SUNDAY NIGHT IN ATHENS – BEER AND CURRY AND STAG DOs

ADVISORY : NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

26th February 2023.

Three (3) nights in Athens, as the old Murray Head hit almost went; let’s hit the town.

Mrs RM didn’t fancy a walk up the Acropolis in the dark, which I consequently didn’t even see on that first night. What I did see was a young, vibrant, safe city busier than Manchester on a Sunday night.

I had Duncan’s Guide to Athens Craft downloaded and was determined to tick ’em all (Spoiler : I failed).

First up, Barley Cargo, a name which reminds me of this chap.

It seemed to have the biggest choice, and you’ll know how us CAMRAs love our CHOICE.

Reminiscent of Port St Beer House with lots of taps and bottles and trestle tables, and to be honest the prices weren’t that far off PSBH.

That’s 8.80 euros for 0.4l of the local Strange Brew Jasmine IPA, which one of you will have already converted into a £/pint of £11.36 in your head.

Because Athens doesn’t have a Wetherspoons, or even a Sam Smiths, I can’t really tell you where the cheap places are. Stick with Mythos lager for about £4 a pint if you must.

We enjoyed the Jasmine, and the Dark Crops, and the Saison, and the soundtrack (Jennifer Warnes, Tom Waits), and the generous free snackage, and left £20 lighter and with Mrs RM having been told off for taking photos. Which is ironic.

But we eventually left to explore the gritty cosmopolitan area of Pysri, which is Ancoats before gentrification, sort of. The transition from grotty to charming is as rapid as you get around Thomas Street.

Now, some of you may be doubtful about the merits of Athens curry scene, but Curry-heute himself has four such caffs in his Top 50 recommended places, which is a bit like Godalming getting 10 entries in the Beer Guide.

Pak Taka Tak is down a side alley that will remind you of the approach to Manchester’s This & That.

If you get lost, just look for the shop with the animal heads;

No Rice & Three here, just curries you’ve heard of.

The 5 euros brings you a bubbling Nihari and naans, so there’s actually no need to order extra naan and rice, so obviously we did and ended up somehow spending 16 euros.

Mrs RM though it a bit “oily”, which is why she’s a food critic. I reckoned it the tastiest curry in months, and was still easting the keema naan we secreted away months later, too.

I don’t know if they get many English curry and beer tourists, but the locals showed complete disinterest in us.

No way could we add more beer to our tummies after that, so we headed back via the central cafe quarter filled with stag groupd leading to the main markets,

where (just as Duncan promised) there was a big rave about to start.

Clearly Mrs RM was keen to relive her previous trip to a Greek nightclub in 1987, but I had to gently tell her I doubted they’d still be playing this number;

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

20 thoughts on “SUNDAY NIGHT IN ATHENS – BEER AND CURRY AND STAG DOs”

  4. Imagine if Godalming did have 10 entries. It would need nine new pubs plus The Star. The ‘spoons ain’t getting in any time soon. Has it ever been in?

    To paraphrase David Nobbs in the second Reggie Perrin novel – “Note: It is believed that this blog mentions Godalming more than any other blog ever written, including A Social, Artistic and Economic History of Godalming by E. Phipps-Blythburgh…”

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      1. Do you know which year the ‘spoons got in? I’ve only ever had two great pints in there. Had lots of vinegar, but only two worthy of a 4… although admittedly I only go in very occasionally.

        The Star is still there, doing its thing. The best beer pub in town, by quite some distance.

        The Anchor closed several years ago. It’s now a tandoori restaurant. Rarely went there as it was a bit out of the way, unless one is after a tick…

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      3. OK, thanks for that. Was around the time I didn’t go in there for about 3 or 4 years. Seems I missed its glory days!

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      2. What on earth brings you to Godalming? It can’t be the silver medal-winning Abbot Ale in the town’s rather perfunctory ‘spoons. Maybe you were here to tick off The Antelope, the town’s newest pub, which still resembles a closed florist despite having its own website and a verified venue page on Untappd!

        Right, I now have an apology to make… at around 5.40pm, just after you and Christine had walked past the school on Meadrow, you passed a fat bloke wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball shirt. Well, that fat bloke is as thick as mince and it took him a few seconds to realise that it was you; and by the time the connection had been made, you’d both turned a corner and disappeared behind a Thames Water van. I did consider turning around and calling out, but the moment had gone and I didn’t want to go all Alan Partridge calling for Dan! So, I’m genuinely sorry my brain doesn’t work quicker and that I didn’t say hello!

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      4. You get Commenter of the Year award for not complaining we hadn’t announced our visit in the Waverley Warbler, too.

        Richmond Arms the new GBG entry, in this year of the unexpected Guide entry.

        We also did the Three Lions in our quartet, which may tell you a lot.

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      5. I figured you were here for a GBG tick. I was so hoping the local branch had done some top level trolling by putting in both the Leathern Bottle and The Volunteer (for a laugh) and you were walking from one to the other.

        Still, nice for the Richmond and well done to them. Not a pub I’ve been into for years, but an unfussy little boozer which suits its customers (a couple of old boys playing dominoes last time I was in there). Maybe I’ll pop in some time now I’m assured of a vibrant pint of cask…

        I look forward to your write up. Some time around November?

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