To Kati Allo

To Kati Allo sits almost in the shadow of the Acropolis Museum, yet feels removed from the machinery of sightseeing. The room is small and plain, the kitchen is open, and the welcome has the direct warmth of a family operation. There may be no conventional menu; listen to what has been cooked that day and choose from the trays. Moussaka, gemista, meatballs, stewed vegetables and slow-cooked meat are the sort of dishes to expect, with bread, salad and a Greek beer completing the table. The food tastes domestic in the best sense: patient, properly seasoned and uninterested in decorative gestures. Prices remain gentle for this part of Athens, though the modest dining room fills quickly at lunch. Arrive before the museum crowd becomes hungry and accept that availability is part of the experience. To Kati Allo works because it refuses to perform an idea of authenticity. It simply serves the food it knows, a few metres from places that charge considerably more for considerably less character.