Restaurant Athina Review, from the AVA Team Trio (Pinsky-Istomin-Losev)

A new Greek restaurant by the AVA Team trio (Pinsky-Istomin-Losev). A Mediterranean villa interior with an antique vibe by bureau Static Aesthetic. It's a shame the bas-reliefs got blocked by bar bottles, and nobody's noticed yet how much the flickering lighting bothers guests. The menu is by chef Ramanos Iliani, Greek on his mother's side: dolma, moussaka, loukoumades, and halva are made from family recipes. My attempt to book a table failed, so I just walked in — no more than 30% was occupied.

What did I try? 

• Flatbread with shrimp, 680₽ — a decent starter to share. Though I'd still recommend ordering the plain flatbread and picking the dips yourself. 
• Greek salad, 850₽ — loudly billed as "famous" right on the menu. Ask "famous for what?" and you get an unsure answer. My favorite is still at Eva.
• Stuffed piri kara pepper, 850₽, wins you over from the moment it's served. The first impression turns out to be accurate, the taste buds are generally happy, though the filling could have been chunkier and juicier. 
• Lamb loin with tomatoes, 1200₽ — cooked to about medium. A great base, paired with a tomato that could count as the sauce. 
• Americano, 320₽ — the coffee is decent, but the cup isn't made for anyone who spills things. 
• Halva, 250₽ — a tempting offer that, in reality, disappoints in presentation and portion size. Better to charge more but make it better.

A teleport to Greece without the stereotypical blue ceilings — instead, a restrained interior. The menu is clearly more varied than the usual gyros and souvlaki, so much so that it runs to three pages — a shame, since I'm not a fan of this "multi-volume" format. A good attempt at building a Greek concept that isn't banal. What's left is fixing the lighting, the booking logic, and tightening up the menu a bit, after which it could count on a spot in our restaurant guide.