Polis Cafe is a cafe in Thessaloniki.
Polis Cafe is the Tsimiski Street standard-bearer for traditional Greek cafe culture: thick Greek coffee, frappe shaken in a mixer, and galaktoboureko on a porcelain plate. The interior has barely changed since 1985 and is the better for it.
Address: Tsimiski 62, Thessaloniki 546 23
A Panorama institution for morning coffee and afternoon trigona with a view of the Thermaikos Gulf below. The pastry case is excellent, the terrace is one of the more pleasant spots in the suburb for reading the Sunday paper over a long espresso.
A surviving traditional kafeneio in the middle of Ladadika's bar district, Kafeneio Ladadika serves thick Greek coffee, the odd shot of tsipouro, and a view of the neighbourhood that existed before the cocktail bars arrived. Open from 07:00.
Taxim Hill is the most atmospheric cafe in Ano Poli, set in a restored Ottoman-era house with views over the Byzantine walls and the city below. Coffee, cold drinks, and a handful of pastries served until sunset. The rooftop terrace is the destination.
Roasters Kolektiva is Thessaloniki's leading specialty coffee roastery with five locations across the city. The Sykies flagship doubles as the roastery. Single-origin pour-overs, AeroPress, and espresso drinks sit alongside Greek pastries.
The Neapolis branch of Roasters Kolektiva brings the full single-origin menu and pour-over expertise to a residential neighbourhood north of the centre. Consistently the best espresso in the city and no queues on weekday mornings.
Sortie near the Rotunda is part coffee bar, part wine bar, and part gallery space. The espresso is Roasters Kolektiva house blend, the afternoon menu switches to natural wines, and the rotating art exhibitions give a reason to return every month.
