1968 · Chania
A suitcase and a notebook
Eleni, twenty-two, sails from Crete to Cape Town with her copper briki and a book of her mother's recipes.
I istoría mas
Three generations, one charcoal grill
From a kitchen in Chania to a corner café in Sea Point, and a taverna on Main Road.
The journey
From Crete to Hout Bay
Fifty-eight years in five chapters. Keep scrolling: the story sails sideways.
1979 · Sea Point
The corner café
Eleni's café on Regent Road becomes famous for spanakopita, Greek coffee and long arguments about football.
2003 · Athens
Nikos learns the fire
Her grandson trains in Athens, then spends three summers at a fish taverna on Naxos.
2017 · Main Road
Nostos opens
Whitewashed walls, blue shutters and a charcoal grill in Hout Bay. Yiayia cuts the ribbon.
Today
Ninety seats, one family
A team of twenty-eight, forty Greek wines, and Yiayia at the corner table on Sundays.
O sef
Nikos Papadakis
“Good oil, real charcoal, fish that was swimming yesterday. Then get out of the way.”
Nikos trained in Athens and learned to cook fish on Naxos, where a whole grilled bream with lemon was the hardest thing to get right. He came home to Cape Town in 2016 with a plan and his grandmother's blessing.
You will find him at the grill most nights. Ask what came in from the coast this morning: it is usually what he is most excited to cook.
Nóstos
The Greek word for homecoming: the journey back to the place, and the food, you love.
How we cook
Four things Yiayia taught us
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01Oil
Single-estate oil from a family grove near Chania, shipped twice a year. We use it like other kitchens use salt.
900 litres a yearView menu
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02Fire
Hardwood charcoal lit at ten every morning. Souvlaki, lamb and octopus all take their turn over the coals.
Lit daily at 10:00View menu
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03Sea
Sardines, bream and octopus from Durban and Cape Town, three mornings a week, grilled the day they land.
Delivered Tue · Thu · SatView menu
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04Table
Everything in the middle, everyone reaching. Greek food is meant to be shared and argued over.
Meze for two, R395View menu
I paréa
The people behind the plates
Éla!
Come and meet the family.
Lunch and dinner, Wednesday to Monday. Walk-ins welcome at the bar and on the terrace.