Avra Bar at Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens announces Nikos Tachmazis as its new Bar Manager, opening an exciting new chapter in contemporary hotel hospitality.
By Eleni Nikoloulia
Nikos began his bartending career in Greece at the age of 18. Over the past decade he has refined his skills across distinguished bars, restaurants and cocktail lounges—including serving as Bar Manager at Artesian in 2022, and a tenure at award-winning Bar Termini in Soho, which ranked on The World’s 50 Best Bars list for three consecutive years while he was there.
Having also worked with Four Seasons in London and Milan, Nikos Tachmazis now returns to his hometown. As he puts it:
“After years in cities defined by speed, perfection and style, I felt the need to do something different. I wanted space, air, freedom.
Greece pulled me back—not as a return, but as a new beginning. Avra isn’t just a bar. It’s a creative platform, a clean slate where I can blend everything I learned abroad with the unique energy of this place. Milan taught me finesse, London taught me technique—but Avra gave me freedom. And let’s be honest… a cocktail has a different kind of magic when you drink it watching the sun set over the Aegean.”
What’s coming on Avra’s new cocktail menu?
Nikos answers:
“Right now we’re continuing with Origami, a menu that already stands out—and is now getting a fresh lease of life. In parallel, something entirely new is being designed for the future. I can’t reveal more yet, but what’s coming won’t just be a new menu. It will be an experience. And when the time comes, we’ll present it as it deserves.”
If you want a few more pointers to Nikos as a bartender, note this: he loves fresh, seasonal, local ingredients—those with flavour, aroma and character.
“Ingredients that, when you work with them, tell a story,” he adds.
“Technically, I like to experiment with the most modern methods: clarification, fat-washing, distillation, fermentation, aromatisation—not to impress, but to awaken feelings. For me, a good cocktail isn’t just balanced. It’s the one that makes someone pause for a moment and say: ‘How did you make that?’”