PRAISE TO HONORABLE GREEK CUISINE AND TO RETSINA AT THE "DOXA" OF THE APOSTLE PAVLOS STREET
At the end of a long journey with a starting point in Germany and intermediate stops in Drama and Athens, the cult hangout on the outskirts of the Upper Town "marries" retsina with the most authentic version of traditional Greek cuisine, without frills and unnecessary additions. Pleasure in its purest form.
"DOXA" IS LOCATED AT 25 APOSTLE PAVLOS STREET, ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE UPPER TOWN.
THE JOURNEY AND THE DESTINATION.
A small hangout at 25 Apostle Pavlos street, a few meters above Kassandrou and Olympiados streets, straight from the Turkish consulate, hides a long route. A route that started in Germany, continued in Drama, the next stop was Athens and at the end came Thessaloniki and "Doxa", the vintage tavern with fine mezedes for retsina, which took its name from the eponymous team of Drama, hometown of the owners: Giorgos Papadopoulos and his wife, Niki, but also their son, Anastasis, who is the next generation at the helm of the shop.
It all started in the distant 1968, when "Doxa" opened its doors as a coffee shop. It quickly became known by word of mouth, especially among students, given that it is a stone's throw from the university and that the entire surrounding area is a preferred settlement neighborhood for young people who come to Thessaloniki to study. Especially in the 1970s and especially after the post-colonization, the noisy voices of the young students echoed in "Doxa", who found this particular shop their hangout (indeed, at that time, to enter the shop, you had to go down three or four steps from the level where Pavlos street was then). And because the new generation along with retsina also wanted their mezes, "Doxa" quickly evolved into a coffee shop and then into a kitchen, where the culinary virtuosity of the owners unfolded.
EYES AT "SANCTUARY".
At the time, the state of the place was almost mysterious – perhaps the smoke from the regulars' cigarettes played a role, since at that time a ban on smoking indoors was not even conceivable. Everything about "Doxa" was cult: the wooden tables with the iconic checkered tablecloths, the all-time-classic cafe chairs, the old, metal advertisements that decorated the walls, a transistor that basically played folk music, the photos and the scarves of Doxa Drama that were everywhere in the place, but also the mascot of the shop, the lazy cat Rocky, who was usually found lying near the oven: the owners had found him in old age – in theory in his last years – and, although everyone was telling them to euthanize him, they decided to keep him. Perhaps the secret of his survival lay in the chicken and minced meat his young, gallant hosts fed him...
Cult was (and still is) also the mezedes on offer – ideal for gluttony, but also for the curious, who do not hesitate to try dishes that challenge the palate. Yes, of course, at Doxa you will find excellent fried chicken, dream chicken and delicious Drama sausages, to accompany your retsina or wine (the hand-cut fries with which you will accompany them are homemade). But you will also find hearts, spleens, scallions, and tongues – more “exotic” dishes, which appeal to the taste buds of gastronomic connoisseurs, adding a culinary “touch” to the menu that one certainly cannot find in restaurants of the train. All cooked simply, but with deep deliciousness (as part of a "ritual" that starts at 11am and ends well after midnight), serving a cuisine without the desire to impress or resort to eccentric or hard-to-find raw materials, which abounds in culinary purity and the simple, traditional recipes (a legacy of Anastassi's grandfather, who ran a tavern in Drama during the Occupation).
And that's how cooking is: the flavors should be clean, with identity, without artificiality. Something like retsina, that is: Greek, with vine and pine in her heart and love in her creation.
PHOTOS: SAKIS GIOUBASIS.
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