Oskars Review – Kefalonia

I read that Oskars is staunch favourite of many for it’s sea view and the promise of a good feed. More specifically, they say; “fine dining that is innovative and also playful, that activates the senses, that truly engages our guests in a stimulating, exciting and unconventional way. We re-think our tradition and create an avant-garde Creative Greek cuisine, that evokes emotions and triggers memories, that is refined, provoking, amusing”. It’s a compelling pitch. When I hear the words like “avant-garde”, my immediate association is with experimental restaurants like Bo Innovation, Azurmendi, Martin Berasategui, or even Le Dame De Pic. All produce unending delicious haute cuisine. The guys at Oskars have got a lot to live up to. The venue is a cathedral, it’s a terrace in its own, where a flight of paved and heavily patina’d steps takes you to a space with a mirror finished floor, white table cloths and a canopy to shield you from the blazing Greek sun.

To kick things off we went for the “kalamari” €8.40, that’s hoops and tentacles of squid slickened in lush green basil salsa verde, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. It’s the Mediterranean of a plate right there.

BBQ scallops “Saint-Jacques” €15, that’s just French for scallops just so that you know, they came cooked in their shells, roe intact in a golden pool of herby butter and white wine. I can’t deny that they slid down nicely.

First of the mains was the grilled organic bream €12.90, blackened in parts with a salad of potatoes, spring onions and radishes neatly assembled in a vertical line by the fish. On the other side were crushed almonds and a quenelle of almond-olive salsa verde. What was baffling though was the serving the food on slate, the sort you see on roofs that shield houses from the elements. Our cutlery made obnoxious scratchy sounds against them, give me a nice traditional plate any day with curved edges – they function brilliantly.

Kefalonia meat pie €10.90 was a circular shaped filo pie, golden from the oven and flecked with black seeds. The innards of rice, tomato and marjoram we’re tasty enough, I grazed delightfully even if the chicken was a smidgen chalky from over cooking. The humble side salad of tomato and spinach with honey-mustard dressing was a welcome addition.

I enjoyed the side of triple-cooked sautéed spuds €6.50 for all their sweet nuttiness, crispiness and seasonings of paprika and parmesan.

When the sun was set and the evening came to a close, we tried the orange cake with confit orange soaked in orange couli, it was a cake that tasted intensely of the ingredients it was made of – orange. It was a welcome hit of citrus and moistness. It was like a cool breeze at the end of the night. Madagascan vanilla ice cream nudged things together.

Our waiter, aka the boss really made the meal all the better. He couldn’t stop smiling, had plenty of grace and incessant passion.

Verdict

When did I go? Sept 2018
The damage: Expect to pay €30/40 per head with drinks 
The good: So I’ve learnt that avant-garde means different things to different people, I guess Oskar’s version is the romance of the restaurant, the romance of Greek simplicity with admirable food made with fresh ingredients. You can have a very enjoyable date night here, or dine with your mates.
The bad: So we waited half an hour before any food came, but we forgave them.
Rating: 4/5
Would I go again? Yes
Address: Fanariou St. Lassi 281 00 Greece
Web: Click here

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