{"id":530307,"date":"2026-03-31T11:04:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/?p=530307"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:40:01","slug":"kuchisabishii-the-viral-japanese-spot-in-athens-everyone-is-talking-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/food-drink\/kuchisabishii-the-viral-japanese-spot-in-athens-everyone-is-talking-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Kuchisabishii: The viral Japanese spot in Athens everyone is talking about"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday night, I\u2019m rushing out of the office to grab a table at the place that hasn\u2019t stopped appearing on my Instagram feed over the past few days. Kuchisabishii (which means \u201clonely mouth\u201d), the brand-new Japanese spot in Koukaki, has become the talk of the town\u2014as if word suddenly got out, as if everyone had long been ready to line up outside just to get a table.<\/p>\n

I was welcomed by Giannis Petris, co-owner and a well-known figure in Athens\u2019 bar scene (you know him from Tiki Bar and Pere Ubu), who told me about this new venture he launched together with Babis Askeridis (known from Tuk Tuk), his relationship with Japan, and why Kuchisabishii might just be the most authentic Japanese place you\u2019ll find in the city right now. The word sakaba, which follows the name of the restaurant, refers to the type of Japanese establishment where people drink and eat small plates. That\u2019s exactly the experience you\u2019ll have there, while listening to \u201980s Japanese music.<\/p>\n

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The bad news is that you can\u2019t book a table unless your group consists of six people, for whom there are two available booths and the tatami, where you sit on the floor and take off your shoes. The good news is that the wait isn\u2019t long, because the logic of Japanese cuisine is quite different from ours\u2014the meal is consumed more quickly, and no one lingers for hours.<\/p>\n

Giannis Petris trained in Japan, which he visits frequently and whose language he speaks, often working as a guide. The restaurant\u2019s d\u00e9cor is the result of these trips, with elements brought directly from Japan, and that\u2019s why you feel like you\u2019ve stepped into a truly authentic Japanese space, with no Greek influence whatsoever. \u201cMost of what you see, we brought from our own homes.\u201d This deeply personal connection to the country is also reflected in the flavors: you won\u2019t find sushi here, but there are ramen based on different regional recipes from Japan, as well as soba noodles served as a salad which, in my opinion, is one of the strongest dishes on the menu.<\/p>\n

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There is a sharing concept (after all, it\u2019s a sakaba), with dishes consisting of two or four pieces, while the ramen and rice bowls are more filling individual portions. The gyoza come stuffed with chicken or mushroom, the panko shrimp is another standout dish, the hot dog is made with kimchi sausage, and the cheese balls with Japanese mayonnaise are just the beginning\u2014dishes designed for groups to try as much as possible.<\/p>\n

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Try the Japanese curry, which differs from the Indian version or \u201cour slow-cooked dish, which is beef simmered in a soy-dashi broth, served with udon noodles.\u201d The rice bowls with chicken, eel, sea bream, or eggplant are the main course you can enjoy either solo or with company, and of course, you\u2019ll finish the meal with one of the desserts suggested on the menu, inspired by the ready-made meals of 7-Eleven stores. Here, the cheesecake is Japanese\u2014light and fluffy like a sponge cake, unlike the ones we\u2019re used to. I, however, ordered the already much-talked-about cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e, made with white chocolate so that the ice cream underneath doesn\u2019t melt, as Giannis Petris explained to me. I, for one, melted anyway.<\/p>\n

As for drinks, you\u2019ll find the beloved sake, classic cocktails (like the Negroni) made with Japanese spirits in ready-to-serve bottles, as well as wines from Attica, also in small bottles.<\/p>\n

The space features strong aesthetic references to 1980s Yokohama. The metal roof above the open kitchen recalls Japan\u2019s fast-paced ramen shops and fast-food spots, while the waiting area, with its characteristic tiled walls, evokes Japanese metro platforms. The pergola completes the setting with an atmosphere reminiscent of Japanese pubs, creating an experience that feels like a small urban snapshot of Japan. Before heading to the restroom, chances are you\u2019ll stop at the pinball-style arcade machine and play a round.<\/p>\n

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The choice of neighborhood is no coincidence. Koukaki is \u201cthe center of the universe,\u201d as Giannis Petris says, meaning the center of Athens: easily accessible from everywhere, close to the metro, and a meeting point for people coming from the city center, the Athens Riviera, and every corner of the city, after work or the theater. After all, Tiki Bar and Tuk Tuk are also located in the same neighborhood, and one could say that the duo behind them is determined to put Koukaki back on the map as one of the hottest destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday night, I\u2019m rushing out of the office to grab a table at the place that hasn\u2019t stopped appearing on my Instagram feed over the past few days. Kuchisabishii (which means \u201clonely mouth\u201d), the brand-new Japanese spot in Koukaki, has become the talk of the town\u2014as if word suddenly got out, as if everyone had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":527739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6165],"tags":[6181,6207],"real_estate_agency":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530307"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":530330,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530307\/revisions\/530330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530307"},{"taxonomy":"real_estate_agency","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noupou.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/real_estate_agency?post=530307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}