Estrella is a cafe in Thessaloniki.
Estrella became a local phenomenon with its bougatsa croissant, a cream-filled phyllo hybrid that sells out by 10am most mornings. The full brunch menu runs until 3pm and the espresso is well above average. Book ahead or arrive early.
Address: Pavlou Mela 48, Thessaloniki 546 22
Donkey Garden on Skra Street has one of the best courtyard terraces in Thessaloniki for a slow brunch or afternoon coffee. The plant-filled garden, competent kitchen, and relaxed service make it a favourite for weekend mornings in the centre.
The Garden Bar's walled garden near the Byzantine church of Agios Minas is one of the most pleasant outdoor coffee spots in the city. Morning espresso shifts to afternoon wine and evening cocktails in an unhurried outdoor room. Opens daily 07:30.
Ypsilon occupies a restored 1868 neoclassical building near Aristotelous Square, splitting its programme between a smoke-free morning coffee room and an evening floor for cocktails and craft beer. Specialty espresso and pour-overs by day, signature cocktails after sundown, with a rotating art and DJ programme that landed it on global hottest-new-cafes lists.
The original Elenidis patisserie in Panorama is where the trigona panoramatos was invented: a crisp phyllo triangle filled with cold pastry cream. Coffee here is secondary but the ritual of eating a warm trigona at the marble counter with a mountain view is essential Thessaloniki.
Bantis has produced Thessaloniki's cream bougatsa from a marble counter near Dikastirion Square since 1969. The phyllo is baked fresh every two hours, the cream is cold, and cinnamon arrives in a shaker. Coffee is decent Greek-filter. Opens at 06:30.
Super Ioulios doubles as a morning coffee spot and an evening natural wine destination on Mitropolitou Gennadiou. The coffee menu is concise and precise; by 6pm the espresso machine gives way to a 200-label natural wine list. A rare dual-format success.
