Fodor's Expert Review Balthazar

In an airy Neoclassical mansion with a leafy, minimalist courtyard—paved with original painted tiles, canopied by huge date palms, and illuminated by colored lanterns—Balthazar truly feels like a summer oasis in the middle of Athens. Acclaimed chef Christophoros Peskias keeps the quality and flavor high on the up-to-the-minute Mediterranean menu, adding exotic touches from Asia in menus of finger food, summer dishes, and sushi—all of which go brilliantly with a few well-mixed cocktails. The crowd is fun and hip, moneyed, cosmopolitan, and beautiful, and this place has miraculously managed to remain as fresh and trendy today as when it first opened in 1973.