It was lunch time in the beautiful and romantic Greek Island of Santorini where I spent enjoying Selene Meze & Wine, a modern designed restaurant in a charming town called Pyrgos. Upon arriving, I was delighted to chance upon an ongoing cooking class featuring their esteemed sommelier teaching a small group of tourists to cook an authentic Greek cuisine using fresh local ingredients.
I was graciously welcomed and shown into the kitchen where their chef was teaching travelers how to properly cut and prepare whole beef ribs which they will be eating once cooked. The chef expertly demonstrated his cooking procedure and assisted them from start to finish which included enjoying the meal they made together! To conclude the Greek culinary experience, they experience a guided tour of the Pyrgos Culinary Museum. I find this a wonderful way to get to learn more about Santorini while combining the essence of bringing to your home something special that you acquired from the island. I highly recommend checking out this outstanding cooking class if you ever visit the island of Santorini!
Nicholas, our server for our meal, sat the Styleat30 team down at the balcony and quickly served us some local bread and a very interesting spread: Tapioca with tomato paste. I’ve never seen this served with bread before so I was most definitely intrigued. The presentation of the tapioca side was cute, I must say! When placed on the fresh bread, the tapioca truly provided a fun light pop and sweet flavor. This is a brilliant way to start my meal as it peaked my interest to how the next dishes will blend in. Nicholas recommended trying Santorini’s local beers Yellow and Red Donkey. I’d say the hoppy flavor of both beers are certainly present although I must express that the Red Donkey has a stronger and heavier hoppy flavor.
The first appetizer I was introduced to was the Octopus Carpaccio with White Eggplant Salad. What a wonderful simple yet striking presentation! I can only imagine how long it took for the chef to cut each individual octopus piece and artfully place it on our plate. The octopus was very soft and tender. This was surprising as the octopus I have had in some seafood restaurants in Los Angeles have been somewhat rubbery. The flavor combination with the eggplant salad and the octopus was wonderful. I think this is a true appetizer as it felt light leaving some space for the next courses while the presentation and flavor further excites my desire to enjoy the upcoming dishes.
The second appetizer I chose struck my curiosity as I never had tomato fritters before. As I am not a big fan of tomatoes in general, I was very interested on how I would react to this breaded and deep fried tomato concoction. My first bite through the warm pita bread, I tasted the initial crunchiness of the fritters before it transitioned to a soft, squishy, and moist center of the tomato fritter. What a marvelous combination of textures! As simple as it looks, the fava sauce contributed even more color and flavor to the appetizer. Certainly, I will have to make an exception to my anti-tomato attitude.
The first main course was the Dorado fish with wild greens and caper cream baked on parchment paper. I don’t know how parchment paper contributes to the flavor of the dish but its contribution to the dish’s presentation is superb. The fish came as boneless which I highly appreciate as to avoid dealing with sneaky fish bones disrupting the texture and overall experience of the dish. The fish was very soft and flaky while its flavor was accented with the spices, vegetables and cream. The other flavors did not distract at all from the Dorado’s natural flavor, instead it accented it.
The last main course I enjoyed is something I had before in Washington DC: The Moussaka. I got excited when I saw it in the menu here since the previous items I enjoyed were very delicious. The Moussaka created by Selene Bistro uses tender pieces of veal and beef tongue. These two unique ingredients provided the Moussaka a bigger meaty kick. The higher quality and cuts of meat are welcome additions to the traditional Moussaka.
For desserts I had the Greek coffee flavor cream and the Bouyatsakia with Cinnamon Ice Cream. The Greek coffee flavor cream looks like a cup of coffee but it’s actually a cup of ice cream with powdered chocolate on top! It has a strong coffee flavor but there’s more to just this. Make sure to scoop all the way to the bottom to experience all the flavors this dessert has to offer.
As for the second dessert, I never had a Bouyatsakia before, therefore, I made sure to try this one. Its texture reminds me of baklava though the Bouyatasakia is served hot and sizzles on a bed of warm honey. This combination topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon ice cream was truthfully phenomenal! I always feel the combination of smooth, sweet and cold goes so well with warm and crunchy.
Here’s a photo with Selene’s owner, George, myself, and Georgia, Selene’s sommelier. This restaurant is certainly a destination for gastronomy. I feel that Selene Meze & Wine truly exemplify the meaning of Greek cuisine and the owner, their sommelier and their chefs are passionate about sharing it to the world. So if you are ever in the European area, make sure to visit the romantic island of Santorini and all of its culinary features. The climax of it all is the amazing Selene restaurant. Bon Appétit! Selene Meze & Wine Full Menu
After a delicious meal at the Selene Meze & Wine, we decided to take a leisurely and recuperative post-lunch stroll at the Red Beach in Santorini!