On our first afternoon in Athens, we decided to climb Lycabettus Hill to try to get our bearings – as well as a tantalising glimpse of the sea! Living in the landlocked Czech Republic takes its toll! You can reach the top via a well-trodden track that circles its way up, so it’s not too steep – but it’s still quite a climb and there’s no shelter from the sun. It’s worth doing if you’re feeling up to it. We enjoyed the view, and it really put us in the mood for our upcoming island adventure. And it certainly made us hungry too, so we were ready for an early dinner.

One of my favourite things about Athens was that eateries opened at a reasonable hour. Most of my holidays tend to be in Italy or Spain where restaurants don’t even open until 8pm – practically bedtime! So we were thrilled that Mama Tierra was open from 1pm. We were looking forward to trying some veganised Greek dishes, and it did not disappoint.

Dr HH got the moussaka – you can’t go to Greece and not have a moussaka, can you?! He loved it – the edges were nice and crispy, and there was a delightful potato layer on the bottom. The tomatoey layer was well seasoned, and the bechamel layer was suitably creamy. You can see that it retained its structural integrity, it was not too sloppy. A really good dish.

I ordered soutzoukaki, which was not a dish I’d tried before (or have seen since). The tomato sauce was pleasant, but lacked a bit of punch. You can’t really see it, but there are some aubergine meatballs hiding in there as well, which tasted nice but lacked texture. The rice was beautifully fragrant, but it’s a bit of a problem if the rice is the best part of the meal (for me, anyway).

I was too full to order a dessert, but Dr HH indulged in the chocolate fudge, which was a massive slab of what we thought was a raw brownie swimming in caramel espresso cream. He couldn’t finish it, which indicates that it was very rich indeed. His verdict was that it was nice, but could have done with something else for texture.

All in all though, we were excited by the menu and pleased with what we tried – though the moussaka was the clear winner. Service was really friendly (and English-friendly), and I would definitely recommend this spot for vegan visitors to Athens.