Coffee in Athens is taken seriously, from specialty roasters to old loukoumades counters, and the cafe is where the city slows down. Taf Coffee in Exarchia and Mind the Cup and The Underdog around Kerameikos and Metaxourgeio anchor the third-wave side, while Little Tree Books and Coffee and Drupes and Drips bring the calm to Koukaki. For something older, Krinos and Ariston near Syntagma have been pairing coffee with sweets and pies for decades.
Taf Coffee on Emmanouil Benaki in Exarchia is the founding Athens third-wave coffee bar from 2009, an in-house roastery with the Rosebud blend as the daily.
TipThe roastery on the bar is also a small retail shop; ask for the morning's single-origin filter.
The Underdog on Iraklidon in Thissio Athens is the third-wave coffee bar and micro-roastery from 2011, in a restored neoclassical building with a brunch.
TipThe cold brew is the order; the brunch at weekends pulls a queue from 10:30.
Mind the Cup on Aimiliou Veaki in Peristeri Athens is a specialty coffee roastery and bar on a pedestrian street, a third-wave Athens destination outside.
TipThe pedestrian street outside is the spillover terrace; closed Sundays from October.
Kostarelos in Kolonaki Athens is the dine-in dairy of three generations of cheesemakers, where morning espresso comes with a cheese sandwich and a Kolonaki.
TipThe morning rush ends by 10:30; the lunch sandwich service runs through to 15:00.
Krinos on Aiolou in central Athens has fried loukoumades on the same recipe and decor since 1923, a sit-down counter for the doughnut with honey and a Greek.
TipClosed Sundays; the queue moves fast and the seated counter at the back is the destination.
Lukumades on Aiolou and Agia Irini Square in Athens is the modern loukoumades shop with filled and topped doughnuts and a hipster-leaning counter just steps.
TipThe injected loukoumades with cream are the order; queue runs longest on summer weekends.
Ariston on Voulis behind Syntagma in Athens is the 1910 takeaway-pie bakery where the morning Greek coffee comes alongside the spanakopita on the counter.
TipStand-up counter only; closed Sundays. The morning pies fly out before 10:00.
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