Dough is the be-all and end-all of human nutrition, its foundation and essence. It needs a gentle touch, knowledge, wisdom, and experience, whether you’re making pizza, pasta, or bread. Flour, egg, water. With their variations, tenderness, and that comforting texture that takes us directly back to our coziest gastronomic memories. All this and much more seems to have inspired Alex Vassilatou, who not only introduced us to the first, and for many local foodies, the best, pasta-themed street food spot in Athens, but also became a symbol of what it means to chase your dream so passionately that it starts chasing you back with success.
Her fresh pasta is a universe of delight in itself, following its own rules. With creatively Hellenized recipes that have been on the menu over time, featuring ingredients like aged graviera cheese, Florina peppers, or dishes like wine-braised rooster. Recent additions include a refreshing, summer “Greek salad pasta” with thinly sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, feta mousse, fresh oregano, and homemade rusks. With a grandmother from Kefalonia passing down both tradition and creativity, Alex blends home-style love and taste without a trace of pretention. She’s not even 30 yet, and she’s already listed among the “Forbes 30 under 30.” Humble to the core, with a quiet warmth that sets her worlds apart from the usual hype.
What keeps her motivated to wake up and with a creative mood and be restless regarding her craft day after day? I wonder, as I take a bite of her cool summer pasta with shrimp ceviche and Aegina pistachios. The answer arrives right after the first bite. Miracles don’t need analysis or deconstruction, you just let them light up your weary daily life. Especially when they trigger that universal human “wow” response to good food. “I wouldn’t be here without my team,” she tells me, and that says it all.
The beautiful interior pops up with color against a white backdrop. Minimalist, with an open kitchen where everything happens right there before your eyes, the bare truth. But the real magic, especially in the summer, unfolds outside on the full of flowers pedestrian street of Kaplanon. Time seems to pause with each sigh of satisfaction. There you will be served the most shocking ice cream, the result of her collaboration with the Greek micro-producer. The feminine touch emerges through a thousand and two details.
They also serve cocktails, wines, and sell the signature sauces in jars to take home. The philosophy is simple: first come, first served which is why you’ll see people lining up patiently before the doors even open. There, where linguine, macaroni, pappardelle and every other type of pasta, exotic or everyday, became a manifesto.
άλ3ξ – the fresh pasta bar
16 Massalias Street, Κolonaki, tel. +302103644142
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