Taverna Iliovasilema in Galissa

To the much sung by Markos Vamvakaris Galissa - the seaside village and one of its most touristic Syros - has from 1992 set up his summer hangout Costas Bougiouris, The tavern Sunset.

Inventive and innovative cook, having worked in great restaurants in Greece and abroad, submits the cessation of experiences at sunset. Despite all his international performances and information about modern gastronomic trends, his passion is to fight with local ingredients, to exhaust them and to present them in the most imaginative way.

The store 200 meters from the beach of Galissas, two steps away, has at its entrance a large blackboard where the dishes of the day, the favorite dishes of the cook, are written in chalk every day.

This image of childhood -due to the blackboard- is pervasive in the store because the Costas Bougiouris is a big kid. He plays with the ingredients, with the cooking, with life.

The day we visited him the suggestions were as follows:

• Fagri fillet on smoked eggplant and crushed cherry tomatoes
• Kakavia risotto
• Wine rooster with tagliatelle
• Rabbit stew

We tried the fagri, it was excellent, as well as the fagri tartare.

"The tastiest pieces, either in meat or in fish, are close to the bone. Bone to fillet you have the best. You make these tartars with a little art. You work like in the old households. "Nothing should be lost… Only here the lost hair becomes the best", Kostas confesses to us with a smile.

His menu includes many impressive dishes, most of which win you over with their minimalism rather than their complexity.

I considered it a top experience al dente boiled Armyra - with a crunchy taste - with fresh urchin eggs, lemon oil and sea urchin! An excellent dish, a divine marriage and so simple.

Honoring his long-time foreign clients, Costas does not avoid some stereotypes - especially prepared - such as moussaka, stuffed, imam aubergines, tomato meatballs, while there are also local recipes such as saganaki with aged San Michalis, melati in honey capers and tomatoes, vlita fried with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, fennel pie or rooster with macaroni and local sour cheese. For the wanted, he supports the extravaganzas…!

Smoked eel with crispy seaweed, cuttlefish risotto with its ink seasoned with aged San Michalis, but also the fried cod in cornmeal with elegant garlic with saffron and caramelized beets!