I stumbled across Archontis while wandering around Thessaloniki one morning. They seemed to have a decent crowd going, so I figured I’d give them a shot.
They had a handful of interesting pastries in their display counter, but I went with the spanakopita, a savoury pastry filled with spinach and feta.
Or at least I think it was spanakopita — the labels were all in Greek. It certainly tasted like spanakopita to me, though it may have been some kind of variation on the dish.
Whatever it was, it was quite good. It wasn’t anything too mind-blowing, but for €1 for a hearty slice, it’s hard to complain.
I definitely lucked out — it was clearly fresh from the oven. The guy behind the counter handed it to me without heating it up, and it was piping hot.
The phyllo pastry was actually pretty magical. It was shatteringly crisp, but not hard at all. It was basically just crispy enough to hold up to the filling and retain its shape (i.e. it doesn’t droop when you hold it). It was amazing.
The filling was quite good too, with a good balance of spinach and cheese, and a nice peppy brightness that was actually quite addictive. Considering how cheap it is, the whole thing is much better than it has any right to be.
Location: Aristotelous 25, Thessaloniki 546 24
How to find it: The sign is in Greek, but look for the yellow logo with the big “A”.