restaurantsinLondon,including
CiaoBabyCucina,beforereturning
toSouthAfrica 10 yearsago.
WhentheParkhurstsitebecame
available,Vassilioswasoneofseveral
prospectivetenantseyeingtheprime
position.“Iremembersteppingoutof
thecarinmysauce-splatteredchef’s
whites,beggingthelandlordtotake
alookatmypresentation,”herecalls.
Thelandlorddidandtherest,asthey
say,ishistory.
Ahistoryfilledwithalotofhard
work;however,Vassiliosliterallybuilt
therestaurantwithhisownhands.
“Mybestfriend,PeterValasisof
AtmosStudio,designedtheplace,”
Vassiliosshares.
“Wewantedtocreateaspace
whereyouwouldfeellikeyou’reno
longerinJoburg,”Vassiliosshares,
addingthathisvisionwasforhis
eaterytolookmodern,yetrustic.With
thisinmind,heapproachedaward-
winningdesignduoHoutlanderto
craftthesolidoaktablesandinstall
therounded,plaster-cladbuilt-in
benches,sotypicalofGreece.
EventhoughVassilioswanted
tocreateaspacewherepeople’s
imaginationscouldtakeflight,the
restaurant’snameisatributeto
itslocation:Kolonakiisanareain
theGreekcapitalcityofAthens,
renownedforitsboutiqueshopsand
restaurants,muchlikeParkhurst.
Headmits,though,thatitwouldbe
unlikelytofindaneaterythatlooks
likehisinAthens.Aswitheverything
elseintherestaurant,Vassilioshas
takenthecoreandtweakeditto
createsomethingentirelysingular.
Givenhisbackground,it’snot
surprisingthatVassilioshadnurtured
thegoalofestablishingaGreek
restaurantforsometime.But,Kolonaki
ismorethanacaseofreturningtohis
roots.“IreallythinkGreekfoodisthe
tastiestyoucanget.Iloveeverything
aboutit–thebold,freshflavours
andthewayit’smadetobeshared.
Plus,it’sachallenge.Atanyother
restaurant,you’llturnoutamaximum
ofthreedishesperperson–here,
becauseweencourageeveryoneto
trysomejars,dipsandmeze,youhave
tomakeabout 15 platesofdifferent
tapasatatime,”heexplains.AndLEFT: GRILLED
OCTOPUS ON
DEHYDRATED
TOMATOES AND
OLIVES WITH A
SPRINKLING OF
TOMATO POWDER
BELOW: A KOLONAKI
FAVOURITE, THE
LAMB SIRLOIN IS
SERVED ON A BED
OF CAULIFLOWER
SKORDALIA AND
TOPPED WITH
CRISP KALE
FOODANDHOME.CO.ZA SEPTEMBER 2019 71JOBURG DINING