While searching for more vegetarian and vegan-friendly dining options in Athens, we came across a new restaurant which offers authentic Middle-eastern cuisine and is located in the up-and-coming Kypseli neighborhood of Athens. The most interesting part of our discovery, though, is the fact that this restaurant offers training and job opportunities exclusively to asylum-seekers and refugees.

The concept

On a hot Friday summer night, we had the chance to visit Tastes of Damascus, try its flavorful plant-based dishes and also chat with the people that came up with this project, Hasan Hmeydan and Marina Liakis. Hasan was born in Edleb, Syria, but moved to Greece when he was 3 years old, while Marina is a French-Greek citizen, raised in Paris, who has been living in Greece since her first voluntary project in 2016. They both run the Za’atar NGO, whose mission is to provide a safe space for refugees to rest, learn, feel empowered and grow. Za’atar NGO hosts a community shelter, and a women’s and children’s center, while it also offers language and music classes, daily hot meals and LGBTQI+ hot line support to refugees and asylum-seekers. The latest project of the NGO is the Tastes of Damascus restaurant in Kypseli neighborhood of Athens.

The area

Kypseli is a multi-cultural neighborhood near the center of Athens, known for its newly-renovated Kypseli Municipal Market and the cosmopolitan Fokionos Negri street and St. George’s square, filled with cafes, restaurants and bars. Kypseli is one of Athens’ oldest neighborhoods, hosting the Athenian elite in the 50’s, while now attracts crowds of all ages and backgrounds, as well as immigrants from the Balkans, Africa and Asia. It can be reached by bus from Syntagma square. Metro line 4, which is scheduled to launch in 2027-2028, will make the neighborhood even more accessible to the public. The current absence of a metro station, though, doesn’t make it less appealing to tourists who enjoy its artistic, multiethnic vibe and its vicinity to the city center.

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The menu

Tastes of Damascus has a small, yet authentic, Middle-eastern menu with vegetarian and vegan options. In our visit, we tasted the best falafel in Athens, which was delicious and crispy, accompanied by a delightful trio of dips: hummus, the classical Levantine appetizer, rich in tahini; moutabal, an eggplant dip with Greek yogurt and tahini; and muhammara, a spicy roasted red pepper dip. We also ordered our favorite tabouleh, which is an all-time classic Mediterranean salad with bulgur, parsley, lemon and tomato, the ideal dish to quench the spiciness of muhammara. In our dinner, we couldn’t resist to include the Baba Ganoush dip, made of smoked eggplants and, of course, pita bread to dive in all these amazing dips. We paired our dishes with some refreshing homemade lemonade with spearmint.

All dishes in the restaurant are prepared by the head chef together with the help of refugees, who have been trained in cooking at Za’atar NGO’s classes. The aim of Za’atar’s new culinary project is to offer cooking classes to the refugees together with Greek language courses, so that they can find a job in the Food & Beverage sector in Greece as soon as possible. Upon completion of the courses, only the best ones can have the chance to apply what they have learned in the training in Tastes of Damascus and hopefully find a job in another restaurant soon. When they do so, they can pass on the torch to the next refugees who can get trained in the restaurant too. Hasan and Marina highlighted how important the attitude and the mentality of the refugees are for the selection of the employees, aside from their cooking or Greek language skills. More particularly, they wouldn’t accept anyone who does not respect the individuality or the different sexual or religious preferences of their other co-workers or of the restaurant’s clients. This is linked to the long-term goal of Za’atar NGO; the integration of the refugees within the Greek culture and the acceptance of the refugees by the Greek citizens.

After a very interesting conversation and a lovely dinner, we enjoyed two traditional Syrian desserts, courtesy of the restaurant: the mouthwatering Damascus kadaifi with pistachios from Aegina and the mouhalabieh, a refreshing coconut pudding with rich rose aroma. 

Interested in trying something new?

The review

We left Tastes of Damascus more than happy with our dinner and conversation. Hasan and Marina did a great job in creating a culinary concept in conjunction with their NGO work, and managed to provide a great option for a healthy and very affordable plant-based meal in the up-and-coming Kypseli neighborhood. We would definitely recommend this restaurant to both meat and non-meat eaters, as they will all leave full and satisfied!

Info

Tastes of Damascus restaurant: Fokionos Negri 19, 112 57, Athens, Greece. Tel: +30 2111177714, website: https://tastes-of-damascus.business.site/, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastesofdamascus

Open daily from 12:30 PM – 12:00 AM except for Mondays.

Za’atar NGO: website: https://zaatarngo.org/, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaatarngo/

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Let us know if you have visited Tastes of Damascus and feel free to leave your recommendations for your favorite vegetarian restaurants in Athens with a comment below!