Food: Places
Restaurants & taverns
Athens has innumerable places that can satisfy the roof of your mouth; we can only mention a few. If you don't feel like going far, there are some nice restaurants in our apartment's area:
Koukaki (our neighbourhood)
Opos Palia: a nice and simple tavern with a variety of cooked tastes.
Athina Souvlaki: delicious and freshly grilled meat in any dish of the souvlaki family. For a mildly spicy choice, order the kebab, with yogurt and tomato sauce.
Farther up the same street, you can also enjoy well-cooked Greek food on Arcadia, as well as the Yard All Day Bar Restaurant.
Psiri
The area of Psiri (or Psirri or Psyri or Psyrri) is famous for the gastronomic choices it provides. Try any of the following:
- Nikitas: the family-run grillhouse with a 50-year-old history in the neighbourhood serves burgers, souvlaki, or kontosouvli (pork pieces on a long skewer), along with simple yet delicious Greek appetisers.
- To Koudounaki: homemade dishes that will get your bells ringing. There are actual bells on the tables, which you ring to call the waiters.
- Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani: a surprising tavern specialising in traditional cold cuts. If you have never tasted pastrami, kavurma, or sujuk, this is the place to do it; plain or cooked, in mouth-watering recipes.
- Avli: wine, ouzo, or tsipouro with meze in a beautiful yard.
- Atlantikos: a real catch, if you are into fresh fish, this tiny restaurant has delicious sea food dishes and a devoted following.
Other areas
Petralona: Right at the west of the Filopappou Hill, this area has several noteworthy restaurants and bars. Seriously, the choices seem endless, but they require walking. If you are looking for well-prepared traditional Greek food, start walking down Troon Str. (pronounced "Tro-on"). You will soon reach Kidantidon Str. At the junction of the two, you will find the unpolished but favourite Oikonomou restaurant, specialising in traditional Greek dishes, cooked as in the good old times. (We can't stress out how good the food in this place is!)
Panathenaic Stadium ("Kallimarmaro"): If you get hungry after a visit to the stadium, pick your own favourite restaurant (or bar) from a wide selection of exquisite places, all gathered around the hip Varnáva Square.
heteroclito: this wine bar near Ermou Str. specialises in Greek labels and wines cultivated with mild methods. It also organises tasting events, in collaboration with local winemakers.
Coffee & sweets
You can find some very sweet places to hang out for coffee and snacks:
Koukaki
Django: a superb ice-cream place, making delicious flavours daily, with fresh milk.
Drakou Str. and Olympiou Str.: our area's two focal points when it comes to socialising, coffee, food, or drinks. Take a walk along these two pedestrian streets and pick your own favourite spots to satisfy your palate.
Lotte Café-Bistrot: a tiny vintage coffee shop, with soothing music and home-made sweets. Ideal for reading, writing, and daydreaming.
Little Tree Books & Coffee: a unique coffee shop that serves food for thought, along with food and beverages. A great relaxation spot, with outdoor tables in the shade.
Lukumades: the traditional sweet lukumas (or loukoumas) served in more combinations than any palate can handle.
Syntagma Sqr. area
Le Greche: one of the best ice-cream places in Athens. Go for instant taste champions—like the thick bitter chocolate and the herby lemon & mint sorbet—or choose subtler aftertastes, like the creamy fiore di latte and the classic pistachio. In any case, you will revisit for more.
Psiri
As you may have already noticed, Psiri is a place of many wonders—coffee and chill included. You will find lots of places just by walking around.
Little Kook: a cross between a café and a theme park, it serves a wide selection of hot beverages and pastries in its unique, fairy-tale environment.
Quick snacks
While on the road, you will very probably look for a quick bite to go. You can try one of the popular coffee chains, like Everest, Gregory, and Venetis—all three of them coming with a rich variety of sandwiches, wraps, pies, and sweets—or try something local.
Terrakarpo: Contains... nuts. This indie coffee shop specialises in seeds, nuts, dried fruits (with no added sugar), handmade cereal bars, protein bars, chocolate bars, and other delicious goodies.
Oporio: this green grocery shop is for gourmet lovers and food addicts—as the writing on its wall says. Whether you feel like devouring fresh fruit, dried nuts, or honey, this stop is worth it.