Spiti Sou, the astonishing Greek bistronomic bar-restaurant with beautiful dishes to share

Walk along the Quai des Grands-Augustins and you'll be carried away by the charm of the banks of the Seine and the sublime view of theÎle de la Cité, dominated by the Notre-Dame cathedral. It's in this iconic setting that a refined, highly gourmet address awaits you, ready to take you away from the City of Light to discover Greek gastronomy as it has rarely been tasted in Paris. We stop at n°53 to push open the doors of Spiti Sou, an elegant yet convivial bar-restaurant where the terroir of Greece is honored through comforting dishes, inventive recipes and even signature cocktails.

Here, we discover a refined and trendy setting, whose tones subtly recall the colors of Hellenic lands: the blue of the sea on the banquettes contrasts with the light woodwork and white marble tables, all echoing the beautiful beaches of the Greek islands, while the restaurant immerses us in a hushed atmosphere where we feel right at home. We're greeted with a smile, and from table to table, the team is on hand to offer advice and advice, contributing to the relaxed atmosphere, while a festive playlist completes the picture of Spiti Sou as the place to go for a good time. The restaurant's name sums up the spirit of the place: it refers to a Greek expression, Spiti mou Spiti Sou, in other words, Chez moi c'est chez toi.

Here, chef Paul Evangelopoulos reinvents Greek terroir through finely-dressed plates and recipes featuring hand-picked ingredients. Be warned: at Spiti Sou, EVERYTHING is shared! The menu is broadly divided into two formats: on the one hand, mezzés to share, like tapas, and on the other, main courses, all for two people. It's up to you to compose your banquet according to your appetite and your desires.

To accompany these victuals, there's a cocktail menu with signature creations (14€) featuring Hellenic spirits, as well as the option of ordering a made-to-measure cocktail, alcoholic or non-alcoholic (8€ for the non-alcoholic mocktail). When it comes to wine, Greece is also in the spotlight, and we recommend that you let the team's advice guide your tasting, while discovering Greek producers.

The menu is designed for sharing, with a variety of prices depending on the format and the dishes you choose, so you can enjoy your evening for a relatively reasonable budget, given the neighborhood, the standing of the address and the quality of the products. For mezzés, you can expect to pay between €9 and €24 (in addition to a recipe that's higher than the average on the menu, set at €42), while dishes for two are generally between €30 and €40, with the exception of lamb chops (€65 for 400gr and €130 per kg) and whole grilled fish (€12 per 100gr). For the latter two recipes, the accompaniment is included in the price.

During our visit, we began this tasting with four mezzés to share, and that was already quite copious. If you opt for the tarama, you'll quickly realize that even the classic won't be classic here: the creamy bottarga recipe, refreshed with shallots and chives, offers all that iodized freshness without saturating the taste buds. Patzaria, a vegetarian salad, could well reconcile many with beet. On a bed of Greek yoghurt, this candied root is sweetened and spiced with Manouri cheese (milder than feta), while walnuts add a crunchy touch.

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For cheese lovers, we highly recommend Saganaki, a Kasseri cheese fried in olive oil. We love the delicacy of the frying, which brings a guilty pleasure without being heavy, while the melting cheese releases all its aromas. To refresh, it's served not only with lemon, but also with a lemon jelly topped with a few sesame seeds. This is no show-off: the play of texture and the tangy notes of this jelly really add an interesting twist to the culinary experience.

We mentioned above a more expensive mezze, at €42. This is the crab tartare. Here, the tricky question arises: will it really be worth the price? At first glance, the price is easier to explain. Where we're used to seeing crab recipes thickened with mayonnaise, here the precious crustacean is clearly present and in the majority: pure crab rillettes are clearly at the center of this plate. They are sprinkled withTobiko roe, a flying fish also known as Japanese caviar. These add a crunchy touch while accentuating the iodized flavors. The crab tartare is also cleverly enhanced with lemon caviar grains, offering yet another playful culinary experience, as well as orange jelly for added indulgence. The question then arises: would we eat it again? As this is a table for sharing, the verdict is in: yes, as long as there are other seafood lovers on the table!

The problem here is that the greediness of the dishes makes us exceed the limits of our appetite. In the end, we couldn't resist discovering one of the dishes to share. And it's towards the fisherman's pasta that our hearts will finally swing. If you have reservations about this type of dish, having been disappointed by plates with a huge dose of pasta for too little shellfish, this won't be the case here. Here, we find orzo pasta (or bird's tongues) almost drowned in a bisque with metaxa (a wine brandy), with a very pronounced taste, and stuffed with shellfish including mussels, gambasses and octopus. The recipe varies according to availability.

Incidentally, at Spiti Sou, generosity is on the menu, but not at the expense of waste, so doggy-bagging (now compulsory, remember) is well and truly the norm. That's how we managed to save room for dessert, and guess what? it can be shared too. After much hesitation, we finally settled on the Ekmek Kataif. This Greek cake is reinterpreted here in an unstructured, low-sugar way: given the generosity of the dishes, we're very grateful. But there's no question of making concessions when it comes to indulgence! Here, we find a diplomatic cream coupled with a more airy whipped cream, Morello cherries in coulis to counterbalance the sugar, pistachios for crunch and crispy angel hair, caramelized with honey for a very satisfying touch.

For us, the Spiti Sou restaurant was a wonderful experience that enabled us to rediscover the Greek terroir through cuisine that was both inventive and respectful of traditional know-how. When we left, we promised ourselves we'd return, and we know it's now one of our gourmet haunts!