New York-born, Athens-rooted. Ari Vezené arrived in the city long before the current wave and built a portfolio that now reads as a map of what contemporary Athenian dining can be: a yakitori bar (Birdman), a Greek fish restaurant (Vezené), and Manári, his most personal project yet.

“I got heat for doing things differently in 2011, whereas now this is the norm.”

Manári opened at the end of 2024 in a covered arcade near the Varvakios Market. The focus is whole-animal butchery — sheep and goat, offal, smallholders who raise the meat ethically. Grilled lamb kidneys on sourdough. Beef heart in tomato water. A short, seasonally versatile menu with no patience for decoration.

"I got heat for doing things differently in 2011," he says. "Whereas now this is the norm." The city caught up. He runs his restaurants under Green Garlic Management — a portfolio that shows the range of a restaurateur who understands Athens without being sentimental about it.