Eat well in Athens without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Athens for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Kostas on Agia Irini Square in Athens has fired the souvlaki pita with its house tomato sauce since 1946, the €3 lunch counter that has fed the city.
TryPork souvlaki pita with tomato sauce
TipOpen weekdays until 17:00 or until the meat runs out; closed Saturday and Sunday and cash preferred.
O Telis on Evripidou in central Athens has grilled pork chops since the 1970s, the king-of-Evripidou-Street counter where the €10 plate comes with chips.
TryGrilled pork chops with chips, salad, bread
TipNo menu; the order is pork chops with chips, salad, bread and red wine. Closed Sundays.
Diporto on Sokratous and Theatrou in central Athens has poured Attic retsina from barrels since 1887, a basement koutouki with a €10 lunch and no menu.
TryGreek lunch with retsina from the barrel
TipLunch only from late morning until the pans empty, often by 17:00; no menu, no English spoken.
Ariston on Voulis behind Syntagma in Athens has baked filo pies since 1910, a takeaway counter where the spanakopita is the order and a coffee runs under €3.
TrySpanakopita, cheese pie, meat pie
TipStand-up counter only; closed Sundays. Morning pies fly out before 10:00.
Falafellas on Aiolou near Monastiraki in Athens is the central falafel pita counter, fresh-built takeaways under €5 with tahini, salad and chilli.
TryFalafel pita with tahini and salad
TipQueue runs longest at lunch; the meatball pita is the regulars' variant.
Krinos on Aiolou has fried loukoumades since 1923 in Athens, the €5 portion of doughnuts with honey at the back-counter seated room. At Aiolou 87.
TryLoukoumades with honey, Greek coffee
TipClosed Sundays; the seated counter at the back is the destination, not the takeaway window.
Lukumades on Aiolou and Agia Irini Square in Athens is the modern loukoumades shop, where filled or topped doughnuts run €4 to €8 with espresso to go.
TryFilled and topped loukoumades
TipThe injected loukoumades with cream are the order; queue runs longest on summer weekends.
Bairaktaris on Monastiraki Square in Athens has a takeaway pita window onto the square, a €4 pita that runs until 02:00 every day of the week.
TrySouvlaki and gyros pita
TipThe pita window faces the square; the sit-down room behind is a separate bill.
Taverna tou Oikonomou in Ano Petralona in Athens cooks home-style mageirio food since 1930, a €12 lunch plate from the pan with house red and bread included.
TryDaily mageirio plate
TipNo microwave and no menu; you point at the trays. Closes when the pans run out, often by 22:00.
Karavitis in Pangrati has cooked the Athens taverna canon since 1926, a budget Greek dinner of bekri-meze, vine leaves and chops with house wine for around.
TryAthenian taverna plate with house wine
TipNo reservations are taken; arrive before 21:00 on weeknights and before 20:30 on Saturdays.
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