May 23, 2006
Aegean: Going Greek finally fashionable in Shanghai
Yea.It is officially "the best Greek restaurant in Shanghai."
Cool setting. (We have to correct ourselves -- Secret Garden is very much still there ... anyone know the backstory? Aegean occupies a large stand-alone sunroom of sorts behind Secret Garden, next to the big patch of grass, which we suppose is the "secret garden." Aegean has outdoor seating which would be a great place to hang out when weather allows.)
Greek owner and chef. (Marios, the young, enthusiastic and talkative chef, knows what he is doing and is trying to work around the obstacles that come with preparing Greek food in China. Grape leaves are hard to come by, so until he has a reliable source, he is experimenting with a stuffed cabbage leaves recipe. He can't find the right yogurt to make tzatziki ... so he's making it himself, a several day process. Feta cheese is expensive here, and he's trying to make due the best he can. Etc. Etc.)
Reasonable prices. (Entrees go from 50 something to 100 or so. Most are around 60. There is nothing Greek about Sam Adams beer, but we were excited to see it for 28 a bottle, although we were warned that that price scheme may not last long.)
Awesome moussaka. (We were kind of surprised to see no gyro or souvlaki sandwiches on the menu. There's a souvlaki, but it's more of a knife and fork affair. The moussaka made up for those omissions, however. Delicious. Spinach pies were great, too. Marios said he has already changed the menu often in the six weeks the place has been open, so it could change again soon. He calls a lot of it homestyle Greek food, and would love it if people started treating the restaurant like a second home. Call ahead and order something -- like pastitsio, also missing from the menu -- and he will be more than happy to make it for you.)
Definitely a yea. And I think it will only get better. Let's just hope they decide against changing the beer prices.
The restaurant has a website. And you can email them at aegeanshanghai@gmail.com. For reservations, call 54031850 or 13601668257.
Aegean is having a party in its garden this Sunday. It's invite only ... but the restaurant (of course) would like to have some Shanghaiist readers on the guest list. The party runs from 4 pm to 10 pm and features "downtempo and worldbeats" music from DJs Tootekool and Kodama. If that's not your thing, they will also have fire dancers. Free Greek appetizers will be served throughout the party and each guest gets one free drink. The first 20 Shanghaiist readers who email the restaurant will get a party invitation. Simply email your full name to aegeanshanghai@gmail.com with "Shanghaiist Party Offer" in the subject line to get your name on the list. Good luck!
Aegean Greek Restaurant, 333 Changle Lu, near Shaanxi Lu (behind Secret Garden restaurant). Tel: 54031850.
|
I e-mailed, but no response or anything.
I couldn't e-mail either!
I retract my last comment :)
I enjoyed my dinner at Aegean the other night. We (2) sat outside and enjoyed the bit of serenity they have going on in that garden. The menu lists a few nice red wines that aren't too expensive: Wolf Blass at 210 and Brown Brothers Everton for 240. I'll usually take anything by Brown Brothers (Australia) but I recognized a fine Greek wine, Naoussa, 290, that's great with dinner, especially after it breathes a little. We started with the eggplant, the tzatziki, the calamari and a small Greek salad. All were good - and the calamari came with some hummus. I was disappointed with the bread, chewy little rolls which I thought should have been a basket of warmed pita bread. Mario - you can easily source pita in Shanghai, get with it! The eel was tasty, and you know its fresh in this town - served in an herbed ragout of tomatos and feta cheese. And since the waitress told us the moussaka was made with pork - I hope she's wrong - we opted for the lamb & rice dish whose name I forgot. The food was all enjoyable and the service satisfactory, as was the pumpkin pie, but we were disappointed with the 'warm chocolate cake'. Most diners would expect a morsel similar to what's served at Jean Georges or Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo with a melted chocolate center, etc. We got a slice of plain chocolate cake, barely warmed, dusted with powdered sugar. Bummer. Where's the baklava?? In all, a good place, hope the menu will evolve a bit, and I look forward to going back there. Oh yeah, one thing I miss from my favorite Greek place in NY - how about some good Sangria for the summer?
I just took my lady there for her birthday. We love Greek food, and have been to Greek restaurants in Australia and the USA. I personally have grown up on Greek food. This was our first experience of Greek, Chinese style.
The decor is pleasant and very easy on the eyes. If the food tasted as good as the restaurant looked, there would be packed tables. Being there on a Friday night with the place maybe 25% full should have been telling enough...
Most of the food we were served we could have bought at Carrefour. It was obviously served straight out of a container. The mousaka that wasn't store bought was cold, soft and actually smelly!
The service tasted as bad as the food. Please find wait staff that actually smile and care about customers. "Here are your mushrooms. Here are your vegetables," is what the waitress said to us as she plopped the plates down as fast as she could. (Given that there were almost 2:1 guests to servers, they didn't appear to be slammed for time!) When we asked if we get bread with our meal, they told us yes, but didn't give it to us until we actually ASKED for it. Then they gave us two very small, and slightly stale rolls. Thanks!
We spent 300 RMB for the meal, and left never intending to go back. Greek in China...maybe in another 5 years...