NOTOS

Last week I took a culinary trip to Greece. It didn’t involve any plane tickets; it was rather a short ride away from my home in Brussels. Regular readers of this blog know that I have a soft spot for all things Greek, including the food. That’s why I couldn’t possibly turn down an invitation from Notos, probably the most famous Greek restaurant in town which also carries the title of the best Greek restaurant in the world outside Greece. 

Notos, which means “South” in Greek is the work of art of Constantin Erinkoglou, a man really passionate about food and Greek culture who left an established career as an EU official to create his own restaurant in 1995 first in the area of Saint Boniface and nowadays in Chatelain. The space he has created is warm, bright and sophisticated without the typical folklore details. This approach is also reflected on the dishes served in Notos, where the food is meant to be simple and based on traditional family recipes to highlight the quality of its ingredients, just like in Greece. As the chef explained to us, he always seeks locally sourced ingredients from small producers all around Greece, hidden gems that remain “family secrets”.

Our meal lived up to my expectations and brought back happy memories from my recent holidays in Greece. We started with an assortment of “thalassiná”, i.e. fresh seafood, including avgotaraho, marinated scallops, grilled octopus and the best taramosalata I’ve ever had, followed by a traditional cheese pie (tyrópita) with crispy homemade fyllo. Our next dish was fava (yellow split peas) from Santorini with dried tomatoes and capers, which had a velvety texture and tasted like heaven. The main course was as simple and impressive: lamb with vegetables spiced with cumin and star anise. Once again, the ingredients were cooked to perfection and all flavours blended in perfectly together. Our dessert was just the cherry on top: ravani (semolina cake with a sweet syrup) with vanilla ice cream and masticha sprinkles. 

Course after course we were blown away by how refined and delicious everything looked and tasted. I was also impressed by the great variety of Greek wines available, a few of which we also got to taste during our lunch. Notos offers a weekly changing menu (you can choose between 1, 2 or 3 dishes), so if you’re looking for a contemporary Greek restaurant, book a table and enjoy your trip to Greek cuisine! 

INFO

Address: Rue de Livourne 154, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Telephone: +32 2 5132959

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