And now, a piece from the Saint Mother, Mrs St Nick
We arrived at the Aiolos restaurant after dark on a balmy evening during our stay in Nafplio, on the East coast of the Peloponnese. It‘s one of the most popular restaurants on the Odos Vasilissis Olga, a lovely marble paved street typical of the old town, with bright blossoms climbing up the sides of the houses.
We ordered a local red wine, from nearby Nemea, dry but very smooth. Our starter, following an amuse bouche of home made hummus, was called Bougiourdi, a piquant combination of baked feta cheese with sliced tomatoes, onions and peppers.
We had Beef Stifado to follow and one of the specials, Chicken Mavrodafni (featured image). Both were served with fried potatoes.
Stifado is a favourite of the Greek menu – a casserole of slow cooked beef in a tomato based sauce with whole small onions. The onions created a sweet taste complementing the tender meat.
The Mavrodafni consisted of chicken breast cooked in the eponymous red wine with cream, perhaps more inspired by french cuisine but equally delicious and tender.
We ordered two Greek coffees, medium sweet which were the best we had on our trip – strong but not too sludgy at the bottom! The restaurant gave us a small complementary bottle of grappa and desert – ravani, which is a sponge made with semolina soaked in an orange flavoured syrup. To make it well you need to let it soak up all the syrup slowly until it is completely and evenly absorbed. I wonder if they guessed we were doing a review! The desert was delicious and just the right side of something sweet to end the meal.
All in all a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere- including traditional musicians to entertain. The price was very reasonable. I would definitely recommend a visit if you are passing through Nafplio.