Damis Pithis has led a global life. He left his home on the island of Chios at the age of 17 to move to London. There, over the years, he built a successful career in the shipping industry. But at the age of 48, he felt like it was time for a change. Leaving behind his life in London, Pithis moved back to Greece with a dream: to build a farm.

This decision didn’t come completely out of the blue. Damis has long been an avid hunter, and through this hobby he was able to visit several farms while in England, which in turn helped shape his vision. He dreamed of building a beautiful farm that was in tune with nature and respected the local landscape, where he could rear healthy, happy animals, including cow breeds that were new to Greece.

Rather than rush into such an endeavor, Damis took his time. First, he found a location somewhat by chance in 2008: while visiting friends in Bralos, Fthiotida, a beautiful mountainous region in central Greece about 230 km north of Athens, he simply fell in love with the area. It was a place where he could raise animals in a natural environment, free from chemicals and pesticides. Following his instincts, he bought 350 acres of land at an altitude of 650 meters. And that’s when it all began.

He started his project, Farma Bralou, by taking baby steps. First he cultivated organic wheat and barley for animal feed; then he gradually began buying animals like calves, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry. Even though the farm was designed to hold a large number of animals, Damis didn’t fill it to capacity immediately – he was careful and wanted to make sure that it ran just as he had envisioned it.

Today the farm is grand, home to such breeds as purebred Black Angus, Charolais, Limousin, Aubrac and Red Angus cattle, water buffalo from northern Greece, Greek black pigs and different types of sheep, goats, ducks, geese, grouse, chickens, roosters, turkeys, pheasants and guinea fowls. All animals are free-range and mainly munch on the farm’s organic animal feed, a mix of wheat, corn, barley and oats (apart from the seasonal grass they eat during the spring). Best of all, the farm is open to the public, so you can pay these well looked-after animals a visit if you feel so inclined.

Soon word of the farm’s high-quality animal products spread, and many top-rated restaurants in Athens started placing meat orders with them. Then, a couple of years ago, Farma Bralou made their first attempt to bring their farm directly to your table, all on their own. They opened a restaurant of the same name inside Yoleni’s, a deli in central Athens, and after a very successful year there, they moved to their own space in Kolonaki. The spot, which they still occupy to this day, is cozy and elegant, with appealing contemporary artworks hanging on the walls.

The menu is meat-based, seasonal and creative, with a focus on using ingredients produced at the farm. Overseeing the design and execution of the menu is the talented young chef Yiannis Liokas. Originally from Epirus, another craggy region of Greece, he calls his style of cooking here “mountain cuisine,” whereby he uses traditional, rustic ingredients and cooking methods to create contemporary, creative dishes that re-invent Greek gastronomy in a wonderful way.

Yiannis isn’t confined to the kitchen, though. Every two weeks or so he visits the farm and is involved in the whole food production process, from start to finish. In addition to meat, the restaurant also sources its dairy products and eggs from the farm. Farma Bralou’s milk goes straight to a local artisanal cheesemaker, who produces yogurt as well as a wide variety of cheeses, from feta to kefalotyri (a hard salty cheese) and galotyri (a creamy white cheese). As for the more than 5,000 eggs produced per week, some are sent directly to the restaurant and any extra are sold to other restaurants or made available for purchase at their deli and on their e-shop.

Some milk and eggs are also put aside to make pasta, while a certain amount of the meat is turned into sausages and other kinds of cured meats and cold cuts. Apart from the animals, the farm also grows legumes, fruits and vegetables, produces olive oil and marmalades and harvests honey from their own beehives. All products are organic and free from pesticides, antibiotics, chemical fertilizers and hormones.

Originally from Epirus, another mountainous region of Greece, he calls his style of cooking here “mountain cuisine.”

Curious to see what they can create out of all these fine ingredients, we recently stopped by for a meal at the restaurant. They welcomed us with a basket of two kinds of homemade bread, one was whole wheat sourdough topped with flaked grains while the other was a traditional alevropita, a wheat bread kneaded with feta cheese and fresh aromatic butter – both were delicious, making for an auspicious start to the meal.

We tried a wonderful meat pie, which featured ground mutton and caramelized onions wrapped in their crispy handmade phyllo, but soon found ourselves smitten with a soft-boiled free-range egg in a crisp golden shell served over creamy smoked trahana (chopped sun-dried wheat, a classic Greek peasant comfort food), wild mushrooms and creamed chard. Their hand-cut beef tartar with pickled mulberries and mustard seeds is one of the best we’ve tasted in town. For the more adventurous eaters, we recommend ordering frygadeli, beef liver wrapped in suet served with smoked yogurt and fresh herbs.

As for the mains, we tried the black pig served on a green apple gel and paired with a smoked eel sauce, and the beef spare ribs, which are braised, then coated in vegetable ash (vegetables like onions and leeks that are dried and then turned to ash) and finished in a pan, with baby potatoes and black truffle sauce. All the various meats were cooked to perfection and creatively paired with the other components, like the black pork covered in eel sauce.

In addition to their regular menu, they also offer daily specials and cuts of meat and aged steaks from their butcher counter. In fact, many people come here specifically for a good steak, which can be very expensive depending on the cut. Yet considering the source and quality of the beef, it’s a price many are happy to pay.

We’ve got a sweet tooth, so naturally we ordered all three desserts on the menu: a traditional galaktoboureko, or custard pie, with a citrus twist; kantaifi, a vermicelli-like pastry stuffed with chopped nuts, served with sheep’s milk yogurt mousse and caramelized walnuts; and tsureki, a sweet, aromatic brioche-like bread, served with bitter chocolate mousse, cardamom and a mandarin sorbet.

The menu is very reasonably priced for this level of cooking, with most starters around 10 euros, main dishes around 15 euros and desserts around 7 euros. The long wine list, which features outstanding Greek labels as well as some international choices, is excellent, and you’ll find plenty of wines that pair well with their exceptional meat dishes.

The farm also owns two delis/butcher shops in Athens, one located right across the street from the restaurant and the other in the northern suburb of Kifisia. At both spots you can find exceptional meat, from purebred Black Angus and dry aged beef to specialized poultry. Their handmade pasta, eggs, yogurt, cheeses, sauces and other superb products are also on offer. As expected, they are all as fresh as can be.

Published on November 20, 2018

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