In Toumba, three friends have created a laid-back spot for handmade seafood meze, carefully selected spirits and a menu shaped by whatever the market brings in each day.

At “Kritamos Seafood Meze Bar”, on Tyrolois Street in Toumba, the best way to start is by asking: “What’s on the menu today?” The menu changes daily, depending on the fish, seafood and seasonal produce the team finds at the market. A visit might begin with handmade cured and salted delicacies and continue with a dish that wasn’t even on the menu the week before. This freedom in the kitchen has become one of the restaurant’s defining features as a seafood meze bar.

The coastal plant that grows among the rocks, known for its potent medicinal properties, gave Kritamos its name and identity. It is the symbol of a place that celebrates the sea, meze and good tsipouro, while offering every guest a little promise of the sea’s salty character.

Whatever the day brings to your table

At Kritamos, everything begins with the quality of the ingredients. There might be kakavia fish soup or a silky fish velouté, fried fish, a delicately steamed fillet or fresh shellfish. Sea bass carpaccio is one of the dishes that has become closely associated with the restaurant, while tartares and ceviches regularly provide the opportunity for new combinations. Trahanoto, made with mushrooms in winter or tomato in summer, shows how a familiar Greek ingredient can take on a completely different character from one season to the next.

The team’s creativity has, at various times, brought dishes such as amberjack with parsnip purée and asparagus, tuna with oven-baked chickpeas, sole meunière with butter and capers, cod bianco with potato, lemon and garlic, large horse mackerel with vinegar, rosemary and garlic, grilled octopus with black rice, and linguine with steamed clams to the table. Of course, the next visit may bring something completely different: that is the joy of a menu that changes every day.

If your group would like to begin with tsipouro, the handmade pickles and cured seafood are a natural choice. Pickled green beans or green tomatoes when they are in season, marinated anchovies, lightly cured mackerel and smoked sardines are just some of the meze that have made their way onto the tables. The same kitchen also prepares fava, tarama and a selection of traditional spreads, as well as desserts such as mille-feuille and kazandibi, providing the perfect way to round off the meal.

The wine cellar: Greek vineyards, spirits and aged selections

The cellar at “Kritamos Seafood Meze Bar” features wines from Greek vineyards, alongside an extensive selection of tsipouro, raki and grape-based spirits, including aged varieties. The team is always happy to introduce you to the dishes of the day and recommend the ideal wine pairings or other options by the glass.

A growing circle of regulars

In this small venue, close to Toumba Stadium, the relaxed atmosphere has created a community of regulars of its own. People come for the fresh seafood, meet again around the tables and return to see what the chef has come up with this time.

“Kritamos Seafood Meze Bar” is, just as the team themselves describe it, “spontaneous” and full of “emotion” — something that comes through both in the food and in the warm welcome you receive.

Tip: Kritamos Seafood Meze Bar primarily operates by reservation. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 13:00–23:00, and closed on Mondays. On Sundays, it may close earlier.