Sami Aljonne Diego, Julius Evan Alcantara, Dominador Jr Bustamante, Ziad Freedom Ahmed and Athina Cacatian come from the Philippines but grew up and met in Greece. They are young, in their 30s, and have recently opened Sentro Otso on Klitiou Street, the first Filipino bar in Greece and maybe in Europe.

But what makes this bar… a Filipino bar? The answer comes from the moment you take a look at the menu. Margarita with Calamansi, a citrus that resembles lime but has a sweeter taste, is grown everywhere in the Philippines and is used in many traditional dishes. Cocktails with Panutsa syrup, a traditional confection made with Ube sweet potato and various exotic ingredients. On the shelves behind the bar figures the premium Filipino rum Don Papa (which is considered sacred in the Philippines, as Sami informs us), San Miguel beers and Spanish brandies that Filipinos love. “In other words, we took advantage of every Filipino ingredient one can find existsin Athens”, they all say smiling. All the cocktails on the menu are signature ones, still, Dominador and Ziad can also prepare any classic cocktail you may wish. We should also mention that all the ingredients that are required for the preparation of the cocktails, from juices to syrups, are made in-house.

Apart from serving Filipino cocktails made with Filipino ingredients, the first Filipino bar in the city will also play Filipino music, show Filipino movies and organize Filipino karaoke nights. As for its name, Sentro Otso means “Downtown at Eight”, as in the Philippines people use to say “Let’s go downtown!”. And thanks to this team of smiling and warm-hearted Asian people, downtown Athens has just gotten more intriguing!

8 Klitiou Street, opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday 18.00-02.00