It is not easy for a restaurant to stand the test of time. It is even harder to evolve, move through different eras and changes in ownership, and still preserve its identity.
Kiku has managed to do just that.
1993, 2011, 2023, 2026.
Four years that mark the milestones of a 33-year journey, revealing how a name so closely associated with Japanese cuisine in Athens has arrived at its newest chapter: Casa Kiku.
It all began in 1993
The story begins in Kolonaki in 1993, with Leonidas Goulandris.
It was a very different era for Athens’ restaurant scene. Japanese cuisine had neither the popularity nor the place in the city’s everyday life that it enjoys today.
Kiku was among the restaurants that helped pave a new path.
And its name gradually began to carry a significance of its own in Athens.
2011: Passing the torch
Eighteen years later came another defining milestone.
In 2011, Giorgos Dragoumanos and Giorgos Andritsos acquired Kiku.
They did more than simply carry on what was already there. They began their own chapter, building on the history and reputation the restaurant had already established.
Kiku continued to evolve while maintaining its place on Athens’ dining map.
2023 and the next chapter
The year 2023 marked another turning point.
The passing of Giorgos Dragoumanos left behind a significant legacy—one that Kiku continues to remember and honour today.
During the same period, Dimos Stasinopoulos joined as a strategic partner.
The restaurant thus entered the next stage of its journey.
2026: Kiku becomes Casa Kiku
And so we arrive at the present.
The year 2026 marks more than another change.
It signals the beginning of a new era.
Kiku evolves into Casa Kiku, with Giorgos Andritsos and Dimos Stasinopoulos, joined by new investor Alexandros Exarchou.
A historic name in Athens refuses to become a museum piece. Instead, it chooses to introduce itself anew.
And perhaps that is the greatest strength of a business with more than three decades of history.
Knowing what to preserve and, above all, when to change.
From Leonidas Goulandris in 1993 to Giorgos Dragoumanos and Giorgos Andritsos in 2011, then Dimos Stasinopoulos, and finally the new investment partnership of 2026 with Alexandros Exarchou.
33 years. Different eras. Different chapters. One name that refused to stand still.
This is precisely what is captured in the phrase Casa Kiku has chosen to tell the story of its journey today:
“A legacy, evolved.”
A legacy that did more than simply survive.
It evolved.
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