The Clumsies on Praxitelous near Syntagma is the all-day cocktail bar by Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis, ranked on the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2015 with a UV-light cocktail list and an upstairs private room called The Room.
Tip: Walk in for the ground-floor bar; reservations required for The Room upstairs. The Mediterranean Gimlet is the canonical pour; signature menus rewritten yearly.
Address: Praxitelous 30, Athina 105 61, Athens
Noel on Kolokotroni in the Kourtaki Arcade is the cocktail bar that runs a Christmas theme every day of the year, with theatrical decor, a strong creative cocktail list and tables spread through a covered arcade off the Historic Centre.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar tables; the arcade fills first on warm nights. The festive carte rotates with the season; comfort-food kitchen runs alongside the drinks.
Baba Au Rum on Klitiou near Monastiraki has run for over 15 years as the Athens rum society with more than 400 rums on the back bar, ranked No. 27 on the 2025 World's 50 Best Bars list and the canonical Tiki and tropical-classics room.
Tip: Walk-in only, no reservations; the Supremus n. 58 (a Ti Punch twist) and Beatnik Paloma are the signature pours. Doors at 19:00, room peaks after 22:00.
Noel on Kolokotroni in the Kourtaki Arcade is the cocktail bar that runs a Christmas theme every day of the year, with theatrical decor, a strong creative cocktail list and tables spread through a covered arcade off the Historic Centre.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar tables; the arcade fills first on warm nights. The festive carte rotates with the season; comfort-food kitchen runs alongside the drinks.
Tailor Made on Plateia Agias Irinis is the Monastiraki micro-roastery and cocktail bar that pioneered the Saint Irene Square scene, with single-origin filter coffee through the day and a creative cocktail and DJ programme after dark.
Tip: Outdoor seating fills the square at sunset; coffee through the day, cocktails and DJ programming take over from 19:00. Monastiraki Metro is one block.
A Liar Man on Sofroniou in Kerameikos hides inside a neoclassical building with interlocking rooms, floral frescoes and antique poster prints, a low-lit cocktail bar that also opens a secret summer garden behind the building.
Tip: Tucked away off Iera Odos near Kerameikos Metro L3; ring the bell. The walled garden is the warm-weather seat; cocktails and small Mexican plates after midnight.
Sodade 2 on Triptolemou in Gazi is the long-running LGBTQ club at the heart of the gay village, with two dance floors programming mainstream hits, house and progressive plus a Monday Greek-music session that draws a young diverse crowd.
Tip: Arrive after midnight; weekends run 00:00 to 06:00 with both floors open. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday; Monday is the Greek-music night. Kerameikos Metro L3 is two blocks.
Shamone on Konstantinoupoleos in Gazi runs the city's headline drag and dance club with an outdoor bar for warm-weather nights, weekend drag shows and themed parties and a programme that flips to live performances mid-week.
Tip: Walk-in; the outdoor bar fills first on summer nights, the indoor stage runs the drag shows. Doors after 23:00; the room peaks after 01:30.