In the back streets of Athens’ center, only a few meters away from busy Aiolou Street, you’ll find Feyrouz, a small, unassuming shop selling some seriously good street food. Mrs. Feyrouz is from the Antioch area of Turkey, next to the Syrian border and her two sons, Andreas and Savvas, serve the most delicious dishes highlighting the flavours of Antioch, Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Istanbul. Their goal was to preserve their culture so they started cooking traditional meals that locals have fallen in love with (expect a queue, but the line is worth it).
Choose from a variety of Greek and Middle Eastern dishes like the popular lachamtzoun (flatbread topped with spiced meat and rolled up with vegetables), as well as peinirli stuffed with vegetables. Peinirli are also known as “Greek pizza boats” for their resemblance to, well, pizza boats. The chewy crust is filled with cheese for an indulgent and satisfying bite. Feyrouz also serves up fresh Middle Eastern salads, a variety of soups, rice dishes, and local Greek and Turkish sweets – all made in-house from scratch. No matter what’s on the menu, there are always a good variety of vegetarian options. If there’s room to eat in, you can enjoy the old Greek and Middle Eastern tunes, but if you want to take your food to go, there are benches outside for eating al fresco. Whether you’re digging into a substantial salad, steaming bowl of soup, or an epic “pizza boat,” Feyrouz is definitely an outstanding gastronomic experience of Greece and the Middle East right in the heart of Athens.
Photo credit: Feyrouz