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Restaurateur Angie Giannakodakis (Epocha , Elyros , Hellenic Republic , The Press Club) and Guy Holder’s homey Greek restaurant Taverna (in the site of George Calombaris’s original Hellenic Republic) embraces whole-food dishes simply prepared, much like the local tavernas in Athens where mothers and grandmothers often helm the kitchens.

While there are pork skewers, slow-cooked lamb shoulder and 500-gram T-bones, roughly half of the menu is vegetarian. Mop up creamy fava dip or smokey melitzanosalata (eggplant puree) with house-baked olive oil bread. There’s also dakos, a traditional take on a Greek salad, and moussaka, inspired by Giannakodakis’s mum’s recipe.

Desserts highlight regional variations. The bougatsa (Greek custard pie) is made in the Cretan style with mizithra, a tangy Greek whey cheese, while the ekmek sundae features house-made mastic ice-cream, melon sorbet and sour cherry.