Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
Slab of kefalograviera or graviera cheese pan-fried in olive oil until crusted golden on the outside, gooey within. Squeezed with lemon and eaten with crusty bread; the canonical Greek taverna opener.
Saganaki takes its name from the two-handled frying pan it cooks in, which itself derives from the Turkish sahan brought to Greek kitchens of Asia Minor before 1922. The cheese version using kefalotyri, kefalograviera, or graviera became the canonical taverna meze across mainland Greece in the 20th century. In Athens, it is a permanent fixture on every taverna menu from Plaka to Exarchia, served with a wedge of lemon. The flaming version is a 1968 Chicago invention with no Greek precedent.
6 editor picks for Saganaki in Athens, ranked by editorial score. All Athens signature dishes · Saganaki across every city.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saganaki makes more sense with someone from Athens explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
4 hours
Discover the flavors of Greece through this cooking class with a market visit. Start the day with a trip to the market and, at the end of the lesson, enjoy the food yo...
3 hours
Taste an authentic Greek family meal during your stay in Athens with a class in cooking gyros. Leave formalities out, grab a beer or a wine from the fridge, and enjoy ...
3h 30m
Join us for a unique Greek experience that will take off your taste on higher level and immerse yourself in the mystery of the Artist Experience. You will become a dis...
