Great Greek Cuisine: Ithaki in Peabody

Ithaki originally opened up in the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts back in 1997. And chef / owner Petro Markopoulous quickly established himself as one of the top Greek restaurateurs in New England. The original location was pretty small, so it was always packed.

Fast forward twenty-five years later, and they’ve moved into this much bigger, more modern, really beautiful restaurant right on Route One in Peabody. It’s very spacious, so you can come for a romantic meal or bring a whole big party. There’s lots of cool lighting, fresh flowers, a nice marble bar offering some incredible cocktails, there are wine racks everywhere, even an eye-catching Octopus mural on the wall (and who doesn’t love a good Octopus mural every once in a while?).

welcome back to the Phantom Gourmet let’s get some Greek food shall we and we’re going to go to one of the top spots North of Boston ataki in [Music] PE first a little bit of History aaki originally opened up in the town of ipswitch Massachusetts back in 1997 and Chef owner Petro maropoulos quickly established himself as one of the top Greek restaurant tours in New England the original location was pretty small so it was always packed fast forward 25 years later and they’ve moved into this much bigger more modern really beautiful restaurant right on Route 1 in peid it’s very spacious so you can come in for a romantic meal or bring the whole party there’s lots of cool lighting fresh flowers nice Marble Bar offering some incredible cocktails there are wine racks everywhere even an eye-catching octopus mural on the wall and who doesn’t love a good octopus mural every once in a while but of course you really come in here for the food and this is authentic Greek cuisine done the right way and that includes their Greek salad now this is not the typical Greek salad you might get at your local House of Pizza this is the hotti or Village salad this is how they do it in Greece it’s a colorful mix of fresh tomatoes cucumbers onions peppers and olives and instead of crumbled feta they use these big blocks of imported premium feta cheese and just a little bit of light Greek vinegret now if you know anything about the Mediterranean diet you know they love their dips and spreads so I’d recommend getting a few of those to share this one here with the red pepper on top that’s a spicy whipped feta dip with jalapenos the other one topped with onions is their homemade hummus and of course you got to get the taziki made with Greek yogurt cucumbers and garlic just grab some pea bread and dip away to your heart’s content for an appetizer I’d recommend the cheese saganaki this is like the Greek version of a mozzarella stick with a bunch of pan fried cheese triangles that get nice and golden and toasty and then they actually flambay them right at the table so it looks cool with the fire smells amazing and the flavor is Unforgettable if you’re a lamb lover like I am aaki has plenty of tasty options including their lamb meatballs these are actually more like beef and lamb fritters and they pair perfectly with that creamy taziki sauce or you can go big with a lamb shank just a massive cut of meat served on the bone so the meat is just ridiculously tender you don’t even need a knife and it’s served with a big bowl of orzo pasta tomato and a Sprinkle of cheese that is a hearty meal you know one of my favorite things about Greek food is that it’s all about Simplicity and freshness and the suvlaki is a perfect example they just marinate some chicken skewer it Grill it over high heat and serve it over some yogurt roasted tomatoes onions and olive oil and of course it comes with some warm PAB bread on the side if you want to make yourself a little sandwich now if you’re looking for some Greek comfort food check out the ptio it’s like a cross between lasagna and bolones with bucatini pasta a slow simmered meat sauce and some bashel for added richness and I’m telling you right now this baby is filling you will probably take some home and for an ocean full of deliciousness there is an amazing Seafood casserole sort of like a Greek version of paa now this dish is overloaded with clams shrimp scallops muscles so there’s Seafood seriously in every forkful it’s all served over orzo in a luscious Lobster tomato sauce very authentic and very delicious now let’s get dessert and even though everybody loves French desserts and Italian desserts I think Greek desserts are totally underrated and aaki has some great ones the most popular of course is the Bak laava their version kind of looks like a spring roll with a crispy felo dough rolled up into sweet little cylinders I like the pistachio baklava it’s packed with nuts glistening and honey and it’s served with some incredible homemade pistachio ice cream but my favorite dessert is this one the gab borico and yes I know that is a mouthful literally galab borico is a traditional Greek custard that’s topped with a buttery felo shell so once it’s baked the custard is nice and creamy while the felo gets golden and crispy with some even more sweetness drizzled over the top and by the way aaki is attached to a hotel so they’re actually open for breakfast lunch and dinner and the food is just always good as good as it has ever been so if you went to their original restaurant at ipswitch you’re going to get the same quality and the same big portions but now you can get it in stylish surroundings at aaki in [Music] PE