It had been a while since our last family meal at the Byzantino Restaurant.  And thus we ventured out to the Athens Hilton Hotel in the city center on a rainy Sunday in November. The hotel’s celebrated Byzantino Restaurant prides itself on being a ‘family-friendly haven’ during Sundays. This, and the fact it’s a bright, spacious venue with excellent food, service, and indoor parking, has made it a hot destination for quality family time during the weekend. The interior of Byzantio Restaurant is modern and upscale but not fussy, with rustic woods, metal details, lots of glass, high ceiling and light, and plenty of table seating on different levels – plus a modern sitting/reading corner and indoor patio. There is plenty of space between the tables and the cushioned chairs are comfortable enough to sit back and enjoy a whole afternoon of food and wine whilst the kids are off to play.

The hot food section for the family lunch in the Byzantino Restaurant is presented around the open air kitchen with spectacular flames burning and chefs cooking and cutting. Tempted to try the soup on this rainy autumn Sunday, I fell for the mouth-watering rib-eye with winter vegetables. Other meat options were roasted chicken, lamb chops, traditional Greek kebab, and gyros meat. My rib-eye was simply a great piece of meat, cooked with care and precision. We also loved the roasted grouper. Sides are worth making space for: creamed sweet corn, steamed vegetables and the most comforting roasted potatoes with gravy that I have had in a long time.

And then there’s dessert. Chocolate fondant, crème brûlée, jelly, cakes, pies, chocolate mousse, soft puddings, donuts, lemon tart, the list is long and impressive. We tried many of them, all delicious. The decadent dessert section also featured many traditional Greek sweets, a huge chocolate fountain and a beautifully coloured sugar-free section with fresh fruits. The family lunch at Byzantino restaurant is great for sweet tooths!

Family lunch at Byzantino Restaurant

Kid’s Buffet

The kiddies’ buffet is next to the play area and the main buffet. The menu has a lovely selection of kids’ favourites such as fried meatballs, chicken nuggets, pasta, and fries. The Kid’s buffet dessert section is every dentist nightmare; chocolate bars, chocolate cake and everything else chocolaty possible. Having said that, there is plenty of fruit to make up for the extra sugar.