Google Maps Call us Shipping, trade and industry attract thousands of workers to Piraeus. A few years later, due to the Asia Minor Disaster, a large number of refugees start settling in the area and Piraeus rapidly evolves into the largest industrial centre in Greece.
1920: Thanasis Vassilinas and his companion, Mrs. Irene Thronista, set up their grocery store in an alley of the Agia Sophia neighbourhood where they also sell their own production of retsina wine from Megara. Some simple snacks are served to accompany the retsina. Shortly after, Thanasis Vassilinas comes up with an original business idea.
Papastratos, Bodossakis, Mytilineos and many other entrepreneurs choose Piraeus for their factories and employ thousands of workers. In the wider area, one can also find a number of shipyards. Thanasis Vassilenas thinks smartly: He proposes prepaid meals with a daily menu of 2-3 different dishes for factory workers, which are delivered ready to each business. The small tavern becomes an enterprise.
next1928: An unusual clientele begins to frequent “Vassilenas”and the restaurant officially establishes the first tasting menu in Greece, which at that time was called “table d’hôte”.
Factory owners, the captains and merchants of Piraeus envy the delicious meals of their workers and also demand the “right” to enjoy them at the end of the day.
Thus, “Vassilenas” begins to stay open even in the evening, without changing its philosophy: Customers are not able to order à la carte. They are offered only the preset menu, which is gradually enriched. Apart from fish and seafood, which form its core, chicken, sausages, and stuffed vine leaves are boldly added.
next[μπορούμε να βρούμε ένα μενού της εποχής;]
Celebrity actor Tyron Power and his friends spend a wonderful evening at the restaurant and that is enough to exalt “Vassilenas” into Athens’ post-war Hall of Fame of dining establishments.
Politicians, artists and journalists dine without receiving any privileged treatment alongside ordinary folk. Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, Giorgos Seferis, Stratis Myrivilis, Winston Churchill, Elia Kazan, Greta Garbo and dozens of others parade into the restaurant and leave flattering comments in the guest book. As flavours are still “imposed” to all customers and non-negotiable, famed Greek writer Myrivilis, in 1957, describes Vasilenas as “a dictator of good taste for all food lovers!”
“Vassilenas” is no longer just a place of gastronomic pleasure, but also a favorite meeting point for celebrities. “With so many people of the letters, it looked more like a cultural centre than a restaurant,” says grandson and current owner, Thanasis.
nextA new chapter! In the following decades, “Vassilenas” establishes itself as one of the most celebrated social and gastronomic hot-spots in Athens. The space is renovated and converted into an urban restaurant with nostalgic essence. Giorgos Vassilenas experiments and introduces new, first-of-a-kind dishes, such as the famous shrimp salad with mustard sauce or the mackerel casserole.
Officials and celebrities continue to flock: Arab, Chinese and French diplomats, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Sixth US Fleet Officers and patrons including Mikis Theodorakis, Irene Pappa and Kostas Mourselas. A mini UN! And thousands of its anonymous, timeless loyal friends, who are the soul of the restaurant.
Glamour and social status, however, meant little at “Vassilenas”. Distinctions between customers did not have a place: Everyone enjoyed the same tastes and received the same attention.
The set menu, now includes an endless array of dishes – they numbered 35 at one point! – that arrived one at a time at each table. The staff spent several hours preparing the menu, while its consumption stretched over at least 2-3 hours.
[Χαρακτηριστικό set menu του Βασίλαινα τη δεκαετία του 1970]
Having studied economics in Greece and France, Thanasis spent his childhood in his father’s kitchen, so food and hospitality become an indivisible part of his DNA. The restaurant is refurbished and set up based on the principles of a modern dining space, while preserving the gastronomic tradition and philosophy of the past decades. Thanasis focuses on creative Greek cuisine and introduces wine into the restaurant, building a strong wine cellar with labels mainly from Greek vineyards. He keeps the tasting menu (with fewer dishes, keeping up with the dietary trends of the time) and commitment to excellent raw materials and impeccable service. The baton has been successfully passed to the third generation and the restaurant is rewarded annually! Meanwhile, the fourth generation is slowly making its mark…
This difficult decision was the result of the need to relocate the restaurant to a place that reflects more its present persona, while allowing it to develop its full potential. Agia Sofia, meanwhile, has changed …
The space is refurbished. The design is entrusted to distinguished architects Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas. With important buildings in their resume, such as the Benaki Museum on Pireos Street, they carry out their work with particular sensitivity and respect both to the surrounding area and to Vassilenas’ history.
At our new location, beside the eternal bitter orange blossoms that line Vrasida Street, we aspire to celebrate our hundredth birthday very soon!
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