Some days ago, I had the chance to roam the streets of the most erotic hood of the city of Thessaloniki, Ladadika, with a team of excellent professionals, full of positive energy transmitted to everyone who’s attending their excursions. The team of Thessaloniki Walking Tours, aims to promote unknown stories of the city in the most interactive, experiential way.
Strolling around the streets of Ladadika…
During the second part of a series of gastronomic tours “Taste Thessaloniki”, the team of Thessaloniki Walking Tours created “A Night in Ladadika”, filled with unique tastes and aromas from Greece and mainly with stories about the unknown side of the area.
With the port of Thessaloniki as our starting point, we walked towards the alleys of the district, making a brief stop at “Lena’s Bistro”, a cozy place with Parisian flair, to enjoy homemade lemonade and a unique cocktail with rum and loads of cinnamon (the original ceylon cinnamon (!) says Lena, the owner of the bistro). After a refreshing drink, good food is always on the menu, don’t you think?
A few blocks away, we found “Tserki”, where Akis and Manolis welcomed us in the most warm way, offering us excellent appetizers, inspired by Greek cuisine; a greek version of our favorite cheesecake, with crispbread, feta mouse and tomato marmalade. Our next stop, “Zithos”, the first beer pub in Greece, opened its doors back in 1990 in Thessaloniki. The owners Dionisis and Despina, explained to us how challenging it was to transform a neglected historic building, into one of the hottest spots for the locals.
“Canal D’Amour”…
During our tour, right in the middle of Morihovou square, we met Thomas Korovinis– writer, philologist and a restless spirit- who introduced us to the unknown world of Ladadika back in the ‘80s. The misfits, the discussions with the prostitutes of the area and eventually the transformation of this underground hood to one of the busiest touristic sites of the city.
He talked in his own, vivid way, about stories inspired by his own life and his novels, right in front of “Ksefoto” where he recently presented the musical show “Sehrazat”, written by himself. After finishing his narration, he continued on roaming the streets of Ladadika, now filled with students and the laughter of families sitting at nearby taverns…
“On a hot summer night, somewhere in July in the 90’s, I was returning home, drunk and melancholic after a tour on a boat. At 2 o’clock, right after midnight, I passed by the hood of Ladadika. Walking down Dodekanisou street which crosses Tsimiski and ends up at the port, I saw a bunch of youngsters. Some women as well. My first impression was that some quarrel was happening, since the area was full of those. But something else was happening. The whole place was filled with cars. Luxurious cars, Mercedes, Jaguar. You could see traffic controllers, three of them were actual cops, guarding the vehicles. I started observing the crowd and eventually yelled at them “Holy Mary”, I said, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“A new club has opened” they responded; “What, here in this brothel?”, I asked. “The place is different now pal. Now only chic people come here!”
A violin concert and sweet “rodinia”
We were transferred to previous decades and met the underground side of the area, so it was time to meet the luxurious side. Antonis, the owner of “Paparouna Wine Restaurant & Coctail Bar”, welcomed us to his own space. Once a waiter himself, he decided to open his own restaurant in search of new tastes, tastes he had never met in any of the restaurants he had previously worked. His deepest wish was to create unique dishes and share them with the food lovers of the city. We tasted a different version of traditional “pastitsada” with Italian cannelloni, “riganada” and mincemeat pie a la mille-feuille- all inspired by traditional dishes straight from the island of Kefalonia. During our feast, we enjoyed live music with violin and accordion.
Our tour was almost over and our last stops were “Fry”, where Caesar offered us traditional delicacies from Kasos with raki, then legendary “Panellinion” where they treated us like kings, literally putting all their dishes on our table until they were sure we were full. Somewhere at 23.00, after four hours of walking, chatting, laughing and enjoying good food, we made one last stop at the historic patisserie “Agapitos”, to eat “rodinia”, chocolate and fresh ice-cream!
Have I set the mood for food? Their next gastronomy tour will be held right after Easter holidays. Keep yourselves updated by following their facebook page and…enjoy the ride!
Also published at ThinkFree Magazine
Μαρία Ελένη Βασιλειάδη 