8 Best Restaurants in Kolonaki, Athens

An unassuming yet high-profile and recently renovated taverna, this restaurant has just celebrated a century of opening, and its devotees enjoy simple, traditional yet top-quality Greek food. From cabinet ministers, diplomats, and actors to intellectuals, its repertoire of loyal diners fills out the place at lunch and dinnertime. The appeal is simple: skillfully prepared, flavorsome Greek classics such as moussaka (layered eggplant and ground beef in fluffy béchamel sauce), and memorable side dishes like sweet shrimps in a homemade mayonnaise. The menu adapts daily to what's fresh at the open-air market with mainly ladera-style specials cooked in olive oil.

Enjoy a cappuccino and an Italian panini standing inside Cafe Da Capo, or if you have more time, watch the world go by at an outside table. This place is usually packed with trendsetters and stern policy makers.

Tiny metal tables line either side of a steep pedestrian road leading from across the St. George hotel right under Lycabettus down to Dexameni Square, where one can peek through the glass to see the ancient Roman aqueduct. Throughout the year the greenery-surrounded café serves coffee, refreshments, and meze dishes to a chatty, vibrant crowd of all ages and styles. On the square you'll also find Cine Dexameni, one of Athens's old open-air cinemas that operates throughout the summer, and a playground.

Inspired in its decor and the names of the dishes on the menu by old Hollywood glamour, this was Athens's first farm-to-table restaurant. Having received several awards over the years for its top-quality ingredients—mainly organic and sourced from small producers—as well as its great service and many healthy comfort-food options, it's also set up in Kifissia and Mykonos. The all-day restaurant has an easygoing and upbeat urban ambience and serves creative as well as classic modern Greek, Mediterranean, and North American--inspired cuisine to suit all tastes, moods, and dietary requirements. You can head here for a full brunch, lunch, or dinner or order a great bottle of wine accompanied by several appetizers to share with friends. If you have a sweet tooth, don't miss out on the dairy and sugar-free olive oil ice cream, which comes in several indulgent flavors.

As you are handed the menu, you'll find it nearly impossible to avert your eyes from the stunning view from the very top of verdant Lycabettus Hill, the highest point in Athens; the Acropolis glitters below, and beyond it, the metropolis unfolds like a map out to the Saronic Gulf. The restaurant centers on gourmet Mediterranean cuisine with bold French elements, but the chef also cooks up playful renditions of classic Greek dishes. The restaurant is reached by cable car or by foot only. 

Picture this: it's twilight and you're sitting under bitter-orange trees at one of Athens's best fish restaurants, in the heart of Kolonaki (with a view of the Parthenon if you book it in advance) as you sip a perfectly chilled glass of wine and wait for your order of succulent seafood to arrive. There's muted conversation at the gleaming white-tableclothed tables around you, where opinion makers, theater directors, and loyal customers relax. You may start with a bowl of creamy and flavorsome kakavia fish soup that waitress pours out of a large silver teapot, and then progress to steamed mussels and chili-fried shrimp with feta, before digging into a beautifully baked fish like white grouper with summer truffles. Indoors, the cool-in-summer and cozy-in-winter interiors have walls covered by giant, colorful paintings and a silver wall sculpture of fish.

A Kolonaki institution, this bistro-style traditional restaurant is slightly fancier and more costly than the normal mezedopoleio, with cloth napkins, candles on the tables, and walls decorated with writings by its famous patrons. The menu centers on delicate Greek classics (such as lamb with lemon or roast suckling pig) but also some international fare. The service is warm and professional and the clientele includes politicians and diplomats on their lunch break. For the freshest dishes, ask the waiter for the day's specials.