Food

Everything is Greek at Argo

By Todd Balazovic (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-25 09:55

Diners enjoy Argo's traditional Greek bread on the restaurant's rooftop terrace overlooking hutong. [Wang Jing / China Daily]

For Beijingers looking to embark on a voyage of culinary delight, it's time to dine at Argo, one of Beijing's newest Greek restaurants. Teetering on the brink of its first year anniversary, the restaurant is a hybrid of Greek myth and hutong, a place where two of the oldest recorded civilizations come together in harmony. But for owner Vangelis Giannakaros, it's something much simpler, it's home. "I feel at home here and I wanted my customers to feel at home as well," Giannakaros said.

Giannakaros said he chose the name after the mythological Greek ship that carried Jason and the Argonauts during their quest for the golden fleece which, according to myth, departed just miles from his birthplace in Laloukas, Greece.

"I didn't want the restaurant to be a commercialized venue. I made sure my restaurant had culture, atmosphere, and soul," he said.

Argo owner Vangelis Giannakaros poses before a Greek fireplace.[China Daily]

As soon as customers step from Wudaoying hutong into the restaurant, they are immersed into Giannakaros' flawless fusion of Greek and Chinese cultures. On the lower level, large earthen urns occupy the corners of nearly every room while plates with the bold black and orange of ancient Greek art adorn the walls.

Like most typical hutong households, the restaurant has an open-air courtyard with several separate dining areas. Complimenting the courtyard is a rooftop terrace, which allows customers to sit and gaze at the hutong rooftops as they delve into the Greek delicacies on offer.

For Giannakaros, who initially came to China to study Chinese literature in 1979, combining the two cultures has been a lifelong dream.

Argo fuses traditional Greek and Chinese styles. [China Daily]

"I wanted to have something, a kind of project, to bring together the Greek and Chinese cultures, to somehow integrate them. I think this restaurant, with this location, is the best way I could do it," he said.

And Chinese customers couldn't agree more.

"When I opened up a year ago, almost everyone that came to my restaurant was foreign. Now I would say more than half, probably 60 percent, of my patrons are Chinese," he said.

Though the ornate trinkets and the massive displays of Greek mythology painted on the walls may wow customers, Giannakaros said his favorite piece of dcor in the restaurant is the fireplace on the far wall of the second floor.

"I designed it to look exactly like the fireplaces back in my hometown in Greece," he said.

Hand-painted images related to Greek tales line the restaurant's ceilings.[China Daily]

More important than the design and homely atmosphere of the restaurant is the food. Like the mythological heroes from the tales of Jason and the Argonauts, Giannakaros has assembled a truly legendary assortment of traditional Greek dishes.

The menu, designed by a Greek chef in close cooperation with Giannakaros, fulfills the restaurant's aim of producing "better than the best" versions of classic Greek dishes.

True to his goal of authenticity, Argo's specialties, including Moussaka, Giouvetsi, hummus and Greek salad, are all made with ingredients imported from Greece - from the feta cheese to the Kalamata olives.

"These are all dishes that I ate while growing up and I've done my best to bring them to Beijing," he said.