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$$ | Syntagma |
Visit the elegant Aeglí Zappiou, an excellent spot for a classic Greek coffee experience. Nestled among fountains and flowering trees next to the Zappio Exhibition Hall in the National Garden, it's an ideal spot to sample a fresh dessert or some haute cuisine, or watch a movie at the open-air Cine Aegli next door. Adjacent to this café is the noted Cibus restaurant, which offers a special degustation menu of modern Greek cuisine every Wednesday evening (reservations recommended).
Zappio Megaro, Athens, Attica, 11557, Greece
Known For
- Good desserts
- Great coffee
- Views of open-air Cine Aegli next door
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$$$ | Metaxourgeio |
Restaurants, including this multiple award-winning Michelin-starred gem of Neoclassical design and inventive Mediterranean cuisine, are the reason Metaxourgeio's profile went up. As soon as you arrive in the beautiful garden, lit with fairy lights and scattered with statuettes and other creative decor details, you'll want to stay for hours; the winter dining area indoors is very elegant too, but not as uplifting. Chef Gikas Xenakis's cooking is a serious candidate for notoriety. Currently there are two types of tasting menus, "earth & sea" or "garden & nature," with a choice of four, five, or six dishes. There is also an excellent wine pairing menu available, but if you prefer to choose your own there is a wide-ranging wine list.
Megalou Alexandrou 57, Athens, Attica, 10435, Greece
Known For
- Inventive gourmet tasting menus
- Beautiful garden setting
- Fresh Greek ingredients
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch, Reservations essential
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$$ | Psirri |
Facing hoary and merchant-packed Abyssinia Square, this timeworn but exceptional eatery is popular with locals who want home-cooked traditional food with heavy Asia Minor influences and endless servings of the excellent barrel wine and ouzo. Diners love to settle within the elegant glass-and-wood interior to sample mussels and rice pilaf, wine-marinated octopus with pasta, fresh garden salad, or any of the dips. Little wonder so many head here to relax after a day of shopping at the nearby flea market. A newer rooftop addition offers spectacular Acropolis views. Another plus: during the winter months, music is often in the air—on weekend afternoons, you can enjoy live accordion performances sometimes accompanied by the piano.
Kinetou 7, Athens, Attica, 10555, Greece
Known For
- Delicious spinach-enriched moussaka and Soutzoukakia
- An air of nostalgia but with style
- Live music on weekend afternoons
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., Credit cards accepted, Tues.–Sat. 11–1, Sun. 11–7
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$ | Monastiraki |
A perfect stop while exploring Ermou Street's shops and the Monastiraki area, Kapnikarea serves up tasty meze with a live soundtrack of the Greek blues (rembetika), especially between 6 and 11 pm, in a relaxed, authentic setup reflective of the owner's heritage from "longevity island," Ikaria.
Hristopoulou 2, Athens, Attica, Greece
Known For
- Rembetika music played by skilled musicians
- Great location
- Favorite local hang-out
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$ | Psirri |
An ice cream workshop (dare we say laboratory) and store, Kokkion is the brainchild of a Cordon Bleu patissiere and serves ice cream like no other in Athens. The parlor uses only super-fresh ingredients like cow's milk from a small farm in northern Greece, high quality French chocolate, and homemade caramel, seasonings, and flavorings. Most exciting of all are the unique flavors, like milk chocolate with orange and pepper and coconut sorbet with chocolate steamed biscuit and chocolate pieces, as well as classics like bitter chocolate, salted caramel, and vanilla. Vegan options are available, too.
Protogenous 2, Athens, Attica, 10554, Greece
Known For
- Fresh ingredients—no ice cream mixes here
- Unique flavors
- Homemade flavorings
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$$$ | Thissio |
Kuzina may be sleek, dazzlingly decorated, and moodily lit, but it's not just a pretty face. The food—especially the inventive seafood and pasta dishes—is among the best in Athens, standing out on touristy Adrianou. The main room soars skyward, glittering with birdcage chandeliers and factory ducts, with a vast oak-covered gray bar set below a spotlit wall lined with hundreds of wine bottles. The menu (refreshed a couple of times a year) showcases newfangled and alternative Greek dishes with traditional touches like the tasty chicken fillet with confit of cherry tomatoes, graviera (a gruyère-like Greek) cheese, and spinach rice or Asian influenced plates like the light black cod marinated in a miso. Cocktails are to be relished on the rooftop terrace, blessed by very drinkable views of the Acropolis. If you can tear yourself away from that, visit the Porta art gallery on the second floor.
Adrianou 9, Athens, Attica, 10555, Greece
Known For
- Head chef Aris Tsanaklidis
- Great pedestrianized location
- Scenic rooftop for delicious drinks
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$ | Acropolis |
Try (and probably get addicted to) one of Greece's most popular and traditional desserts—loukoumades. These doughtnut-like balls are deep fried, then stuffed and slathered with an impressively enormous variety of delicious fillings and toppings. You can sit at the bench outside to feast on your selected sweets, or take them to go. The dough is freshly prepared every day using quality ingredients, as are the sauces and toppings that are sprinkled over them.
Aiolou 21 & Aghias Eirinis St., Athens, Attica, 105 51, Greece
Known For
- Top quality ingredients
- Great variety of toppings and fillings
- Excellent flavor every time
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$$ | Makriyianni |
Mani Mani is a creative restaurant featuring recipes inspired—and made mostly with ingredients that are sourced—from the southern Peloponnese's Mani region. It strikes the perfect balance between unpretentious sophistication and heartiness. The food and extensive regional wine list take center stage, and its comforting dishes sweetly scream "village," with the chef adding delicate new fruity or spicy touches and embracing organic products from small farms. Located in a converted Neoclassical residence, the decor is modern and clean, serving as a thoughtful metaphor for the restaurant's philosophy.
Falirou 10, Athens, Attica, 11742, Greece
Known For
- Authentic Peloponnesian cuisine
- Farm-to-table ingredients
- Good wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$ | Gazi-Kerameikos |
This is a fresh and hip arrival in the Athenian dinner scene, with a refreshing attitude of improvising the menu according to which top quality ingredients are available at the time, what the chef and his team feel like experimenting with and, of course, the season they're in.
Paramithias 11, Athens, Attica, 10435, Greece
Known For
- Top quality ingredients and dishes
- Modern, trendy decor
- Memorable cocktails
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$$ | Kolonaki |
An unassuming yet high-profile (and recently renovated) taverna-style restaurant, this restaurant has devotees (since 1923) who 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, mostly ladera (casseroles cooked in an olive oil and tomato sauce), moussaka (layered eggplant and ground beef in fluffy béchamel sauce), and memorable side dishes like succulent crayfish meat in a mayonnaise-based sauce. The menu adapts to what's fresh at the open-air produce market.
Xenokratous 19, Athens, Attica, 10675, Greece
Known For
- Excellent traditional Greek cuisine
- Familial atmosphere
- Sophisticated clientele
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and mid-Aug. No dinner Sat.
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$ | Exarcheia |
Step out of Kallidromiou Street in edgy Exarcheia and find yourself in a large, lovely courtyard full of little tables and abundant greenery. Ama Lachei has gained a loyal following for its decently priced, delectable Greek dishes always made with a fanciful flourish and with bona fide ingredients. You'll find scrumptious regional cheeses; seafood appetizers such as orzo pasta with Kozani saffron and tiny shrimps; succulent meats and sausages; and plenty of vegetarian options such as the makarounes Karpathou (a traditional handmade pasta from Karpathos island) with rocket and myzithra cheese. Do like the Greeks, and accompany them with a gratifying choice of regional wines and tsipouro (the local firewater), then linger on with your parea (group of friends) until late at night. Every day there are five to nine new daily specials.
Kallidromiou 69, Athens, Attica, 10683, Greece
Known For
- Large selection of fish, meat, and vegetable mezedes (small plates)
- A good choice of regional wines
- Verdant courtyard setting
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$$$ | Syntagma |
Famously known as Zonars until falling into new ownership recently, Athenee is one of Athens's most established and elegant restaurant-cafés, where a multitude of international film stars, academics, and politicians have sipped their coffee since 1939. The plush decor, elegant atmosphere and sophisticated crowd create a feeling of nostalgic old-style luxury combined with modern urban liveliness. Throughout the day Athenee caters to all culinary desires, offering plush brunches, modern Greek dishes, exciting varieties of sushi, mouthwatering pastries, and perfectly mixed cocktails.
Voukourestiou 9 & Panepistimiou, Athens, Attica, 10671, Greece
Known For
- A long and glamorous history; it's a cultural institution
- Delicious pastries
- A perfect location for business chats
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sunday
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$ | Thissio |
For a fancy coffee (think espresso mixed with Sambuca), sweet crêpes, or an impromptu meal, stop at this restored neoclassical-style mansion and watch the crowds on Apostolou Pavlou. The seating in the square in front of the restaurant bordering the ancient agora has one of the best views of the Acropolis in town.
Akamantos 1, Athens, Attica, 11851, Greece
Known For
- People-watching
- Good coffee
- Acropolis view
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$ | Psirri |
A very well-kept secret until a couple of years ago, Avli remains well under the radar even today. But if you walk past its inconspicuous entrance, you'd be missing out on uniquely satisfying small plates and bottomless carafes of barrel wine. Dining here remains a unique experience in a village-like backyard that is nothing like the rest of Athens. Foreign artists and Greek businesspeople alike find refuge here, especially when they want to take the afternoon off and indulge a little.
Aghiou Dimitriou 12, Athens, Attica, 10554, Greece
Known For
- Basic grills, from fried liver to meatballs
- Simple authenticity
- Completely original village atmosphere
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$ | Syntagma |
For such a tiny spot in a narrow street just off Syntagma Square, this small but stylish vegetarian favorite has many devoted fans. The veg and vegan comfort food appeals to health-conscious diners who appreciate the friendly atmosphere and internationally focused menu. Options include mock burgers, pizza, and heartwarming curries. Its nutritious juices, teas, and smoothies helped start a juice bar trend in the capital. Big hits are the Margherita pizza, vegetable curries and stir-frys, and the forest mushroom burger.
Nikis 30, Athens, Attica, 10557, Greece
Known For
- Vegan and vegetarian cuisine
- Delicious smoothies and juices
- Macrobiotic and gluten-free options
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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$ | Monastiraki |
Run by the same family since 1879, this is an almost legendary souvlaki eatery in Monastiraki Square. After admiring the painted wine barrels and the black-and-white stills of Greek film stars and politicians who have lunched here, go to the window case to view the day's magirefta (stove-top-cooked dish, usually made earlier)—possibly a delicious pastitsio. Or sit down and order a popular gyro or kebab platter.
Monastiraki Sq. 2, Athens, Attica, 10555, Greece
Known For
- Traditional kebabs and gyros
- Historic setting
- Simple food for reasonable prices
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Metaxourgeio |
The trendiest and most happening spot for coffee, snacks, and cocktails in Metaxourgeio, Ble Papagalos (Blue Parrot in Greek) is an all-day social destination. Always abuzz mainly with local youth but also people of varying ages, the charming hangout reflects the up-and-coming area's aspirations as an artsy, hip, green, and friendly locale. Try a fresh homemade dessert with your coffee by day or a light snack and drink by night as you watch the world go by. At night it also hosts swing parties and jazz-themed DJ sets.
Leonidou 31, Athens, Attica, 10436, Greece
Known For
- Hip, vibrant crowd
- Funky decor and ambience
- Great coffee and cocktails
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$ | Plaka |
Stop for an ice-cold frappé (Nescafé instant coffee frothed with sugar and condensed milk) and a game of backgammon at Cafe Oionos. Have a light lunch and watch the world go by on buzzy Kydathinaeon square.
Kydathinaion and Geronta 7, Athens, Attica, 10558, Greece
Known For
- Freshly made salads
- Pastas and sandwiches
- Relaxing atmosphere
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$ | Syntagma |
Café Voulis is among the top-10 espresso bars in the country, but its aficionados also swear by the fresh sandwiches and salads for an easy lunch break, and a live DJ set and cocktails at night. It is also remarkably cool in summer.
Voulis 17 and Ermou, Athens, Attica, 10563, Greece
Known For
- Youthful, fun atmosphere
- Well-mixed cocktails
- Excellent coffee
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$ | Kolonaki | Café
Enjoy a cappuccino and an Italian panini standing inside Caffe 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.
Tsakalof 1, Athens, Attica, 10673, Greece
Known For
- People-watching
- Hangout for Greek movers and shakers
- Excellent cappuccino