Erebuni Armenian Restaurant

🇬🇷 Εστιατόριο Ερεμπούνι
📍Thessaloniki, Greece
Eatery type: Armenian restaurant
Food: Mainly meat based
Vegetarian score: 🌱
Quantity score: 🥣🥣🥣
Quality score: ✅✅✅
Housewine score: 🍷🍷🍷
Location score: 🗺️🗺️
Parking score: 🅿️
Ambience/comfort score: 💺💺
Outdoor score: ⛱️
Kids score: 👦👦
Service score: 💁💁💁
Price level: €€
Overall score: ⭐⭐
Score system
Intro to Greek eateries

Named after the famous Erebuni fortress in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Erebuni restaurant (in Greek: “εστιατόριο Ερεμπούνι”) is an authentic Armenian eatery in Thessaloniki. The place is a must for foodies as both the Armenian cuisine itself and the particular restaurant are exceptional. Armenian cuisine is pretty heavy justified by the fact that Armenia is a landlocked country experiencing continental climate and cold winters. We tried the Armenian pies (made on the spot), the aubergine rolls with walnuts and the delicious minced meat kebabs. A big surprise was the traditional Armenian manti, which is something between dumpling and tortellini open on top, stuffed with minced beef and topped with garlic yoghurt. This dish has a great warming effect (ideal for a cold winter night) and is a culinary experience by itself. A great Armenian halva came at the end of a great meal , made of flour, butter and sugar. The ambience of Erebuni is very cozy (seating area is quite small). The service is great while prices are reasonable. All in all Erebuni offers a great culinary experience and is highly recommended.

Delicious Armenian aubergine rolls with walnuts and pomegranate

Location

Erebuni restaurant is located in the eastern part of Thessaloniki on the coastal Alexander avenue. It is not bang on the centre of the city, although quite easily accessible by public means of transport, justifying a location score of 2 out of 3 (🗺️🗺️). There is no designated car parking, although parking spaces could be found in the surrounding area. The parking score is therefore 1 out of 3 (🅿️),

Ambience, comfort, decor

The restaurant has a fairly small but rather comfortable seating area and a cozy ambience. There are traditional Armenian tablecloths and the decor is evocative of Armenia. There is also a decorative map of Armenia on the wall. It receives a 2 out of 3 ambience/comfort score (💺💺) and a 2 out of 3 kids score (👦👦). The restaurant also serves outdoors on a terrace by the avenue, without this area being something special, therefore receiving a 1 out of 3 outdoor score (⛱️).

The cozy seating area of Erebuni (left) and the nicely set table (right)

Food, quality, quantity

Erebuni offers authentic Armenian cuisine at great quality, thus receiving a well deserved 3 out of 3 quality score (✅✅✅). Portions are big (heftier than the average of Thessaloniki), therefore justifying a 3 out of 3 quantity score (🥣🥣 🥣). Erebuni is not ideal for vegetarians or pescatarians. Lacto ovo vegetarians have quite a few options though, justifying a 1 out of 3 vegetarian score (🌱).

As starters we tried a very balanced tabbouleh (salad made of parsley, bulgur and tomatoes in a lemon vinaigrette) and the traditional Armenian aubergine rolls with walnuts and pomegranate. Aubergine slices are mildly fried and wrapped around a mayonnaise containing crushed walnuts and topped with pomegranate seeds. The outcome is great for the aubergine lovers like ourselves! We also tried a fantastic Armenian cheese pie (dough is made on the spot!) served on a stone plank.

Mains were also great. We had minced chicken kebab with herbs and rice. We have to admit that we are not great chicken fans, however this chicken kebab was mildly spicy and truly delicious. A big surprise was the traditional Armenian manti, which is something between dumpling and tortellini open on top, stuffed with minced beef and topped with garlic yoghurt. This dish has a great warming effect (ideal for a cold winter night) and is a culinary experience by itself.

Erebuni offers great house wines. We accompanied our meal with a fantastic full body red wine. The housewine score is a well deserved 3 out of 3 (🍷🍷🍷). Note that Erebuni also offers Armenian bottled wines which we however did not try.

Armenian cheese pie made on the spot (top left), mouthwatering tabouleh (top right) and delicious minced chicken kebab with rice (bottom)

Service

The service was very good, fast and extremely friendly. As we are no experts of Armenian food, the chef kindly came to us and explained everything about the offered dishes. He also informed us that the Armenian cheese pie we wanted to order is made on the spot and takes a bit longer to arrive (short waiting was well deserved!). Service deserves a 3 out of 3 service score (💁💁💁).

Treats at no extra charge

A great Armenian halva came at the end of a great meal, made of flour, butter and sugar.

Reservation advice

The seating area of the restaurant is small, therefore reservation is recommended.

Price and overall score

The prices at Erebuni are very reasonable for the standards of Thessaloniki. For a full meal including drinks (housewine option) we paid around € 20,00 per person (price level: €€). Taking account of the offered quality, quantity, the reasonable prices and the overall experience Erebuni receives a 2 out of 3 overall score (⭐⭐).