Restaurant Klimataria

Restaurant Klimataria is a traditional taverna in the centre of Tripoli, the administrative capital of Arcadia in the central Peloponnese. The name klimataria refers to the grape vine, a common name for Greek family tavernas, and the restaurant lives up to its domestic associations: this is everyday food for the local population of a busy mountain city at an altitude of 650 metres. The menu follows the patterns of Arcadian mountain cooking, shaped by the cold winters and the forested highlands of Mount Mainalo, Mount Parthenio, and the Lykaion range. Roast pork with mountain herbs — typically rosemary, sage, and thyme gathered from the slopes above the Arcadian plain — is the daily working lunch for local office workers and tradespeople. Stuffed peppers (gemistá) made with rice, herbs, and minced meat, baked in a tomato sauce, are a Greek staple executed with the comfort-food satisfaction that comes from cooking the same dish every day. Bean soup (fasolada) is considered the national dish of Greece and the Klimataria version, made with giant white beans, olive oil, carrot, and tomato, is warming and filling. Revithia (chickpea stew with olive oil, lemon, and rosemary) is a further example of the Arcadian taverna at its most elemental. Prices are among the lowest in this regional survey.