Ithaki is at Apollonos 28, Laimos, Vouliagmeni 16671, on the Athens Riviera. It is built on three levels above the bay of Vouliagmeni, with the open sea in front of it, and Laimos is the narrow neck of land that carries the Astir headland; the restaurant sits on the turn towards the resort.
Vlassis Stathokostopoulos founded Ithaki and owns it, and the manner of the house in the room is his. The restaurant has been in Vouliagmeni for decades, through every change this stretch of coast has been through.
The kitchen runs in two hands. Spyros Asimis signs the Mediterranean cooking, which is led by fresh fish and seafood with meat recipes alongside, and Antonis Kourkoutas holds the Japanese half, working mainly on sushi and sashimi. The carte is published as two menus, an Asian Fusion menu and a Modern Mediterranean menu. Kourkoutas was already the sushi chef here in July 2014, so the Japanese half has had more than a decade in this kitchen.
The room
The house names its position before its cooking: a panoramic view of the wide sea, with the waves heard from the tables. The outdoor tables stand completely apart from one another, and indoors the room is finished in marble and wood. Ithaki opens daily, from the middle of the day into the evening.
The two menus
The Mediterranean menu is led by fresh fish and seafood, with dishes drawn both from tradition and from the later turns of international cooking. Among the cold plates are sea urchin with lemon pearls and a spicy ciabatta at 48 euro, and two Gillardeau oysters at 38 euro. Dry aged scorpion fish comes with truffled potato, pistachios and salicornia at 50 euro, and octopus with chickpea hummus, pickled fennel and crisped olives at 45 euro. Whole fish is sold by weight: the fish of the day, grilled or baked in a salt crust, at 155 euro a kilo, Canadian lobster at 145 euro and Greek lobster at 240 euro when it is in. The meat page runs on wagyu, as far as a t-bone for two at 185 euro.
The Japanese half opens on raw fish. Red shrimp carpaccio is dressed with fermented nectarines, lemon oil and togarashi at 40 euro, and hiramasa tartare with yuzu kosho ponzu at 38 euro. Nigiri and sashimi follow, two pieces of tuna at 17 euro, and a king crab roll with avocado and lemon mayonnaise is 50 euro. An omakase of carpaccio, sashimi and tartare is priced by the kilo at 180 euro.
The caviar list is published under the Mediterranean menu. It opens at 470 euro, Beluga Petrossian, 30g, and reaches down to 180 euro for 50g of Ossetra royal, served with blinis, butter and a lemon cheese cream. A full meal at Ithaki runs from about 140 euro a head.
The cellar
The wine list is picked bottle by bottle and added to continually. It runs through white, rosé, red and sparkling wines of Greek and international varieties, most of them Greek. The Greek whites open on Assyrtiko, with Sigalas Nychteri 2022 at 180 euro, and vintage Champagne runs beside them, Dom Pérignon 2015 at 560 euro among it. A sommelier pairs the list to the kitchen for the table.
The people in the room
Manina Karamanli has managed Ithaki, and by July 2023 she had done so for more than 23 years. An account published in 2011 recorded the room’s constituency as diplomats, Greek and foreign businesspeople, senior lawyers, politicians and heads of state at the neighbouring tables.
Who is this for
Ithaki suits a party that wants one table to cover two ways with fish, raw and grilled, and a dinner meant to run long. The mood is formal, and guests who like to talk wine with the person pouring it are in the right room. Those choosing a service can weigh the midday terrace, shaded by its flowers and trees, against the evening, when the same planting turns the place idyllic. A group of mixed appetites is well served here: one carte reaches from two pieces of nigiri to a whole fish sold by the kilo.
