Dexameni: From The Womb To The Tomb

The blackboard hanging outside Dexameni’s cramped kitchen reads, “Kindergarten-Bar-Nursing Home,” the title jokingly bestowed upon the café by the eminent novelist and poet Alexandros Papadiamantis. He was among the literati who made Dexameni their regular hangout shortly after it opened in the early 1900s – so regular that the place ended up serving as a home-away-from-home for all stages of life. By 2009, however, Dexameni had lost its traditional, old-fashioned character, the prices had gone up and the municipality of Athens had begun asking for exorbitant rent, so it closed for a spell. Since reopening in 2012 under the management of two area bar owners, it has been very busy, with locals even queuing up for tables on warm summer nights (reservations are not accepted).

The café – built on a steep road that was once part of the Athenian countryside – and the neighborhood get their name (“cistern” in Greek) from the water reservoirs that were built here during Hadrian’s reign (AD 117-138), near the outskirts of beautiful Mount Lycabettus, in what is now wonderfully posh Kolonaki, downtown’s chicest area. The name stuck, not just for the area as a whole but also for its square (complete with an open-air cinema also called Dexameni), where children like to play football, ride their bikes and make noise.

Dexameni is a largely open-air venue; it consists of a small stone building that houses the kitchen and bathrooms and that’s about it. The tables and chairs are scattered around outside on two wide, steep sidewalks, separated by a pedestrianized street. Half of the fun of eating here is the people-watching, which is a favorite pastime among patrons, especially in the summertime. Dexameni has always been that rare Athenian venue – a place for everyone at all times – and the new proprietors have made a point of keeping it that way.  There are old men reading their paper in the mornings (a Greek coffee costs a mere €1.50), ladies who lunch after 1p.m., students and businessmen dressed in suits who come for coffee and beer, and an endless number of children playing football, bicycling or hide-and-seek behind strangers while their parents eat with their friends.  At night there isn't a single age group not represented here.  Kids play till late while their parents drink and dine, twenty-somethings flirt in big groups while nibbling on their meze plates, and older couples quietly look on.

To read more, please visit: Culinary Backstreets

by

Despina Trivolis

Photo credit: Manteau Stam