In the main square of the village, under the shade of a grapevine, you will find Elpida Kafeneio/Mezedopoleio. It is often the center of activities in the square, and you are likely to see people sitting outside of and across from it, enjoying a coffee or a beer, eating, talking, and maybe playing cards or backgammon.
A kafeneio is a Greek café that is a combination coffee house and pub in other parts of the world. It typically serves coffee, beer, retsina, and raki and offers mezes or appetizers. A mezedopoleio is a restaurant that typically serves small dishes. But Elpida is really more than just a kafeneio or a mezedopoleio—you will find that it serves complete meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The building in which the eatery is located dates to 1932. It was built by Yiannis Chiladakis to be both a barbershop and a kafeneio, which he called Café Hellas. During the German occupation of Gavalochori between 1941 and 1945, the establishment was closed because Yiannis was fighting in the war, and the building was converted by the Germans who occupied the village into a German officers’ club. Inside, you can still see the paintings that depict scenes from Germany created by a German soldier during that time.
Various owners ran the kafeneio after the war until it was purchased by Manolis Lourakis in 1989. Manolis ran the business by himself until he married Elpida Trikaki-Louraki, and in 2021, he named the kafeneio Elpida after her. Manolis and Elpida have now passed the kafeneio to their son, Giorgos Lourakis, and you will often hear the kafeneio/mezedopoleio called Giorgos’s. Having grown up in the café, Giorgos was proud to take over the family business after spending several years in the United States.
Elpida is open daily all year round between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.
In the main square of the village, under the shade of a grapevine, you will find Elpida Kafeneio/Mezedopoleio. It is often the center of activities in the square, and you are likely to see people sitting outside of and across from it, enjoying a coffee or a beer, eating, talking, and maybe playing cards or backgammon.
A kafeneio is a Greek café that is a combination coffee house and pub in other parts of the world. It typically serves coffee, beer, retsina, and raki and offers mezes or appetizers. A mezedopoleio is a restaurant that typically serves small dishes. But Elpida is really more than just a kafeneio or a mezedopoleio—you will find that it serves complete meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The building in which the eatery is located dates to 1932. It was built by Yiannis Chiladakis to be both a barbershop and a kafeneio, which he called Café Hellas. During the German occupation of Gavalochori between 1941 and 1945, the establishment was closed because Yiannis was fighting in the war, and the building was converted by the Germans who occupied the village into a German officers’ club. Inside, you can still see the paintings that depict scenes from Germany created by a German soldier during that time.
Various owners ran the kafeneio after the war until it was purchased by Manolis Lourakis in 1989. Manolis ran the business by himself until he married Elpida Trikaki-Louraki, and in 2021, he named the kafeneio Elpida after her. Manolis and Elpida have now passed the kafeneio to their son, Giorgos Lourakis, and you will often hear the kafeneio/mezedopoleio called Giorgos’s. Having grown up in the café, Giorgos was proud to take over the family business after spending several years in the United States.
Elpida is open daily all year round between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.
