Greeks may not be big fans of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is insisting on more and more austerity measures for them, but there’s something about Greece she loves: the food.

Merkel has been eating at the Cassambalis Greek gourmet restaurant in Berlin for years and the newspaper Bild – which likes to take shots at Greece – said she likes barbequed meatballs, Greek salad and wine from Santorini.

The news has caused a bit of a stir and the restaurant’s owner, Kostas Cassambalis, said he doesn’t want work mixed with feelings. He told the Greek news agency ANA/MPA that Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle comes to dine often too.

“This may be the first report of Mrs. Merkel visiting my restaurant, but the truth is she is one of the first customers that set foot here since I started the business 15 years ago,” he said. “We Greeks are quite emotional and tend to bring our emotions into our work, which is something the Germans never do. Greek politics and Greek food are two separate things,” he added.

Not only Merkel and Westerwelle, but several other German politicians have visited the Greek restaurant over the years in order to enjoy the Greek food in a relaxing and gallery-like environment, although it wasn’t reported what they talk about over their salad and wine.

Greek Reporter

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