CLOSED: Diavlos

I knew not to expect too much from the vegetarian souflaki. But the bread was not cooked properly, kind of dry and not tasty at all. The lettuce was old with dark edges. The seitan turned out to be soya chunks. Prepared with no imagination at all. I felt it was a big rip off. A green tea, a skinny sandwich with some lettuce and ancient cucumber.. for a mere €8
The kebab place a bit further down the street, towards the metro station, will do you a veg pitta with fries, tomato, tzaziki and onion for €1.50 add a tea for let's say €2.50 Half the price and at least twice as good. What a pity!

People beware. Something happened to this place since the last reviews were added. We are both vegans and not very difficult to satisfy... usually. We were so happy to find this restaurant with such a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes that we ordered six or seven different things. The eggplant paste was OK, but the rest, i.e. so called vegan kebab, fallafel, potato salad, avocado salad and humus were merely edible. We wondered if the cook had not been replaced or if the place had been taken over by new owners, but were so disappointed that we dared not even ask... just paid our 40 Euros... and left. In comparison with Mystic Pizza, where we had such great, not to say excellent food the previous day, and at a lower price, this is just a pitty.

This restaurant is located right off the Syngrou-Fix metro station. As you exit the metro station, use the Drakou Street exit and walk straight ahead 1.5 blocks. The restaurant will be on your left at #9 Drakou Street. It's also within a 10-15 minute walk of the Acropolis / Plaka distrct.

I visited on a Saturday night at 9:00 PM, and it was surprisingly quiet with only a few patrons. Some nights the restaurant has live bands and music. The interior ambiance feels like a funky Victorian manor transplanted from Olympia, Washington -- very cool ornate ceilings and good tunes playing in the background.

Food was generally very good and portions are quite large. The Greek salad was fresh and the tomatoes were firm and juicy. The falafel pita was underwhelming -- a little dry with an odd taste. There are so many things to try on the menu that you could go back here many times without repeating the same dishes.

Staff were friendly and spoke English, but service was slow (as is typical for Europe and vegetarian restaurants in particular).

I tried Diavlos last night, May 9, 2007, with my friend Eliz. We sat outside. People, beware!!!! The portions are huge! Not the usual "mezedakia" plates. That's why they run a little expensive. You must try the Tortilia with Soya meat, the Fried Haloumi, the Revithokeftedes (chick pea balls) and the fried mushies. Generally speaking a very pleasant dinner. I will go again! JohnM