Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Athens for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Athens for grown-ups.
The Clumsies on Praxitelous is the Athens cocktail bar of record, on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2015 from Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis.
Signature drink: Specialty coffee by day, signature cocktails by night
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Specialty coffee runs from 10:00; bookings open six weeks ahead for the back room.
Line in Athens is the second venture from the Clumsies team Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis, ranked No. 8 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2025 in a converted gallery.
Signature drink: Greek-spirits cocktails in a converted gallery
Food: Small plates
Tip: Booking-only after 19:00 Thursday through Saturday; weekday early sittings are easier.
Baba au Rum on Kleitiou has poured tiki and rum-led cocktails in central Athens for over a decade, with 11 consecutive years on the World's 50 Best Bars list to its name.
Signature drink: Rum tiki and tropical cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Back bar holds over 400 rums; ask the bartender for the agricole flight to start.
A for Athens is the rooftop bar above the hotel of the same name on Monastiraki Square, with the head-on view of the Acropolis that defined the genre in central Athens.
Signature drink: Acropolis-view cocktails at sunset
Food: Mediterranean small plates
Tip: Sunset on weekends fills 45 minutes before the doors open; arrive by 18:30 in summer.
Couleur Locale on Normanou is the multi-floor Monastiraki Athens hideaway with a rooftop terrace that climbs to a clear view of the Acropolis and Plaka.
Signature drink: Day-to-night Acropolis-view cocktails
Food: Tapas and finger food
Tip: The rooftop terrace on the 2nd and 3rd floor is the destination; the ground floor is the queue.
360 Cocktail Bar on Ifaistou is the corner-of-Monastiraki rooftop with the head-on Acropolis view that Athens guidebooks default to, with 60 cocktails on the carte.
Signature drink: 60 cocktails on the menu with a panoramic terrace
Food: Small plates and pizzas
Tip: The corner sofa is the photograph; book at 18:00 on summer Fridays for the sunset slot.
Six d.o.g.s. on Avramiotou is the Athens arts space and bar with a lush back garden in the centre of Monastiraki, with a constantly changing live-music line-up.
Signature drink: Garden cocktails with a back-room music programme
Food: Brunch and bar snacks
Tip: The back garden is the destination; check the website for live-music nights before booking.
Drupes and Drips in Makrygianni near the Acropolis Museum in Athens brings Veneto aperitivo culture to the city: a short Italian wine list and spritz in a tiny corner bar.
Signature drink: Italian-tradition spritz, Veneto-leaning wines
Food: Cicchetti and small plates
Tip: Spritzes run EUR7 to EUR9; the small plates are for sharing, not for solo dining.
Lazy Duck on Agia Irini Square in Athens is the elevated cocktail bar in the Ernst Ziller neoclassical building that used to house Tailor Made, with tables on the square.
Signature drink: Elevated cocktails in a neoclassical room
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: The square seating is walk-up; the ground-floor room takes bookings after 21:00.
By the Glass in central Athens is the Ralli Gallery wine bar a few steps from the National Gardens, with a Greek wine focus and a small Mediterranean carte.
Signature drink: Greek wines by the glass with bistro fare
Food: Mediterranean bistro
Tip: Dine inside the arcade in winter; the courtyard tables open from April through October.
Heteroclito on Fokionos and Petraki in Athens has poured a 200-label all-Greek wine list since 2012, with 20 by-the-glass picks and a back-bar of small plates.
Signature drink: 200-label Greek wine list, 20 by the glass
Food: Cheese boards and small plates
Tip: Pavement tables fill from 19:00; book ahead for the natural-wine flights of the night.
Peak food season in Athens is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Athens rewards trust.