Young and old alike flock to the door to grab a bite to eat on the steps of the Sorbonne, on the lawns of the Jardin du Luxembourg, both just a stone's throw away, or in their plush apartments in the 5th arrondissement.
Franco-Greek chef Mikaela Liaroutsos has just set up her Etsi Le Traiteur, little brother to the excellent Etsi l'Ouzeri and Etsi le Bistro, in this charming corner of the capital, with the ambition of breaking with the codes of the classic Greek caterer. It has to be said that here, the dishes are prepared on site every morning in the back kitchen, with the emphasis on choice products.
This is a new stage for the chef, who has teamed up for the occasion with Diego Demange, her right-hand man for the past 4 years. After bringing the wonders of Hellenic cuisine to her own table, she is now offering them to take away, and even into the kitchens of Parisians, thanks to the dry products overflowing the shelves of the small grocery corner - Greek wines and spirits, artisanal olive oil, Greek mountain tea, oregano...
"The idea was to continue promoting the quality of Greek products and the Greek terroir, and to create an even stronger bond with our customers," explains Mikaela. The gamble paid off for this Greek delicatessen, a veritable Ali Baba's cave of local flavors. In the kitchen, chef Theodora Giannouli, former chef at Etsi le bistro, officiates. So it's all in the family.
For lunch, the menu is very attractive: €15 for a starter/main course, €18 for a starter/main course/dessert, to take away or enjoy on site, at one of the two small marble tables facing the counter. The prices are affordable for this area of Paris - with its strong student tendency - and yet the products are of the highest quality, mostly organic, some imported directly from Greek producers, others sourced in France.
The olive oil and oregano come from Mikaela's father (again, the importance of family); the meat, poultry, fish and octopus are French; the fruit and vegetables come from Greece, Italy, Spain or the local organic greengrocers; the dry groceries, cheeses, halva, loukoum, pita bread and olives are Greek; the yoghurt is homemade.
While the great Greek classics are of course represented(tarama, tzatziki, hummus, octopus salad), Etsi le Traiteur also offers more cooked dishes, necessarily less well-known in Paris - and what a pleasure to discover a different kind of Greek cuisine! These include winter moussaka with celery root and potatoes instead of eggplants; spetsofaï, a classic from the Peleon region, which is a stew of herbed sausages with cinnamon, red peppers and tomato sauce; chickpea soup simmered in the oven; and mackerel à la plaki, cooked in a low-temperature oven.
Among the wonders we adored during our visit: hummus spiked with cumin and topped with Serifos capers, infinitely sensorial homemade tarama, creamy fava (a puree of fava beans, pine nuts and capers), huge Kalamata olives, delicious tirokafteri (better known as ktipiti), dolmadakia vine leaves, garnished with herbs, currants and pine nuts and particularly lemony, octopus, fennel and celery salad, or an unusual chard, leek and chicory salad.
But our big favorite, the wonder we still dream about at night, is undoubtedly the Portokalopita, the famous soaked orange cake, moist and simply delicious!
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This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.
Location
Etsi le Traiteur
241 Rue Saint-Jacques
75005 Paris 5
Official website
www.etsi-paris.fr
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