and four others were injured in a traffic accident on Tuesday afternoon in Neo Psychiko the accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m and involved two vehicles and two motorcycles The crash reportedly happened when a car driven by an elderly woman entered the street in the wrong direction It then crashed into parked vehicles and two motorcycles resulting in the fatal injury of one motorcycle rider The fire service was called to the scene to rescue one of the injured individuals trapped in the vehicles Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox Already a member? Log in Not a member? Sign up Explore our Food Tours → is just a 15-minute drive from the city’s busy central Syntagma Square the area is greener and quieter than downtown At its heart is Plateia Eleftherias (“Freedom Square”) cafes and restaurants – the usual for any decent Athenian plaza People gather here from early in the morning to late at night One of those reliably busy all-day gathering spots is O Foititis a non-assuming family-run fish restaurant that has been loyally serving locals since 2005 when resident Andreas Sfikas decided to turn his experience running a neighborhood snack bar into something more ambitious Andreas (who passed away in 2020) spent most of his life in Neo Psychiko and his three children is just a block from O Foititis and the snack bar he ran with the help of his two sons was located in an athletic center near Eleftherias Square The Sfikas family knows everyone in the neighborhood That’s why when Andreas first opened Foititis (pronounced “fetetes,” the name means “the student” in Greek and was the nickname of the spot’s previous owner) he imagined it as an all-day coffee and mezze place where the locals he knew so well could collect Those were the years in which Greece was just striving to get over the economic crisis – everyone was trying to live within their means and make a decent living Andreas’s vision was humble and reasonable: offer fresh fish at low prices even in a suburb that can afford higher prices it was rewarding to see their clients leaving happy his wife and sons Dimitris and Panagiotis – who had been very involved with the business since day one – immediately took over intent on continuing their father’s vision and “We haven’t stopped working since” Panagiotis “Covid came right after [Andreas passed away] We made the grand decision not to close at all which was extremely rare during the first lockdown,” he tells us and since customers could not sit at the restaurant during the lockdown “We didn’t know anything about delivery until then Yet we jumped right in and started delivering food almost from day one.” Panagiotis explains The restaurant had a rough couple of years but they were able to work daily and managed to keep themselves creatively occupied during the long lockdowns when restaurants were finally allowed to reopen The square here was packed all day and night paired with meatballs made aromatic with the addition of fresh chopped mint The potatoes are hand-cut and freshly fried – just like a Greek mom would make at home and Dimitris and Panagiotis do the shopping themselves every single day They collaborate with a farmer in Marathonas (a suburb near Athens) from whom they buy 80 percent of their produce ensuring high quality while supporting a young The salads at O Foititis are indeed exquisite but the best thing we tasted on our last visit was although it’s not listed on the menu as it depends on the daily catch each very well executed and extremely fresh Our meal ended with a shot of lemon liqueur alongside a refreshing yogurt cheesecake with sour cherries and a lovely lemon tart O Foititis is open all day and rarely empty older customers come for their coffee and play backgammon until about noon when they usually free up the tables for the lunch crowd The tables then fill up with mostly locals who are replaced by area moms who come in for a coffee while their kids are in the square’s playground when the tables swell with hungry customers yet again This article was originally published on June 3 loading map - please wait...Map could not be loaded - please enable Javascript!→ more information Investigations have revealed video footage of the cold-blooded assassination of civil engineer Panagiotis Stathis who was shot Tuesday morning outside his office in the northern Athenian suburb of Neo Psychiko Police said the killer was riding a scooter with fake number plates CCTV footage from the area captured his route around the crime scene and audiovisual recordings are being examined by authorities The legal owner of the scooter has been questioned but is not considered a suspect The investigation into the Mafia-style killing is focusing on Stathis’s professional activities on popular holiday islands who had been conducting land survey studies on Mykonos Paros and Ios since the late 1990s through a technical company he co-owned was gunned down while driving his partner’s BMW outside their company’s headquarters at the corner of Kritis and Eikostis Pemptis Martiou streets He was shot by an individual on a motorcycle who approached the car and fired through the window Audio from the time of the shooting suggests the perpetrator fired a volley of bullets At least 15 shell casings were discovered at the scene Change may be inevitable but it’s the last thing we want in a restaurant we cherish We were reminded of this a few months back when by chance we were taken out to dinner at Piperiá in the Neo Psychiko neighborhood by friends who live nearby It had been five years since we last visited the place and we were very happy to find that little had changed in the interim What a joy it was to find the same welcoming smiles and friendly young faces; excellent but not oversolicitous service; some items on the menu that we could never resist ordering; and some new tastes that rivaled the familiar treats Piperiá occupies a corner that provides a patio-like seating area and few cars pass to disturb one’s dining and conversation Returning in early November on a weekday night we enjoyed the openness of the high-ceilinged glass-walled dining room and the casual atmosphere: wooden chairs and tables And then we studied the menu and tried to choose from among 32 starters for we were torn by having to decide between dishes we knew we loved – like calamari with pesto perch fillets wrapped in kataifi (crisp “shredded wheat” pastry) mint-flavored keftedakia (meatballs) made with beef and pork and accompanied by a cinnamon-tomato dip – and the desire to experiment A few days before we had met with the owner our rendezvous took place in another restaurant he owns just a block away very fit looking gentleman in black shirt and jeans has also opened two others one in Anavyssos on the coast road to Sounion the other in the eastern Attica port of Lavrio who originally wanted to be an architect (and in fact still harbors a dream of becoming one) only got involved in the food business after his father bought a beach resort in Glyfada It was in the resort’s restaurant that he learned his way around a kitchen the basic ingredient of success is the staff.” the well-known chef Panagiotis Papanikolaou we conceived it as a mezedopoleio [a meze restaurant] but we quickly changed the focus to seafood and fish,” he explained the vegetable not the spice] already existed Yannis was pleased when we told him how happy we’d been to discover the same cheerful service and delicious dishes after a hiatus of five years For me the basic ingredient of success is the staff They all have to understand that we are customer-oriented – their minds have to be concentrated on the customer,” he said some of them have been there almost since the beginning He also emphasized the importance of maintaining some continuity in the menu: “We have some standard dishes that our regular customers have come to love and expect a balance between simple and more complex dishes but also some variety so people don’t get bored.” with summer dishes being lighter and cooler the restaurant only uses ingredients that are in season and their fish is sourced from two reliable suppliers in Keratsini There are a few meat dishes for carnivores and plenty of veg The flavors are mostly Mediterranean with some Asian touches Highlights for us were the Thai salad with mango Chinese cabbage and mint with a lime dressing; risotto with eggplant; kouskousaki (thicker than Moroccan couscous) with seafood; sea bass marinated in lime juice and smoked salt; and bourekakia pastry “cigars” bursting with hot feta and herbs Yannis poked his head out from the kitchen to say hello you have no idea what running a restaurant is like So I’m on duty whenever our regular cook has a day off.” we promised ourselves not to let five years go by before we revisit Piperiá we picked it for a small family reunion just three days later With a moderately priced menu – dishes range from around €4 to €16 (for a whole fish) – generous artistically presented portions; four super desserts plus yogurt or ice cream; a nice house wine (and an impressive but rather pricey wine list) plus several types of ouzo Piperiá has held its own during Greece’s prolonged depression and has even increased its popularity Yannis’s recipe for success is obviously working The Protosyncellus of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens Christodoulos Kladitis and Protopresbyter Georgios Christodoulou as well as a number of clergymen of the Holy Archdiocese of the Holy Metropolis It is to be noted that hundreds of believers have flooded the temple to pay respects to the Holy Relics of Saint Sophia and her Three Daughters with reverence The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate approved on October 4th the canonization of Eldress Sophia Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled by air to Antalya the Patriarchate of Jerusalem solemnly celebrated the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women... Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the Theotokos.. it was announced that two Roman Catholic institutions in Bavaria have decided to jointly.. (function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [] cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt callback: cb } ); } } }})(); © 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website These cookies do not store any personal information Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website Appealing complex of sophisticated design and advanced functionality at one of Athens’ most in-demand areas Few large-scale commercial property offerings in Athens districts are deemed as privileged based on the opportunities they offer and their profitable utilisation Neo Psychiko is a privileged area offering such properties Founded in 1929 as a small district of the expanding Halandri area was inhabited by a limited number of locals plus uprooted Asia Minor families who arrived as refugees following the 1922 Catastrophe the area had developed into an independent community both in terms of local economy and population Neo Psychiko is strategically placed between two of the Greek capital’s biggest main roads a position that has established it as a region of intense commercial activity with high demand for business properties a number of factors make Neo Psychiko one of the most privileged residential areas in Athens’ up-market northern suburbs excellent accessibility and overall style have established Neo Psychiko as a steady attraction for visitors and shoppers drawn to the district from various parts of the capital to shop or visit certain special attractions such as a large-scale outdoor chess board at Ecological Park It should also be pointed out that Neo Psychiko has also won a European clean city award doValue through the www.altamiraproperties.gr real estate platform is offering a five-storey 3,607-m2 property that represents an investment opportunity for real estate buyers seeking commercial activity and interests in the privileged Neo Psychiko district This independent five-storey commercial property, measuring 3,606.58 m2 on a plot of land measuring 1,052.97 m2 in the Neo Psychiko district is situated at a privileged position on the intersection of Kifisias Ave The property is comprised of 3 basement level spaces *Property being sold through mandatory public auction procedure When we first discovered this delightful ouzeri in Neo Psychiko last May we were thrilled to have found a place that specialized in Politiki Kouzina – not the cooking up of politics but the cuisine of Constantinople mutual friends had chosen it to fete a Turkish guest which seemed a culinary version of taking coals to Newcastle and smacked her lips over such shared dishes as Imam Baildi So imagine our surprise when we returned in the fall only to find a menu devoted to the food of Crete the selections included such signature island specialties as little fried cheese pies wedding pilaf and salads with Crete’s amazing variety of indigenous greens By winter the menu had changed again to focus on the big North Aegean islands of Chios Samos and Limnos – mastiha-scented pastries local cheeses and trahana (rustic pasta) – while this spring an even more copious menu brings together delicacies from the Cyclades and Dodecanese We have already been twice in a vain attempt to sample all of its known and unfamiliar goodies ranging from Mykonos louza (cured pork loin) to skate salad from Rhodes tomato keftedes (fritters) from Santorini and home-made pasta with caramelized onions and sitaka (think clotted cream) from tiny remote Kassos The menu will change but one thing is constant: Whatever is offered will be utterly delicious Athens eateries could be divided into categories like fish taverna as well as the occasional restaurant with white linen tablecloths and napkins that aspired to more sophisticated tastes In the neighborhoods where refugees from Asia Minor had settled you would find places that catered to their memories But to enjoy the cooking of the Greek regions you had to travel there This pattern has changed to some extent and Cretan restaurants, especially, have sprung up all over the capital but it is rare indeed to come upon an ouzeri or taverna dedicated to foods of the islands What had inspired the owners of Hohlidaki to undertake such an ambitious project It turns out that they’ve embarked on a marathon celebration of the restaurant’s 30th anniversary explained one Saturday afternoon between meal times they wanted to give their customers every dish they’d cooked over the years since their opening in 1986 but present them as part of a theme rather than a higgledy-piggledy mix “Alexandros was just nine years old when we started in a small place that looked like a village house in what used to be rural Chalandri,” said Vanna referring to the northern Athens suburb where the family first planted roots in Greece had come with our families as refugees from Constantinople in 1965 The Cyprus affair was brewing and the Turks threw us out Othellos [my husband] and I both learned to cook from our mothers We laugh when Vanna tells us that her husband was baptized Othello – the first time we’d heard of a Greek or anyone else for that matter with that name – because his father was reading Shakespeare at the time white complexion and very blue eyes,” she explained We’d find ourselves eating everything we’d cooked for customers who didn’t show up We always had some dishes from Constantinople because that’s what we were raised on but we were also on the lookout for recipes from other parts of Greece.” Hohlidaki moved from Chalandri to its current spot in more central Neo Psychiko The family has papered the walls with vintage posters Vanna’s flower paintings and old photographs collected over the decades creating a space that is cozy and familiar A (working) juke box stands against one wall a couple of red hammocks hang from the ceiling and above the entrance but below blown up pictures of Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin a row of colored bottles shines like stained glass These are not for consumption unlike the scores of ouzo bottles lined up on the counter that separates the dining area from the kitchen Anyone interested in tasting the ouzos from all over Greece or matching them with dishes from the same areas can choose from among 130 brands wine drinkers will not be disappointed with the house white though the wine list cannot compete with the ouzos we asked Alexandros and Vanna about the name a Cretan word for little snail quite different from the more common salingari except for our appreciation of its wonderful food We didn’t have a name for our place when we opened but my fourth-grade reader had a glossary in the back of unusual words Hohlidaki would have our vote no matter what it was called We look forward to sitting a few more times under the carmine blossoms of bougainvillea that seem to float over the outer dining area in spring and summer and sampling more of the tastes of the Aegean who knows what further lessons in Greek gastronomy await us Alexandros is doing his homework but he and his mother have not yet made up their minds The largest residential development project that has ever been carried out in the Municipality of Filothei-Psychiko in northern Athens is designed by businessman Yiannis Papalekas Having recently acquired a series of properties in the area and installed the offices of his companies in a building in Neo Psychiko he has succeeded in purchasing the last large free space in the area This is the estate known to the residents of Psychiko as Fistikies Although commercial activities are allowed on this street and it is where most of Psychiko’s shops are located Kathimerini understands the businessman has decided to proceed with a purely residential development by building dozens of apartments of a particular architecture design The demand for residences in the Municipality of Filothei-Psychiko is particularly strong and the supply very limited have recently tended to approach or even exceed 10,000 euros per sq.m Given that the building factor in the area is one (1) this means that it can potentially build up to 8,000 sq.m. which is indicated to correspond to 40 apartments of 200 sq.m Although an application for the issuance of building permits has not yet been submitted due to some pending issues expected to be resolved in the near future the first architectural plans have already been made and foresee very large apartments on the upper floors as well as some smaller ones on lower levels a multi-story underground parking lot is planned while care will be taken to minimize the impact of the development on the environment and the area’s traffic “It is an ambitious project due to its size but it promises significant capital gains,” say realty sources specializing in the area The Papalekas-interest companies acquired the estate from members of the Alexiou family allegedly connected to the family who sold 30,000 sq.m with an airstrip in Porto Heli to an Irish investor Chaos erupted on Wednesday afternoon (February 5) in the center of Neo Psychiko following a car accident in Agia Sofia Square the incident occurred when an 88-year-old woman lost control of her vehicle while driving on a road behind the Pentagon “An elderly woman lost control of her SUV and crashed into parked cars the vehicle went from the downhill lane to the uphill lane where it hit the kids on the motorcycle,” a witness recounted A car accident occurred at noon on Wednesday (5/2) in the square of Agias Sofias in Neo Psychiko a vehicle driven by an elderly woman reversed into a road and collided with another car as well as 2 motorcycles resulting in one of the cars being turned over vehicular traffic is difficult in the area Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr