Selene, One of Greece's Best Restaurants Moves to New Location

Selene Restaurant is now nestled in beautiful Pyrgos, one of this Aegean Island's remaining traditional villages. Housed in a mustard yellow 19th century mansion, Selene ("Goddess of the Moon" in Greek) is surrounded by four historic buildings that house the Folk and Ethnographic Museum of the island.

Tradition and innovation are two words that describe George Hatziyiannakis' credo. Twenty five years ago, George and his late wife Evelyn opened Selene in the main town of Fira with the aim of introducing visitors to Santorinian cuisine and to the island’s distinctive produce. Tiny cherry tomatoes, white eggplants, fava, baby zucchini and assyrtiko wines – all wrested from the volcanic soil of the island – were featured on the menu.

Created by Hatziyiannakis and overseen by Chef Konstantina Faklari, the menu of the new Selene includes riffs on some of Greece’s most beloved dishes. A vegetable risotto with feta cheese powder is studded with tomatoes, dill and tiny currants recalling dolmadakia, stuffed tomatoes. Rabbit confit with baby onions and mushrooms is a modern version of the rich stew stifado. Guests would do well to begin the meal with Trilogy which includes clam and sea urchin with lime foam; fish roe (think taramasalata) with herring eggs on an anchovy biscuit, and slices of botarga, a Greek delicacy of cured grey mullet roe, comes with a mousse of botarga stuffed in a baby zucchini. Rock fish soup has a langoustine “fish” resting at the bottom of the plate. The typical taverna dish of boiled patsaria can hardly compare with beet salad with marjoram and yoghurt apple ice cream. With excellent fish in the local waters, sea bass with fava risotto is a popular dish. Award-winning wines from throughout Greece are on the wine list.

Pastry chef Thodoris Moisidis creates superb handmade chocolates laced with cardamom and other spices and memorable desserts like strawberry soup with lime and fresh basil sorbet; chocolate mousse with vinsanto sauce and white eggplant spoon dessert, and bitter chocolate mille feuille with thyme crème and baby tomato spoon sweet.

Guests enter a large inviting room with vaulted ceiling, crowned with a striking amber-colored crystal chandelier. In July and August, most diners will opt for a table on the expansive terrace which has a 180-degree view of the island’s twinkling lights from the monastery of Profit Ilias to Akrotiri where the island’s famed archaeological site lies.

Below the main restaurant, Hatziyiannakis has also opened a café, wine bar and pastry shop that serves salads, sandwiches, pasta, lighter fare like zucchini fritters (kolokithakiakeftedes) and cheese from Santorini and other Cycladic Islands. Traditional Santorinian products like fava and the island’s intensely-flavored tomatoes can be purchased here. The wine bar features all the white wines from the island. The café is open from noon until midnight.

Selene offers one-day and three-day cooking classes and a wine tasting with degustation menu. Hatziyiannakis is much in demand for weddings and catering meetings and incentive groups.

Over the years the accolades have poured in from such publications as Art Culinarie, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Food & Wine, National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, the Financial Times, the London Times, The Telegraph, and Italy’s Gambero Rosso and France’s Guide Michelin and Le Figaro. In Greece, the restaurant has been awarded the Greek Cuisine Award (2010 and 2009), the Gourmet Award (2008) and the Chrysos Skoufas award (2010).

For his contribution to Greek cuisine, Hatziyiannakis has received the Eleftherotypia Gourmet Award (2009) and the Athinorama Awards (2006). Chef Faklari was named “Chef of the Year” by Eleftherotypia Award in 2009.

The village of Pyrgos is a 10-minute drive from the main town and five minutes from the port of Fira. Open from 7 PM to 11:30 PM, the restaurant is located a minute’s walk from the village’s main square.

For further information, go to Selene's new web site, www.selene.gr. Guest can email selenegr@otenet.gr or call 011-30-22860-22249.