Greece: Lotza
A 6-mile hike from Fira to Oia seemed like a good way to kill some time, burn some calories, and enjoy some awesome scenic views. At least that's how I sold it to my parents and my sister. What I didn't anticipate was the roaring winds that threatened to blow us right over the cliff edge. Shivering and miserable, we eventually stumbled into Oia around 3.5 hours after we set out.
...Only to find yet another ghost town. A ghost town even more ghost-y than Fira.
My original plan was to have a seafood feast by the water in Amoudi Bay. Given that 95% of the restaurants and stores we passed were closed, my sister and I decided to run ahead to scope out the options. That way, if the restaurants were all closed, we could spare my parents the 300-some steps down to the bay and back.
Not even a quarter of the way down, we were hollered at by some construction workers who wanted to know 1) where we were from and 2) where we were going. When we told them that we wanted to check on the restaurants, they confirmed that everything was closed as we feared.
Thank goodness those guys stopped us. After that 6-mile hike, my legs probably would've given out on me if I'd had to jog down and back up those stairs. This will probably be the only instance where catcalling came in handy. We saw a Chinese family with a grandmother and a toddler struggling up the stairs who had obviously gone all the way down. Too bad those construction workers didn't catcall them.
The only restaurant we came across that was open for business was Lotza:
Luckily, it was on my list of restaurants to check out.
All the other starving tourists also found their way there:
We started off with the gruyere saganaki or fried cheese with sesame (8€):
Yeah...not a fan. The entire thing was just too oily and too cheesy for our tastes. Even the lemon didn't help. But my family has never been big on cheese, so other people might enjoy this just fine.
Lotza is know for its Oia's pasta, which is a spaghetti in garlic sauce with capers and cherry tomatoes (13€):
I totally get the love. If you're a fan of tomatoes, this pasta is for you. The capers added a bit of tang.
The absolute highlight though, was the pork with beer and honey over rice (15€):
That honey sauce. DAMN GURL. I couldn't stop talking about this dish the entire two weeks we were in Greece. ("That pork with honey tho!")
The mussels saganaki came in second (15€):
The mussels were cooked in a garlic sauce with ouzo and all that saucy goodness came served over rice. I got a Southeast Asian feel from the sauce. I could have sworn I tasted coconut.
Looking back, I can honestly say that Lotza was my favorite meal of the entire trip. It wasn't the cheapest meal we had in Greece, but for Oia, it was pretty damn reasonable. More importantly, everything was delicious. The flavor profile was nothing like what we came to expect as traditionally Greek. All the other restaurants with their moussakas and roasted lamb have since blurred a bit in my memory, but Lotza remains vividly unique.
I can't recommend it enough. Lotza. Go. Off season, peak season, whichever. Just go.
Lotza
Nomikou Pedestrian, Oia 847 02, Greece
+30 2286 071357
...Only to find yet another ghost town. A ghost town even more ghost-y than Fira.
My original plan was to have a seafood feast by the water in Amoudi Bay. Given that 95% of the restaurants and stores we passed were closed, my sister and I decided to run ahead to scope out the options. That way, if the restaurants were all closed, we could spare my parents the 300-some steps down to the bay and back.
Not even a quarter of the way down, we were hollered at by some construction workers who wanted to know 1) where we were from and 2) where we were going. When we told them that we wanted to check on the restaurants, they confirmed that everything was closed as we feared.
Thank goodness those guys stopped us. After that 6-mile hike, my legs probably would've given out on me if I'd had to jog down and back up those stairs. This will probably be the only instance where catcalling came in handy. We saw a Chinese family with a grandmother and a toddler struggling up the stairs who had obviously gone all the way down. Too bad those construction workers didn't catcall them.
The only restaurant we came across that was open for business was Lotza:
Luckily, it was on my list of restaurants to check out.
All the other starving tourists also found their way there:
We started off with the gruyere saganaki or fried cheese with sesame (8€):
Yeah...not a fan. The entire thing was just too oily and too cheesy for our tastes. Even the lemon didn't help. But my family has never been big on cheese, so other people might enjoy this just fine.
Lotza is know for its Oia's pasta, which is a spaghetti in garlic sauce with capers and cherry tomatoes (13€):
I totally get the love. If you're a fan of tomatoes, this pasta is for you. The capers added a bit of tang.
The absolute highlight though, was the pork with beer and honey over rice (15€):
That honey sauce. DAMN GURL. I couldn't stop talking about this dish the entire two weeks we were in Greece. ("That pork with honey tho!")
The mussels saganaki came in second (15€):
The mussels were cooked in a garlic sauce with ouzo and all that saucy goodness came served over rice. I got a Southeast Asian feel from the sauce. I could have sworn I tasted coconut.
Looking back, I can honestly say that Lotza was my favorite meal of the entire trip. It wasn't the cheapest meal we had in Greece, but for Oia, it was pretty damn reasonable. More importantly, everything was delicious. The flavor profile was nothing like what we came to expect as traditionally Greek. All the other restaurants with their moussakas and roasted lamb have since blurred a bit in my memory, but Lotza remains vividly unique.
I can't recommend it enough. Lotza. Go. Off season, peak season, whichever. Just go.
Lotza
Nomikou Pedestrian, Oia 847 02, Greece
+30 2286 071357
Comments
Post a Comment