Dusit: the new era of O’live has the flavor of Jean Charles Metayer

A great French chef, naturalized Athenian, arrives to bring intensity and depth of flavor to the most fairytale-like view of the Athens Riviera. From above, at Dusit Suites. Eleni Psyhouli comes down to Glyfada for NouPou and writes about the O’live restaurant.

• 30/12/2025 11:36

There are some hotels that feel like home. That embrace you from the moment you arrive, with melomakarona, kourabiedes and gingerbread houses, before Christina’s sweet smile at reception takes over, making you feel that, for a little while, this place will be your own home.

The former John’s, which became synonymous with the golden basketball team that conquered EuroBasket in 1987, hosting all the shining names behind that legendary feat, has now passed into the hands of the Thai Dusit and its new Egyptian owner, Emad El Hazek. Behind the luxury, the precious materials, the wood and marble, the designer furniture, the Villeroy & Boch art de la table, the elegant olive trees on every balcony and the sensual, thoughtful lighting, you immediately sense something far more important than any décor. The mark of warm Egyptian hospitality, the personal signature of the El Hazek family. Behind the beautiful panels and murals by their daughter Yasmin, who is a visual artist, behind the décor curated by the wife, you feel that Dusit is not a cold investment but an act of love. The same love they have passed on to the entire staff. Warmth here is a personal matter for every employee, who, with enthusiasm and elegance, accompanies every experience, every moment of your stay at Dusit.

From the moment the elevator lifts you to the seventh heaven of O’live, the restaurant manager, Mr Panagiotis Porichis, takes you in hand to guide you through a view that quite literally takes your breath away, with the Saronic Gulf and the entire Riviera unfolding before you—a view that alone is worth the visit to O’live. The fairytale sunset unravels in deep red, like a stage set in front of you, beyond the blue of the pool. In our case, we were illuminated from above by a full moon, a rare experience for the Southern Suburbs of Athens, which may have many hotels, but very few roof gardens.

Angeliki behind the bar is already preparing the welcome cocktail, with champagne, gin, bergamot and elderflower. Chic, elegant and sexy, like the entire space that unfolds at the edge of the sky, around the impressive bar. A familiar atmosphere, of a warm, distinctive and chic all day venue, that loves wood in its most honeyed and soothing expression, a feeling as if you are in your own living room, while Metayer prepares something wonderful in the kitchen. And this is what sets O’live apart. The fact that it places fine dining in an everyday context and at democratic prices, without forcing you to dress up if you don’t feel like it.

Jean Charles, a chef who worked in Michelin-starred kitchens before first coming to Elounda in Crete and then remaining forever an Athenian, has over the years shaped a culinary perspective of his own. An expert in French technique, he now applies it to a cuisine with French foundations, blended with a pleasant Mediterranean dialect. Inevitably, you will encounter plenty of Greece in his dishes; above all, however, you will find plates that are beautiful, familiar and satisfying. Yet an executive chef can easily lose the game of impressions—and of flavor—if he does not have a capable cook in his kitchen. Michalis Lagis, a young man from Laconia, has been at Dusit since day one. His experience is significant; you taste it in the ease, precision, freshness and confidence with which he serves Metayer’s philosophy.

That velvety celeriac purée, with its silky broth poured over crispy wild fennel shavings, crunchy prosciutto chips and finely chopped green apple, is another experience altogether, blending winter with the freshness of summer—because, in the end, only a Frenchman truly understands velouté. The beetroot carpaccio is a dish of color, a painting made of vegetables, basil cream, crab and aromas. Every bite is a surprise, a unique conception that transforms a humble beetroot, sliced into almost translucent rounds, into a great dish.

The green salad with poached pear, lightly grilled orange fillets and caramelized pecan crumble features the impeccable poaching of the most fragrant and juicy pear—a salad with French finesse that carries you, all on its own, into the most festive mood. The green risotto with grilled scallops and avruga caviar is comfort in flavor, the green freshness of herbs masterfully binding the risotto, without unnecessary fats or butter. The fillet with mushroom sauce is the epitome of what you dream of in a fillet: quality and depth of flavor in the meat, perfectly judged cooking, just enough sauce to complement rather than overwhelm, accompanied flawlessly by a buttery, refined and crisp gratin dauphinois.

As we eat, Dora is always somewhere by our side, an excellent hostess, ready to answer any question, with a genuinely human concern that we enjoy ourselves. Had she not suggested it, we would not have tried their outstanding warm bread, which comes with an original feta butter and an ethereal tomato water. Together, the three are a pleasure not to be missed, a dive into the most delicious moments of the Greek summer. We finished with an espresso ice cream whose taste I still carry in my mouth, dusted with aromatic, crunchy coffee soil and a strawberry mousse.

O’live is not only about its guests, but about all of us. For those moments when we want to escape this city and see it only as dreamlike, delicious and, above all, from above, gazing out over its sea.

We thank General Manager Panagiotis Merteki for the hospitality.