For a thoroughly Greek experience, Alati is a cool destination to hop over to. For starters, their all-white interior which mimics the look and feel of Santorini, is gorgeous and quite a sight to behold.
The food is also authentic as they pride themselves on flying in wild-caught seafood from the Aegean Sea at least thrice a week. Not only does this ensure freshness but you'll get to have seafood from that region. For eg. depending on what the fishermen catch, you can choose to sup on Lavraki (Sea Bass), Tsipoura (Sea Bream), Rofos (Dusky Grouper), Sardela (Sardines), Fagri (Red Porgi) and more. And that's just for fish alone. With cleverly controlled preparation methods, the Athens-born chef nudges whatever you order to peak enjoyment level by setting the stage for the fish's natural flavours to sing loud and clear. I chose to have our Sea Bass grilled (salt-baked is another option) and it tasted superb (see pic above).
Besides fish, there's also Kalamari (Squid), Garides (Shrimp), Astakos (Lobster) and other sea-dwellers. Our order of the Kalamari was crunchy and completely grease-free but I thought the battered coating was a tad salty (didn't stop me from whacking my share though).
I had my first taste of Greek alcohol here too, starting with the Akres Soukras, a house-pour white wine and ending with a complimentary glass of Mastika (sometimes spelled "Mastiha") from Git, one of the co-owners, who described it as "the Greek version of a limoncello". Made from the sap of the famous Mastic tree found on the island of Chios, it's high in sugar and contains about 30% alcohol - yup, strong stuff. When I brought the glass up to my lips and inhaled, a distinct pine-woody scent flooded my senses. The drink itself went down like sweet liquid fire.
After this wonderful seafood-centric dinner (our bill for 2 with alcohol came to $185 in total), I am looking forward to returning soon to find out if the meat dishes can hold their own.