some liquid part – cream or puree (for example, fruit), or plant-based milk, or even water,” notes head pastry chef La Bottega Siciliana Valeria Melnik. Ganaches can be classic or whipped. The classic one is denser, with a rich flavor, spread with a spatula, while the whipped one is softer, as it is whipped with a mixer. Soft ganache is most often used in the famous cake “Sacher,” mini macaron pastries, profiteroles, etc.
At the Loona restaurant, they serve ganache with raspberry troisgros – tender farm cream with white chocolate and mango-passion fruit puree. The dessert is sprinkled with grated gorgonzola cheese and fresh raspberries. It is served with cheese-yogurt ice cream and straciatella cheese. At the “Phantom” restaurant, they make ganache from white chocolate with raspberries: mousse with gorgonzola, fresh raspberries, and ginger crispy crumbs. At Atelier de Tartelettes, ganache for “Hazelnut-mushrooms-tonka beans” tartlets is made based on hot cream, which is flavored with tonka beans, add hazelnut paste, pour the mass on chocolate, and blend with a blender.