Where we are
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center was built on the grounds of the old Faliro hippodrome, and O Thalassinos has stood behind that hippodrome since 1989. Today the Stavros Niarchos Park begins at the end of our street: from our door, Irakleous street runs about 100 m down to Evripidou street and the park's north side. The Opera and the National Library buildings are about 600 m away, an 8-minute walk through the park.
The walk
From the buildings, head north through the park towards Evripidou street, cross it, and walk up Irakleous street; we are on the corner of Lysikratous, a low house with a courtyard and a blue fish-tile mural on a pink wall. The park has its own opening hours and its gates close at night; outside them, come out onto Syngrou Avenue and, level with the Onassis heart hospital (Ωνάσειο), turn into the side streets behind it (Lysikratous, Evripidou, Irakleous); from the Onassis it is a 7-minute walk. Our getting here page has the map and every stop.
Timing a meal around a visit
Our opening hours:
- Monday – Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday – Thursday: 15:00–23:00
- Friday: 14:00–23:00
- Saturday: 13:30–23:30
- Sunday: 13:30–18:00
- Before an evening performance. With the afternoon openings above, an early dinner before a performance is easy; tell us when you need to leave and we will pace the food.
- After a performance or a concert. Dinner is possible until the closing times above on the days we open in the evening. Reserve, especially on Friday and Saturday.
- After a Sunday matinee or a walk in the park. Sunday is lunch only, until 18:00; on Sunday evening we are closed, as we are on Monday – Tuesday.
Holiday and seasonal changes are announced on our Google profile and our Facebook page.
What to eat
If time is short, the mezedes are the meal: white taramosalata, marinated anchovies, fried mussels with walnut skordalia, the greens pie with hand-rolled phyllo, shrimp saganaki, and our own bread. If you have the evening, choose a fish on ice; it is weighed and priced before it goes to the charcoal (how fish by the kilo works). The menu with prices is online.
Getting to the SNFCC, and back
The Greek National Opera's visitor information lists, for the SNFCC: a free shuttle bus from Syntagma (and from Syngrou-Fix), tram stop «Τζιτζιφιές», bus lines 130, 217, 550, 860, A1, B1 and B2, trolleybus 10 at the «Επαμεινώνδα» stop, and the express X80 at the «ΚΠΙΣΝ» stop; check snfcc.org for the current shuttle timetable. From our door, trolleybus 10 at «2η Κατσώνη» (a minute away) goes to metro Syngrou-Fix and on to Ampelokipi and Chalandri; buses 550 and B2 stop at «Ωνάσειο» on Syngrou Avenue five minutes away; the tram is eleven minutes away at «Τζιτζιφιές».
Good to know
- The courtyard is roofed and glazed and heated in winter, so it is used all year.
- Children are welcome and high chairs are available; dogs are welcome in the courtyard; the entrance and the courtyard are reached without steps.
- We accept cards and cash, and we speak Greek and English.
- Reservations: +30 210 9404 518, recommended on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday lunch.
