Ouzeri Lesvos

Ouzeri Lesvos has occupied Emmanouil Benaki Street since 1970 and still looks reassuringly untouched by the fashion for reinventing the Greek taverna. The tiled floor, old piano, jukebox and painted glass door give the room its history; lawyers, students and neighbourhood regulars supply the present tense. Begin with ouzo from Mytilene, a jug of water and enough time for the drink to cloud slowly. Then build the meal through seafood meze: smoked mackerel, lakerda, marinated fish, fried anchovies or red mullet, grilled octopus and whatever the kitchen recommends from the day’s catch. Handmade dolmadakia, tomato fritters and a saganaki provide relief from the sea. The frying is one of the kitchen’s strengths, so restraint is misplaced. Service can be brisk when every table is occupied, but the point is conviviality rather than choreography. Sit outside beneath the trees in warm weather, or inside when you want the full old-Athens atmosphere. Order gradually; an ouzeri should lengthen an afternoon, not organise it.