Reviews
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Sale e Pepe
Aristipou Street 34, Kolonaki
Tel: 2107234102
Open: Evening
Type: Northern Italian
Price Range: € 90.00 - 120.00 |
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It was a Friday afternoon and friends suggested we go out to dinner.
After discussing some potential restaurant choices we decided to
book at Sale e Pepe in the Kolonaki area of central Athens. An
out-of-the-way Italian restaurant, housed on a narrow street on the
slopes of the Lycabettus; where parking is typically a nightmare.
I knew Sale e Pepe from Mykonos: a very small but pleasant
restaurant that served tasty Italian food with a slight twist.
Prices were a bit steep, but being in Mykonos, over-inflated prices
compared to Athens is the norm. I remembered at that moment that
Sale e Pepe in Mykonos had closed down a few years back but had not
learnt why.
We arrived fifteen minutes late as Athens was under a sheet of rain.
Walking in, two 30-something aged women took our coats and seated
us. I had the impression that the waitresses were overacting,
something common in the US but not in Greece. They gave me the
feeling of having had stepped out of “Interview of a Vampire”,
seemingly ready to suck our blood. My worst fears were later
confirmed, although I did give them the benefit of the doubt for
perhaps trying to play their role in the setting of the space they
were at. The restaurant was dark. The look was that of a gentrified
German autobahn stop. But again, laden with cupboards full of wine
on display, the stale smell possibly attributed to its
all-surrounding wooden interior, I considered that perhaps I was
being too harsh with my first impressions.
So now we were seated. Having heard us conversing in English, they
offered us an English menu. A thoughtful touch. We held onto both
the Greek and English menus. We like to compare for fun. A 100-page
wine “Encyclopaedia” was handed to us, to complement the culinary
adventure we were unknowingly about to embark on. The extensive list
included wines from Spain, France, Italy, Greece… Lebanon - all with
a very expensive price tag. I immediately felt awkward. I was the
one who had to choose. I then understood the restaurant’s focus is
wine, as a way of complementing the rich Northern Italian tastes it
offers. Having narrowed down to a short list, we went down the safe
path of ordering a Brunelo from Tuscany, at 60 euro a bottle. It
made us reminisce back on a pleasant road-trip a few years ago in
the like-named Italian province. The waitress couldn’t help herself
from remarking that one of our three pre-selected wines would be
better revisited in a few years… at that time I knew we were in
trouble! I could also not help at that point but have felt a little
uneasy and frankly a little irritated at having been ‘told off’ for
not being quite the connoisseur she so clearly wanted us to know she
was.
The menu was not so complicated in presentation as much as in
content… Loads of venison, wild duck, quail eggs, cod (written cold
in the English menu), accompanied by pasta and fruity tastes. My
stomach started making strange noises. We were all puzzled with the
combinations so it took us a good long while to select the most
appropriate dish to each of us. I finally ordered the risotto with
Tuscan sausage and leeks. Whilst I liked that the restaurant offered
more eclectic Italian tastes unlike the classic pizza, spaghetti,
mozzarella, the prices on the menu were frightful.
The final couple we were waiting to join us was late. We were hungry
and asked for some bread to fill in time. Our waitress took that
opportunity to jump on us by rather assertively suggesting a cheese
platter. A two minute explanation followed. We had the four types of
aged cheeses explained to us. There was also a plate with finely
carved and truly very tasty St. Danielle prosciutto on the menu
which we asked for. It was served with two poached eggs and black
truffle shavings. Both plates were rich tasting enough to avert us
from choosing any additional starters.
As the main courses arrived, the plates were small portioned, as
should be for a four course menu, but substantial in taste.
One of us ordered a starter salad as a main course. The menu read
“cuttlefish and langoustine salad with crispy vegetables”. We asked
what crispy vegetables meant and were told that they were lightly
sautéed and then corrected to them being marinated. In fact they
consisted of one tuft of plain boiled broccoli, one of cauliflower
and half a carrot. The single langoustine turned out to be a shrimp
– not even king prawn – again plainly boiled and unseasoned, and the
cuttlefish was mediocre in that the olive oil it was covered in was
truly tasty.
The gentleman across from me ordered venison with parpardele. Half
way through the meal, his eyes rolled as he gasped that the dish was
too rich for him. I had a taste and instantly flashed back to a
road-kill story in New England. The venison stank!
In all honesty my risotto was ok, cooked properly al-dente, but at
around 30 euros a serving I expected something even slightly more
sophisticated. The remaining dishes I would say were all simply
decent, without much to rave about.
I was tired and getting a little restless with the whole experience,
knowing that I wouldn’t be able to sleep well in the next few hours.
My stomach had already started to feel like the financial market -
in crisis.
As some wanted to end the night on a sweet note, we ordered
desserts: a sweet crepe with cheese and a tarte tatin. Our waitress,
in her classic mode, also pushed an assortment of three chocolate
desserts on us. They were all pleasant in appearance but
dissatisfying in taste. The crepe was squishy, the tarte was soggy.
Of the three chocolate dishes, the chocolate soufflé was overcooked
and reminded me of my puppy’s excrement I recently scooped up, the
chocolate pyramid covered in granules of rock salt was just plainly
bizarre and the chocolate cube with orange syrup was simply boring.
And finally time to pay! Our waitress was happy to remark that the
Lemoncelo shots were on the house! At 110 euro per person (around
$150)… I wondered what this restaurant’s strategy was: considering
that we are in time of financial crisis, the restaurant was 10% full
on a Friday night and prices where totally off compared to the
tastes provided.
Overall I would recommend this restaurant to wine lovers alone who
might wish to accompany their selection with a cheese or meat
platter. Beware and be prepared when venturing down to main course
and please make sure you eat early and you arrive on a very! empty
stomach.
ZIGGY
