A "TEMPLE" DEDICATED TO HANDMADE DELICIOUSNESS
The fascinating story of a tavern of Thessaloniki that fed generations of students, entertained groups with good food and cool retsina and carved its own trajectory in the culinary history of Thessaloniki – a story that is still being written and will probably continue to be written for a long time.
"GIANNOULA'S" TAVERN IS LOCATED AT 50 KASSANDROU STREET, IN THE CENTER.
WINNING TEAM...
Sometimes, the secret of success is hidden in a tried and tested recipe – a recipe that is not necessarily new, but which, without straying from the beaten track, is perfectly executed. That's how the good result comes.
Such a proven recipe is followed in "Giannoula", the legendary tavern on Kassandrou Street, which over the course of decades has managed to become the absolute "must" for those studying in the city (its homemade meatballs have acquired an almost epic reputation - the retsina which accompanies them is almost mandatory), but also for the Greek and foreign foodies who visit it, wanting to try a taste of Thessaloniki as close to the original as possible. And, honestly, this traditional cook-tavern, just above Agios Dimitrios church, delivers what it promises.
What will you not find in "Giannoula"? Certainly not designer decoration (the environment is familial, without the pretentious frills imposed by the modern aesthetics of the restaurant train). You won't find art de la table – your table has everything you need and nothing superfluous, as the owners do not aspire to impress you with expensive china, handmade ceramics, and elaborate cutlery. There is no dress code – the point is to feel comfortable in an environment that is not your home, but it tries to make you feel as close to it as possible, with the kitchen it offers you and the comfort it guarantees.
What will you find? A familiar environment, where you will not feel like a stranger (on the contrary: it is almost certain that in no time you will be chatting with the company from the next table). Friendly service – very quickly you'll feel like you've known the owners for years. Familiar recipes, which do not resort to exotic and hard-to-find ingredients or sophisticated cooking methods, to win over the customer (even today, if you pass by the store late in the morning, you will see from the kitchen window the owners kneading the minced meat for their meatballs in the basin, as our mothers used to knead them at home). Excellent "value for money" - you eat tasty and quality food, which does not "eat" you at the time of the bill. And a traditional jukebox (trademark of the shop), from which comes the music that cheers up the cold winter evenings (and not only those).
A STORY LIKE A MOVIE.
It all started in 1974 – it was that year that Giannoula and her husband bought a small coffee shop, located at Kassandrou 50 street. From the beginning the business was run by the family – her mother-in-law stepped into the kitchen, offering daily more than fifteen different stews, while Giannoula and her husband worked the spits and grills, spending most of the day in the shop (which was not difficult, as the family lived in an apartment right above the tavern). Their hard work quickly pays off, as lines of hungry customers begin to form outside Kassandrou’s street new hangout.
Fate hits the family hard just four years later, in 1978, when Giannoula loses her husband, leaving her alone with two small boys and a shop. She won't have to think twice about it – she'll keep the store anyway. The tavern's kitchen becomes for her the "room" where she spends her whole day, with her two small boys sleeping on chairs that were joined a little closer to the customers, patiently waiting for the time for the shop to shutter for the day. The beginning is anything but easy – the fires on the grills and the spits go out and Giannoula struggles to satisfy her customers with appetizers and easier-to-prepare foods. Her persistence (and hard work) pays off: the shop endures, day by day building its own, dedicated clientele.
Twelve years later, in 1990, the time came for the now 20-year-old Stavros, one of Giannoula's two sons, to take the reins of the family business (it should be noted that the business started, grew, and remains strictly family-owned to this day, as in "Giannoula" never worked any employee). In the meantime, the clientele has also changed: the university infrastructure is not enough to serve the students from other places who study in Thessaloniki and, somehow, many of them start to frequent the tavern (a fact rather expected, if one considers that Kassandrou, Olympiados, but also Agios Dimitriou, Olympus and all the surrounding streets are classic student neighborhoods). The food is very good and extremely economical. The news spreads by word of mouth and from student to student, with "Giannoula" becoming one of the "must" destinations for anyone coming to Thessaloniki to study. It is no coincidence that even today people in their 40s and 50s visit the tavern who studied in the city, returned after completing their studies to their homelands and, returning to Thessaloniki, find that a beautiful part of their youth managed to survive unscathed the onslaught of time, as if not a day had passed.
At the wheel of the cookhouse, always the family. Today the shop is run by Stavros, Giannoula's son, with his wife, Katerina, and his brother, Nikos. Stavros has been with Katerina for over 20 years. They met in the shop, fell in love in the shop, Katerina shared his love and passion and vigorously entered the family business – it is typical that she worked in the restaurant even in advanced pregnancy.
The "recipe" always remains the same: generous portions at prices that don't bite. Raw materials from the neighborhood shops and vegetables selected every morning at the vegetable market by Stavros. All handmade – the mince is kneaded in the shop, the potatoes are cleaned in the shop, the salads are cut in the shop at the time to be served.
The fatigue, great. But great joy and satisfaction. "Giannoula", with its nice dishes and cool retsina, is one of the "institutions" of Thessaloniki. And you don't change a winning team.
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