Old Market of Aegio

Directly opposite the Archaeological Museum of Aegio - the building of exceptional architecture of the old town market of the city, built in 1890 by the German architect Ernest Ziller - is the tavern "The Old Market of Aegio".

For the locals it is her magic Eleni Kougia Tsagri and without question the best cuisine of Aegialia.

Η Mrs. Eleni and her children, o Marios and Andrew, every noon - the tavern is open only at noon except Sunday which is closed - they serve mainly the people of the market, the employees around, but also those Athenians who are invited to the city. It is no coincidence that there is no personality of the artistic world, scientific or political that has not passed through here. And the reasons are many.

Excellent homemade cuisine with our national cooked food. Chicken with noodles, braised veal with potatoes, pork with garlic and spices, sardines in vine leaves etc. and of course the emblematic local food, the cod with the Corinthian raisins. Exuberant portions and ingredients always of the day.

The aesthetics of the store popular, but tasteful and aristocratic at the same time, in a beautiful marriage. Old photographs of the time, a beautiful old-fashioned mirror, Viennese chairs and marble tables and a fireplace characterize the interior and the Cat's Gallery - the adjacent gallery where the entrance to the shop is - for spring and summer days. And of course the happy smiles of Eleni and Mario when they receive and share orders. In a few words the gastronomic show of Aegio is the cook of Mrs. Eleni.

But Eleni, apart from being a goldsmith cook - who cooks the food almost alone every day - tells nice stories. She sits at the tables - when the fuss is over - and tells stories of the city and its life:

"You see this photo here, I am a little student serving the customers of my mother's cafe, Trisevgeni Tsagri. In order to raise her 7 children, she made her house a cafe, on the old public of Athens-Patras and served coffee, ouzo, which later became a tavern and for years was a sought after hangout. There I learned the job and I enjoyed serving people. "The shop I am in, opposite the Archaeological Museum, has belonged to my father-in-law since 1954, until 1990 it housed a grocery store and until 2004 a cafe, when the family took over."

Eleni's stories have no end. Where and when interrupted by the customers who leave and come to greet her and thank her for the gastronomic joy she gave them. This is her great joy, to take care of the people and to get strength to continue in the "Old Market of Aegio".