Elio’s Italian American Chophouse Opens at NOŪS Santorini Hotel in Greece

NOŪS Santorini Hotel. Photo source: NOŪS Santorini Hotel.

“Elio’s” Italian American Chophouse, a new concept restaurant curated by award-winning Greek-American chef and restaurant owner Ari Vezené, recently opened its doors at the 5-star NOŪS Santorini  luxury resort in Messaria, Santorini.

Designed and developed by Vezené’s Green Garlic Studios, “Elio’s” is a creative F&B lab that includes a team of experienced creatives, chefs, mixologists and foodservice executives who create brands from initial concept to launch and is operated by the experienced NOŪS Santorini hotel team.

The atmosphere

Upon entering this new concept restaurant guests will be transported to a New York trattoria, featuring an old-fashioned atmosphere; the intimacy of the Italian “cucina di mama”; and a friendly attentive service.

Elios Family style dinner. Photo source: NOŪS Santorini Hotel.

Visitors can eat at the terrace, next to the hotel’s pool, where they can enjoy the unique sea view while inside the tone is set by an eclectic collection of contemporary artworks, combined with decorative references to the 50s and 60s, with the music following a similar motif: Italian disco, swing, soul and jazz vocalists are combined with New York funk, R&B and hip hop.

The menu

Elio’s Carne Cruda Piemontese.

Elio’s kitchen serves a menu inspired by the streets of Little Italy while incorporating locally sourced ingredients from Santorini and the Cycladic region.

Its antipasti and insalata include traditional plates like the burrata with sweet and sour Sicilian vegetable caponata with raisins and pine nuts or the Tuscan insalata with toasted sourdough bread, pickled onion and grilled cherry tomatoes.

First courses are based on timeless recipes with a contemporary flair like the spicy vodka rigatoni with basil, cream, red chilli, vodka and tomatoes or the spicy version of lobster pasta fra diavola with pink tomato sauce, lemon and parsley.

Elio’s Bistecca alla Fiorentina.

The mains, like the juicy Neapolitan sea bass acqua pazza or the olio pepperoncino scallops, pay homage to seafood favorites, while Macellaio, Elio’s meat specialist, proposes special cuts of prime steak such as the Pizzaiola club steak, the Delmonico Ribeye but also the bone-in fillet for meat lovers.

The drinks

Negroni.

The restaurant’s meticulously curated wine list includes a large selection of varieties from Greece and Italy from Nemea’s red Agiorgitiko and Naoussa’s famous Xinomavro to Chanti’s renowned Sangiovese or the Brunello di Montalcino from Piemonte.

Elio’s bar is the best choice to end the evening with either a dessert like the Greek coffee tiramisu or the lemon meringue cake or a cocktail like the “best Negroni served on the island” as the restaurant notes.

The NOŪS Santorini resort opened last summer as a member of the Yes! Hotels Group.