ΔΙΑΣΠΟΡΑ
07/10/2025 | 04:14
For stand-out seafood dishes served in sumptuous surroundings, try Travolta in a most unexpected corner of Athens, the suburb of Peristeri
In the 1977 film, ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ John Travolta strutted down a Brooklyn street in the film “Saturday Night Fever “ to the beat of ‘Stayin’ Alive’—confident and bold that his every step and dance move was every bit as sharp and cool as anyone’s from upscale Manhattan just across the river.
Meet Anesti Lambropoulos, a chef in Peristeri, a populous suburb in northwestern Athens, who has achieved a similar vibe in the culinary scene of Athens with his gourmet seafood eatery, Travolta, named after the strutting Hollywood star known for his fancy footwork on the dance floor.
- A low key, charming, and friendly man with a disarmingly warm smile, Lambropoulos welcomes guests and encourages them to taste his creative dishes with a hint of pride that isn’t boastful in the least—though the dishes he whips up are certainly worthy of it.
Travolta is the kind of restaurant you’d expect to find in the most posh neighborhoods of Athens. But here in the heart of suburban Peristeri, a lively neighborhood but one not necessarily known for gourmet restaurants, lies a surprising treat: a seafood taverna with an imaginative menu that adds twists to traditional meat-based Greek favorites, such as moussaka or “kontosouvli” (skewered chunks of marinated meat).
- Here the ground beef in the moussaka is made from a ground seafood mixture served with bechamel and layers of eggplant and potatoes and the meat in Chef Anesti’s kontosouvli is replaced with succulent hunks of calamari, served on a skewer of course and served over squid ink, chili oil, and thin slivers of red pepper and onions.
Lambropoulos also offers up a surprising version of “spetsofai”—slices of savory pork sausage served with a rich tomato and onion sauce meant to be scooped up with bread.
Lambropoulos brilliajty replaces the pork with ground cuttlefish, creating a unique dish that could even fool a pescatarian into thinking he or she is eating meat.
Chef and co-owner of “Travolta Anestis Lambropoulos. Photo Hellas Journal
The chef even magically whips up a savory version of “mille feuille”—the layered pastry filled with cream. You heard that correctly, mille feuille. Instead of cream and pastry though, here you get thin fried filets of sardines, layered on top of one another and separated with a sun dried tomato paste.
- Other creative dishes, all made with superbly fresh ingredients: sea bream carpaccio with thyme, lemon, and olive oil, grilled filet of red mullet, smoked eel served over a creamy fava, an orzo dish made with squid ink, and an amazing “fish and chips”— pieces of “tsipoura” (bream) fried in extra virgin olive oil placed in the middle of the remains of a perfectly thin fried fish and served with a chipotle dipping sauce.
Lambropoulos opened the lushly decorated space with his business partners, Vaggelis and Spiros Liakos, who also own Base Grill known for its meat dishes, in 2012, a few blocks away from his father’s seafood taverna that carried the same name.
His father, Lakis, returned to his home base in Peristeri after many years in 1978, opening a sandwich shop first, and then a traditional seafood taverna with the name Lakis O Travolta.
- Why the name? To honor his idol and because everyone said he danced like the star. His son kept the catchy name, but simplified it. The nautical ambience too is as refreshing as the menu—pleasantly lighted and tasteful. And the garden outside, shaded by tall mulberry trees.
The mastery of “Travolta” is that Lambropoulos managed to create such a high-end eatery with notable dishes in this unlikely corner of Athens far from the city center, attracting dignitaries, politicians, diplomats, and celebrities almost every night of the week.
He is entertaining the idea of opening a sister restaurant on the Athens riviera, but he acknowledges that what makes Travolta so special is its location. You just don’t expect to find such imaginative fine dining here.
- “That I’ve accomplished this in Peristeri makes all the difference,” he says with a smile.
Now all that would make the tale of Peristeri’s Travolta complete would be a visit from its namesake. Hey Mr. Travolta, Chef Anesti is waiting for you!
