52 editor picks in Athens.
52 greek places in Athens we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Athens | Greek across every city.
Greek cooking in Athens runs the full length, from century-old tavernas to modern tasting menus, and this page holds both ends. For the traditional table there is Diporto and Klimataria in Psyrri, Karavitis Tavern in Pangrati, Taverna Saita and Taverna Platanos in Plaka, and Bairaktaris in Monastiraki, alongside Manimani in Koukaki and Taverna tou Oikonomou in Petralona. At the contemporary end, Hytra and CTC Urban Gastronomy around Kerameikos, Soil and Cookoovaya in Pangrati, and The Zillers near the cathedral show how far the kitchen has travelled.
Mavro Provato in Pangrati is the daily Athens mezedopoleio favourite for small-plate Greek cooking with regulars on the pavement from 14:00.
OrderThe smoked aubergine, the saganaki and a half-litre carafe of house white.
TipBook three days ahead for dinner; lunch tables on the pavement are walk-up only from 14:00 onwards.
Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani on Sokratous is the Athens deli-mezedopoleio for Asia Minor cured meats: Karamanli pastourma, sausages and small plates.
OrderThe Karamanli pastourma board with sheep cheese and a carafe of tsipouro.
TipClosed Sundays. The deli counter runs 08:00-21:00 if you want to take meats home with you.
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.
OrderThe grilled octopus, the sea bream carpaccio and a chilled assyrtiko by the glass.
TipThe annex across the lane opens at 18:00 weekdays and 13:00 weekends; book the original room.
Tzitzikas kai Mermigas on Mitropoleos has cooked Greek small plates with seasonal ingredients off Syntagma Square in Athens for three decades.
OrderThe keftedakia and the kayianas allios with a glass of the house assyrtiko.
TipLunch from 13:00 is the easier seating; book three days ahead for Friday and Saturday dinner.
Manimani in Koukaki cooks the food of the Mani peninsula in a neoclassical building near the Acropolis Museum: cured pork siglino and handmade pasta.
OrderThe siglino with handmade pasta and a half-litre of the rosé from the Peloponnese.
TipClosed Mondays. Sunday lunch from 14:00 is the easiest service for booking a window seat.
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.
OrderThe bekri meze stew with stuffed vine leaves and a carafe of the house red.
TipNo reservations are taken; arrive before 21:00 weeknights and before 20:30 on Friday and Saturday.
Klimataria on Theatre Square has poured Athens taverna food since 1927, a Psyrri institution where rebetiko plays live on most evenings from around 22:00.
OrderGigandes plaki, slow-cooked lamb and a half-kilo of the house red from the barrels.
TipLive music runs most evenings from around 22:00; book a fortnight ahead for the weekend.
Athinaikon on Themistokleous is the Exarchia ouzeri of record in Athens, opened in 1932 and moved to its current corner in 1989 with vintage decor intact.
OrderThe shrimp saganaki, a plate of marides and a carafe of tsipouro from Tyrnavos.
TipThe Mitropoleos sister room is the modern outpost; the Themistokleous original is the destination.
Taverna tou Oikonomou in Ano Petralona is the Athens mageirio that has cooked home-style food since 1930, with 15 to 20 daily dishes from the pan.
OrderAsk what came out of the pan today; the daily stew with a glass of the house red.
TipNo microwave and no menu; you point at the trays. Closes when pans empty out, often by 22:00.
Diporto on Sokratous and Theatrou has poured Attic retsina from barrels in Athens since 1887, a basement koutouki with no sign and a handful of daily dishes.
OrderThe revithia chickpea stew, sardines and a small glass of retsina from the barrel.
TipLunch only from late morning until the pans empty, often by 17:00; no menu, no English spoken.
Taverna Saita on Kydathineon is the rare Plaka room in Athens cooking for locals. The Zacharopoulou family has fried bakaliaros skordalia here since 1970.
OrderBakaliaros skordalia, lamb chops and the grilled feta with the Byzantine-courtyard view.
TipPavement tables face the quiet end of Kydathineon, away from souvenir shops; book a fortnight ahead.
Taverna Platanos under the plane tree on Diogenous has fed Plaka in Athens since 1932, a courtyard room where slow-cooked lamb in lemon sauce is the order.
OrderLamb in lemon sauce, stuffed cabbage rolls and a glass of retsina under the plane tree.
TipThe courtyard opens late spring; book ten days ahead for the Friday and Saturday warm-weather seatings.
Bairaktaris on Monastiraki Square is the tourist-targeted Athens institution. Priced at €€. Kitchen leans souvlaki and taverna. At Pl. Monastirakiou 5.
OrderA pork souvlaki pita with extra tzatziki and a glass of the house retsina.
TipThe square seating is the experience; the rooms behind serve a longer menu and live guitar music.
Karavitis in Pangrati has cooked Athens taverna food since 1926, a rustic courtyard with barrels of house wine and the bekri-meze stew that defines the room.
OrderThe bekri meze stew with stuffed vine leaves and a carafe of the house red.
TipNo reservations are taken; arrive before 21:00 on weeknights and before 20:30 on Saturdays.
Klimataria on Theatre Square in Athens has poured taverna food since 1927, the Psyrri institution where giant barrels line the wall and rebetiko plays most.
OrderGigandes plaki, slow-cooked lamb and a half-kilo of the house red from the barrels.
TipLive music runs most evenings from around 22:00; book a fortnight ahead for the weekend.
Diporto on Sokratous and Theatrou has poured Attic retsina from barrels since 1887, a basement koutouki in Athens with no sign and a handful.
OrderRevithia chickpea stew, sardines and a small glass of retsina from the barrel.
TipLunch only from late morning until the pans empty, often by 17:00; no menu, no English spoken.
Taverna tou Oikonomou in Ano Petralona is the Athens mageirio that has cooked home-style food since 1930, with 15 to 20 daily dishes brought out of the pan.
OrderAsk what came out of the pan today; the daily stew with a glass of the house red.
TipNo microwave and no menu; you point at the trays. Closes when the pans run out, often by 22:00.
Athinaikon on Themistokleous is the Exarchia ouzeri of record in Athens, an institution opened in 1932 that moved to its current corner in 1989 with vintage.
OrderThe shrimp saganaki, a plate of marides and a carafe of tsipouro from Tyrnavos.
TipThe Mitropoleos sister room is the modern outpost; the Themistokleous original is the destination.
Taverna Saita on Kydathineon is the rare Plaka room in Athens cooking for locals. The Zacharopoulou family has fried bakaliaros skordalia since 1970.
OrderBakaliaros skordalia, lamb chops and the grilled feta with the Byzantine-courtyard view.
TipPavement tables face the quiet end of Kydathineon, away from souvenir shops; book ahead.
Manimani in Koukaki cooks the food of the Mani peninsula in a neoclassical building near the Acropolis Museum in Athens: cured pork siglino and handmade.
OrderThe siglino with handmade pasta and a half-litre of the rosé from the Peloponnese.
TipClosed Mondays. Sunday lunch from 14:00 is the easiest service to find a window seat.
Mavro Provato in Pangrati Athens is the daily mezedopoleio favourite for small-plate Greek cooking, Greek wine by the glass and a sidewalk of regulars.
OrderThe smoked aubergine, the saganaki and a half-litre carafe of house white.
TipBook three days ahead for dinner; lunch tables on the pavement are walk-up after 14:00.
Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani on Sokratous is the Athens deli-mezedopoleio for Asia Minor cured meats: Karamanli pastourma, sausages and small plates.
OrderThe Karamanli pastourma board with sheep cheese and a carafe of tsipouro.
TipClosed Sundays. The deli counter runs 08:00-21:00 if you want to take meats home with you.
Tzitzikas kai Mermigas on Mitropoleos in Athens has cooked Greek small plates with seasonal ingredients off Syntagma Square for three decades.
OrderThe keftedakia and the kayianas allios with a glass of the house assyrtiko.
TipLunch from 13:00 is the easier seating; book three days ahead for Friday and Saturday dinner.
Atlantikos in Psyrri Athens is the central seafood pick: Avliton 7 fires the daily catch on the grill from lunch through to past midnight every day.
OrderThe grilled octopus, sea bream carpaccio and a chilled assyrtiko by the glass.
TipThe annex across the lane opens at 18:00 weekdays and 13:00 weekends; book the original room.
Taverna Platanos under the plane tree on Diogenous in Plaka Athens has fed the quarter since 1932, a courtyard room where slow-cooked lamb in lemon sauce.
OrderLamb in lemon sauce, stuffed cabbage rolls and a glass of retsina under the plane tree.
TipThe courtyard opens late spring; book ten days ahead for the Friday or Saturday seatings.
Hytra at the Onassis Cultural Centre is one Michelin star for contemporary Greek cooking with a top-floor view across Athens to the Acropolis in warm weather.
OrderThe seasonal tasting menu; the rooftop summer terrace opens June through September.
TipThe seventh-floor summer bar is a separate booking from the winter ground-floor dining room.
CTC in Kerameikos is Alexandros Tsiotinis's one Michelin star for creative Greek cooking, in a converted post-industrial space west of central Athens.
OrderThe chef's tasting menu with optional wine pairing from the all-Greek list.
TipThe dining room is small and the kitchen seats are the best in the house, ask when booking.
Soil in Pangrati is Tasos Mantis's one Michelin star plus Green Star for sustainable Greek cooking with Nordic discipline and a fully seasonal carte.
OrderThe full tasting menu; the kitchen runs on what arrived that morning from small farms.
TipThe Green Star menu skews vegetable-forward; flag allergies and preferences when booking.
The Zillers in central Athens is one Michelin star for refined Greek cooking, in the Mitropoleos boutique hotel of the same name with views to the cathedral.
OrderThe rooftop seating with the seasonal tasting menu when the weather is warm.
TipHotel guests book the rooftop bar separately; the restaurant tables face the cathedral.
Aleria in Metaxourgeio, Athens is Gikas Xenakis's modern Greek room in a neoclassical building, open since 2006 with a tasting carte and a courtyard.
OrderThe chef's seasonal tasting menu with the optional Greek-only wine pairing.
TipThe neoclassical courtyard opens late spring; the indoor room is the place to dine in winter.
Cookoovaya near Mavili Square in Athens is the modern-Greek room from chef-owner Periklis Koskinas, opened in 2014 by a Greek-chef collective and now.
OrderThe seasonal carte with the Greek wine list and the cellar's by-the-glass picks.
TipBook the inner garden room in spring; the open kitchen counter is the best winter seat.
Birdman on Voulis is chef Ari Vezene's Japanese-Greek robata grill: a long open counter for yakitori, kushiyaki and dry-aged niku with Greek seafood.
OrderThe neck-to-tail yakitori with a few skewers of seasonal seafood from the robata.
TipCounter seats see the cooking; book a side seat for two and order across the menu.
Delta at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Athens-Kallithea holds two Michelin stars and a Green Star for fermentation-led Greek cooking.
OrderThe full twelve-course tasting menu with the optional wine pairing.
TipBook a month ahead; the architecture is the warm-up so allow time for the foundation walk.
Bairaktaris on Monastiraki Square in Athens runs until 02:00 every night, the long-running souvlaki counter that has fed the after-bar crowd since the late.
OrderA pork souvlaki pita with extra tzatziki and a glass of the house retsina.
TipThe pita window faces the square; the sit-down room behind is a separate bill and longer wait.
O Telis on Evripidou in central Athens grills pork chops over coals until 23:00, the king-of-Evripidou-Street counter with chips, salad, bread and the house.
OrderThe pork chops with chips, salad, bread and the carafe of the house red wine.
TipNo menu; the order is pork chops with chips, salad, bread and red wine. Closed Sundays.
Klimataria on Theatre Square in Athens runs until past midnight every night, the Psyrri institution since 1927 where rebetiko plays live and the wine comes.
OrderGigandes plaki, slow-cooked lamb and a half-kilo of the house red from the barrel.
TipLive music runs most evenings from around 22:00; book a fortnight ahead for the weekend seatings.
Lukumades on Aiolou and Agia Irini Square in Athens runs the loukoumades counter until 23:00, the post-dinner doughnut destination with cream fillings.
OrderThe injected loukoumades with cream and a double espresso to go.
TipQueue runs longest on summer Friday and Saturday evenings; doughnuts are made to order.
The Clumsies on Praxitelous in central Athens runs until 02:00 weeknights and 04:00 weekends, the World's 50 Best Bars regular for the after-dinner cocktail.
OrderThe bartender's signature pick with one of the bar snacks from the kitchen.
TipLate-night Friday and Saturday is queue-only; the back room takes bookings six weeks ahead.
Diporto is basement koutouki on a market-square corner with no sign, no menu, no english; the door is two trap-style entrances at street level.
TipLunch only from late morning until pans empty; descend the two doors and point at the trays.
Taverna tou Oikonomou is a greek room in Petralona. No microwave and no menu; you point at the trays. Closes when the pans run out, often by 22:00.
TipNo microwave and no menu; you point at the trays. Closes when the pans run out, often by 22:00.
Karavitis Tavern on Pausaniou in Pangrati is the 1926 neighbourhood taverna with a rustic courtyard, barrels of house wine and a point-at-trays system.
TipNo reservations are taken; arrive before 21:00 on weeknights and before 20:30 on Saturdays.
Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani in Athens: greek room. Tucked onto the Sokratous-Evripidou corner near Varvakios, an Asia Minor deli plus mezedopoleio.
TipClosed Sundays. The deli counter runs 08:00-21:00 if you want to take meats home.
Taverna Saita on Kydathineon in Plaka is the rare Athenian-locals tavern on the quiet end of the strip, opposite the Metamorphosis church courtyard.
TipPavement tables face the quiet end of Kydathineon; book a fortnight ahead for weekend dinners.
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.
OrderPork 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.
OrderGrilled 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.
OrderGreek 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.
OrderSpanakopita, cheese pie, meat pie
TipStand-up counter only; closed Sundays. Morning pies fly out before 10:00.
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.
OrderLoukoumades 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.
OrderFilled 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.
OrderSouvlaki 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.
OrderDaily 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.
OrderAthenian 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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