Souvlaki pita
Grilled pork or chicken on a wooden skewer with the meat sliced off into a warm pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki, the everyday lunch and late dinner across Athens.
Where: Kostas Souvlaki, Bairaktaris
Athens eats on three overlapping clocks. The mageirio tradition, home-style cooking in stew pans behind a counter, still rules lunch at Diporto on Theatre Square, at Karavitis in Pangrati and at Oikonomou in Petralona. The souvlaki counters of Monastiraki and Psyrri, Kostas on Agia Irini Square, Bairaktaris on Monastiraki Square and Telis on Evripidou, run from late morning until past midnight and are how the city actually eats every day. And on top of both, a modern wave has built itself out: Spondi has held a Michelin star since 2002, Hytra and Soil have followed, and The Clumsies and Line sit on the World's 50 Best Bars list. Espresso at the counter still costs about EUR2, a small carafe of house white EUR5, and the Sunday lunch around Pangrati still wraps the block at 14:00.
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Map of Athens
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Must-try dishes in Athens
The plates that define eating in Athens.
Gyros pita
Pork or chicken stacked on a vertical spit, shaved off in slivers and rolled into a pita with chips, tomato, onion and tzatziki, the late-night Athens staple.
Where: Bairaktaris, Kostas Souvlaki
Moussaka
Layered aubergine, potato and spiced lamb mince under a thick bechamel, baked to a golden top, the Athens lunch plate at every long-running mageirio in the city.
Where: Taverna tou Oikonomou, Karavitis Tavern, Klimataria
Pastitsio
Long tube pasta layered with spiced beef ragu and a bechamel top, baked into a square slice, the Sunday-lunch plate at every Athens taverna with home cooking.
Where: Taverna tou Oikonomou, Klimataria, Karavitis Tavern
Spanakopita
Spinach and feta in layers of crisp phyllo, baked in a deep tray and sliced into hot squares, the Athens breakfast pie at counters across the city.
Where: Ariston, Takis Bakery
Loukoumades
Yeast-doughnut balls deep-fried to a crisp shell, dressed in honey syrup and cinnamon, the Greek dessert sweet served hot from the pan in Athens.
Where: Krinos, Lukumades
Restaurants to know in Athens
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Athens.
Mavro Provato
Mavro Provato in Pangrati is the daily Athens mezedopoleio favourite for small-plate Greek cooking with regulars on the pavement from 14:00.
Signature: Saganaki, Smoked aubergine, Pork tenderloin with prunes
Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani
Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani on Sokratous is the Athens deli-mezedopoleio for Asia Minor cured meats: Karamanli pastourma, sausages and small plates.
Signature: Karamanli pastourma, Cappadocian sausage, Cured-meat platter
Atlantikos
Atlantikos in Psyrri is the central Athens seafood pick: Avliton 7 fires the daily catch on the grill from lunch through to past midnight every day.
Signature: Grilled octopus, Sea bream carpaccio, Fried calamari
Tzitzikas kai Mermigas
Tzitzikas kai Mermigas on Mitropoleos has cooked Greek small plates with seasonal ingredients off Syntagma Square in Athens for three decades.
Signature: Keftedakia, Kayianas allios, Greek salad
Manimani
Manimani in Koukaki cooks the food of the Mani peninsula in a neoclassical building near the Acropolis Museum: cured pork siglino and handmade pasta.
Signature: Siglino, Sausage from Mani, Handmade Mani pasta
Karavitis Tavern
Karavitis in Pangrati has cooked the Athens taverna canon since 1926, a rustic room with a courtyard, barrels of house wine and the bekri-meze stew.
Signature: Bekri meze, Stuffed vine leaves, Lamb chops
Where to eat by neighborhood
Plaka (plaka)
The old town under the Acropolis with cobbled lanes, the Anafiotika hamlet, and the long-running tavernas like Platanos and Saita that survive among the tourist rooms.
Best for: Tavernas, Tourist lunch, Mezedes
Monastiraki (monastiraki)
The flea-market square and the alleys around Agia Irini, the daily home of Kostas souvlaki and Bairaktaris, the rooftop bars looking at the Parthenon.
Best for: Souvlaki, Rooftop bars, Street food
Psyrri (psyrri/psirri)
The post-industrial tinsmith quarter, now Athens' late-night ouzeri and live-music belt with Atlantikos, Klimataria, Telis and Karamanlidika tou Fani.
Best for: Late-night tavernas, Seafood, Meze
Pangrati (pangrati/pagrati)
Residential quarter east of the National Gardens around the old Panathenaic Stadium; home to Spondi, Mavro Provato, Karavitis and the city's mageirio tradition.
Best for: Mageirio, Wine bars, Modern Greek
Kolonaki (kolonaki)
The smart hillside quarter under Lycabettus, with the Kostarelos dairy counter, Patriarchou Ioakim cafes and the long-running Kolonaki bistros.
Best for: Cafes, Bistros, Wine bars
Exarchia (exarchia/exarcheia)
The university and anarchist quarter with Athinaikon, Mama Tierra and Taf Coffee, where political graffiti, bookshops and ouzeri counters share the same blocks.
Best for: Ouzeri, Coffee, Vegan
When to come hungry in Athens
Peak food season: April to June (lamb at Easter, fresh fava, broad beans, the first cherry tomatoes from the Argolid) and September to November (grape harvest in Nemea, fresh olive oil, chestnuts, quince). August is the slowest month; many central rooms close for two to three weeks as Athens empties for the islands.
Local dining hours: Lunch 13:30 to 16:00, dinner 21:00 to 23:30. Most tavernas seat until 23:30 and the souvlaki counters run past midnight. Athenian dinner runs later than the rest of Greece. Sunday lunch is the major weekly meal; many small rooms are closed Sunday evening and Monday.
Tipping: Service is included by law. Round up the bill or leave a few coins for very good service, never more than 5 to 10 percent and never on the card terminal. Tipping the souvlaki counter is not expected.
Athens food, FAQ
When is the best time to eat in Athens?
Peak food season in Athens is April to June (lamb at Easter, fresh fava, broad beans, the first cherry tomatoes from the Argolid) and September to November (grape harvest in Nemea, fresh olive oil, chestnuts, quince). August is the slowest month; many central rooms close for two to three weeks as Athens empties for the islands.
What time do people eat in Athens?
Local dining hours: Lunch 13:30 to 16:00, dinner 21:00 to 23:30. Most tavernas seat until 23:30 and the souvlaki counters run past midnight. Athenian dinner runs later than the rest of Greece. Sunday lunch is the major weekly meal; many small rooms are closed Sunday evening and Monday.
How does tipping work in Athens?
Service is included by law. Round up the bill or leave a few coins for very good service, never more than 5 to 10 percent and never on the card terminal. Tipping the souvlaki counter is not expected.
What is the one dish to try in Athens?
If you only have one meal, eat Souvlaki pita. It is the dish most associated with Athens.