The best restaurants in Athens

Where to grub on the tastiest local eateries in the Greek capital

5 July 2023

Athenians love to eat out, so the best restaurants in Athens are always bustling. From a quick kerbside souvlaki to a drawn-out evening sharing round after round of meze and tsipouro, city life is built around the simple pleasures of eating and sharing food. Athen’s best restaurants range from food stalls and neighbourhood tavernas to modern Greek bistros. Tables and chairs spill across squares and are wedged onto tree-studded pavements. It’s often cheaper to eat out than cook at home, though Athens also has plenty of fine dining restaurants. But informality, familiarity and consistency are what most Athenians look for in their favourite restaurants. The current crop of ‘gastro-tavernas’, where the seasonal, locally sourced menu changes daily, bring an exciting edge to the comforts of Greek home cooking. As the city has become more multicultural in the last decade, Athens’ restaurant scene has also become more diverse. Whether you’re searching for somewhere near the sleek hotels or a sleek spot to dine at after ticking off the best things to do in the city, these are the tastiest restaurants in Athens.

1. Vezené
When it opened in 2011, this “Greek-inspired bistro” was way ahead of its time; today, the food still feels not just current but cutting-edge. Self-styled “chef-butcher” Ari Vezené takes provenance to extremes in his nose-to-tail kitchen: organic lamb, goat, and beef come from small, sustainable farms, and overlooked cuts are used in complex dishes such as goat neck fricassee on a field of greens, fennel, and chervil. Raw, grilled, or wood-fired, typical Greek dishes are wittily reimagined here: stuffed tomatoes are filled with Kilada shrimp and samphire, and pastitsio is a stack of al dente lasagne, potato espuma, and beef tartare assembled at the table. There’s a hedonistic generosity to the portions — this is not fancy, finicky fine dining; it’s big, butch cooking with heart and soul. Service is smooth as velvet, the golden lighting is flattering, and the sultry playlist doesn’t drown out conversation. A winner.
Address: Vezené Athens, Vrasida 11, Athina 115 28
Website: vezene.gr
2. Akra
Yannis Loukakis is considered a guru by a young generation of Greek chefs who picked up their passion for seasonality at his two Thessaloniki bistros, Mourga and Syntrofi. Pastry chef Spyros Pediaditakis honed his technique at Michelin-starred Spondi and his cult patisserie, Ourse. Their first joint venture, Akra, is a modest space that suits the minimalist but flavour-dense dishes: a tangle of marinated vine shoots, whole roast courgettes stuffed with fish cheeks, a silky fish soup with chunks of grouper that arrives in a copper pot to be shared at the table. Almost everything is smoked, grilled, or roast over an open fire, which is the focal point of the intimate dining room. Cooks and servers work around the rapt diners with methodical, almost meditative precision. The desserts are phenomenal. Simmered strawberries are poured from the pan over milk ice cream, cherries and lilac flowers are swirled through goat’s yoghurt, and caramelised brioche comes with hazelnut praline and stale bread crumble. You can take away a selection of pastries and sourdough bread from the streetside counter.
Address: Akra, Amynta 12, Pangrati 11635
Website: instagram.com
3. Annie
Compact, casual, and cosy, Annie is the epitome of the new Athenian dining scene. Chef Stephanos Michalis is obsessive about the purity of his ingredients, scouring organic farmer’s markets for inspiration for his short, shape-shifting menu. Piles of aromatic produce decorate the open kitchen, where the tight team makes it look easy to turn out some of the city’s prettiest plates without wasting anything. ‘Burnt vegetables’ is one of the standout dishes: a smoky, crunchy medley of seasonal roots and shoots. Raw fish, house-made pickles, edible flowers, and artisan Greek cheeses dominate a menu that features meat sparingly (make an exception for the goat tagliata, if it’s on the menu). There’s a vegan menu too. Service is outstanding — relaxed but thoughtful, just like the vibe at this little gem.
Address: Annie, Menechmou 4, Neos Kosmos 11743
Website: anniefinecooking.gr
4. Tanpopo
It might not look much, but this glass-and-steel corner joint packs a serious umami punch. The latest iteration of Greek Japanese chef Sotiris Contizas’ boundary-bending cuisine is less experimental than his other restaurants, Nolan and Proveleggios. Here, the focus is on Japanese lunch staples executed with panache: a profoundly satisfying shoyu ramen with braised pork and enoki, crisp but tender karaage, and a finely balanced katsu kare curry. Vegetable dishes are equally good: earthy, meaty mushroom gyoza, crunchy broccoli with tahini and almonds, and kimchi salad with plenty of kick. Counter service is brisk but slick, and the kitchen team take a genuine interest in initiating diners into unfamiliar flavours. It closes at 6.30pm every day but Saturday, but that doesn’t stop the old-school hip hop and cocktails flowing.
Address: Tanpopo, Αριστείδου 1, Evripidou 2, Athina 105 59
Website: instagram.com
5. To Triantafyllo tis Nostimias
The name (which roughly translates as “the rose of tastiness”) may be a mouthful, but every bite at this lunchtime haunt for local office workers is just right. Grilled or fried seafood is consistently excellent and very well-priced. Order the medley of steamed veg with black-eyed beans, grilled, butterflied sardines loaded with onions and parsley, or flash-fried red mullet and a side of courgette and feta croquettes. Although the restaurant has expanded to cope with demand in recent years, the best tables are still the original ones in the atmospheric little arcade. Cheap canteens and old-school kafenia hidden in arcades are a typical feature of downtown Athens disappearing fast as the city centre is gentrified.
Address: To Triantafyllo tis Nostimias, Lekka 22, Athina 105 62
Website: facebook.com
6. Birdman
Souvlaki is the quintessential Greek street food, but the city’s best skewers aren’t Greek at all. Billing itself as a Japanese pub, Birdman brings a self-conscious hit of Tokyo cool (and a feel-good soundtrack) to the enclave of Asian eateries below Syntagma Square. The handful of tiny tables and benches on the pavement weren’t designed for lingering. But the narrow, warmly lit space is excellent for a solo dinner at the counter or a casual date with an Ume Bloody Mary (with plum, wasabi, sake, miso, and truffle mushroom salt) and a few rounds of yakitori and yakikushi straight from the robata grill. Neck-to-tail cuts (heart, liver, mutton, guinea fowl) are smeared with shiso, spicy miso, or lemon chutney, and the veggie skewers are equally juicy.
Address: Birdman, Voulis 35, Athina 105 57, Greece
Website: birdman.gr
7. Phita
This gastro-taverna sparked the revival of Neos Kosmos, a downtown neighbourhood with plenty of grit. Beside the tramline and surrounded by rundown housing projects, the corner site is spare but inviting, with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The focus is on the open kitchen, which turns out a market-led menu that slants towards seafood. The seasonal specials change daily, which is why so many Athenians from far and wide have become regulars. Recent visits were rewarded with round potato chips for dunking in silken taramasalata, stuffed vine leaves topped with fish tartare, butterflied sardines on baked elephant beans, a mound of crunchy, lemony horta (greens). Go for a late lunch on Saturday after hitting the fantastic farmer’s market up the road, where the chefs, who are incredibly finicky about provenance, source many of their ingredients.
Address: Phita, Ntourm 1, Athina 117 45, Greece
Website: instagram.com
8. Leloudas
You don’t stumble upon Leloudas; you seek it out in the grungy backstreets of Votanikos, an industrial area of car mechanics, sex shops, and, lately, some funky little bistros. Leloudas is not one of them. While it’s a surprising contender for one of the best restaurants in Athens, this taverna has been here since 1928, and don’t you know it: barrels of wine line the walls, the wonky wooden chairs are painted red and blue, and black-and-white portraits of past owners, who have fed and watered blue-collar workers for three generations, watch over the patrons. On the table, honest taverna fare that tastes like a Greek grandma might have made it for you: fava loaded with raw onions and olive oil, salt cod with garlic sauce, baked elephant beans to be mopped up with a slab of feta, and the most delicious meatballs and chips. They don’t make them like this anymore.
Address: Leloudas, Salaminas 8-10, Votanikos 11855
Website: leloudas.gr
Ael / Alamy Stock Photo
9. Seychelles
The original modern Greek bistro, Seychelles, has still got it. The tables inside are tightly packed, with a few stools at the kitchen counter where you can watch the passionate chefs in action. Most people prefer to sit on Avdi Square, the heart of the trendy but resolutely ungentrified Keramikos neighbourhood. Salads are superb (wilted greens with roasted garlic cream, green leaves with celery, walnuts, pollen, and a hint of blue cheese). Seafood comes in unexpected guises (croaker ceviche with peaches and roasted corn, octopus salad with brown rice and roast tomatoes). Butch meat dishes are moreish (slow-cooked pork with apricot ketchup, fresh pappardelle with a confit of beef and lamb). Portions are generous, so order as many dishes as possible and share everything. Finish with a selection of amazing Cycladic cheeses from Ios, Kimolos, and Andros. Service is brusque, bordering on rude, but you can’t fault the food, and the rough-around-the-edges setting is pure Athens (though be prepared for the in-your-face drug and sex worker scene if you’re wandering around the area.)
Address: Seychelles, Keramikou 49, Athina 104 36, Greece
Website: instagram.com
10. Ta Kanaria
Like all the best fish tavernas in Athens, Kanaria has no sea view. Located on a nondescript suburban street, the setting is straight out of the 1950s, when the Argyropoulos family set up shop: terrazzo floors, shiny oil paint on the walls, white paper tablecloths, and plain wooden chairs. There’s no menu because the basic kitchen only produces a handful of dishes: pan-fried prawns, grilled red mullet, snapper, bream or sole, served by the kilo and accompanied by a ripe tomato salad garnished with a bit of grated tomato and onion, with feta and olives on the side, and warm bread for mopping up the peppery olive oil. The vine-shaded garden feels a million miles from the hustle of downtown Athens. Service is slow, and prices are steep, but this is a place to savour. Beware: Ta Kanaria closes for July and August when its star ingredient, fresh prawns, are not in season.
Address: Kanari 119, Moschato 183 44, Greece
Website: takanaria.gr
11. Mikra Asia
A Kurdish take on souvlaki, the staple Greek street food, Mikra Asia is everything you’d want from your favourite neighbourhood restaurant: friendly, tasty, and affordable. Sinan, a doctor, and his wife, Çiçek, are political refugees from Turkey. Their three kids help run the show at this cheery Anatolian grill house. Athenians travel far for smoky yiaourtlou kebab slathered in yoghurt, tomato sauce, buttery beyti, lamb wrapped in pastry, grilled tomatoes, green pepper, and pilaf. While meat is the main draw, vegans and vegetarians are well served with fantastic tabouleh and spicy spreads such as ezme (finely chopped tomato and pepper) and haydari (jazzed-up tzatziki with grated carrot and dill), scooped up with paprika pitta bread. The location, on one of the loveliest and largest squares in the fashionable but still real Pangrati neighbourhood, is excellent too.
Address: Plateia Mesolongiou 2-4, Pangrati 11634
Website: mikra-asiakebab
12. Simul
Simul is a great place for a date night on a quiet backstreet of old-money Kolonaki. The small, warm space is bathed in a honeyed glow, the patio is strung with lights, and the atmosphere is relaxed. Mediterranean fusion might sound clichéd these days, but chef Nikos Thomas makes it fresh and exciting again. The surf-and-turf menu is full of surprises without showing off. Tomato and strawberry salad dotted with mastic-laced goat’s cheese frame a cucumber sorbet. Pan-fried rooster melts into a Greek-style risotto of trahanas (fermented grains and yoghurt) and punchy arseniko cheese. Parsnip ice cream comes with caramelised hazelnuts and a hint of coffee. Every dish sings.
Address: Simul, Ipsilantou 63, Kolonaki 11521
Website: simul.gr

13. Linou Soumpasis & Sia
A self-styled “simple restaurant”, this new entry is a paean to pure Greek produce, served with minimum fuss but deft modern touch. Chef Lukas Mailer’s unpretentious plates look and taste like a souped-up St John. Everything is made from scratch, from pickled veg with goat’s cheese and sourdough pitta to the kefir drizzled over lamb meatballs. Vegetables are treated with the utmost reverence, and the tastiest dishes are the simplest – warm focaccia and sunflower seed buns dipped in tomato broth, blanched courgettes and bitter greens with fluffy anevato cheese, bonito carpaccio with cucumber and boukovo, and the best fish soup in Athens. The spartan white space is illuminated by the slim, sweet-smelling beeswax candles you find in Greek churches (they’re hand-made and available for sale in paper bundles). The acoustics aren’t superb, and the stainless-steel chairs are uncomfortable, but the food is thrilling, and the buzz is undeniable. Lunchtime is quieter, and the tables on the graffiti-lined alleyway catch the sun.
Address: Linou Soumpasis & Sia, Kalamida 9, Athina 105 54, Greece
Website: linousoumpasis.gr
14. Oikonomou
Ano Petralona is one of the loveliest neighbourhoods in Athens. Courtyard cafés, quirky bars, and affordable meze joints compose a low-key social scene on the squares and sidewalks. Outlasting them all is Oikonomou (est. 1930), a family-run taverna that serves a familiar menu of Greek comfort food to its loyal patrons. The faded ochre walls are decorated with drawings and books signed by the many artists and writers who eat here several times a week. The crotchety but kind owner, Kostas Diamantis, often sits at the table to take their order. You still have to walk through the kitchen — and the battered pots of roast lamb, stuffed cabbage leaves, and rooster macaroni — to get to the bathroom. Perfectly grilled chops come with roast potatoes instead of chips, and the Greek salad is made with the sweetest tomatoes and creamiest feta. A slow evening at one of the streetside tables under the olive trees, watching the world go by, is as old-school Athenian as it gets.
Address: Oikonomou, Kidantidon 32, Athina 118 51
Telephone: +30 21 0346 7555
15. Pharaoh
The crowd is self-consciously hip, and the music can be annoyingly loud, but there’s no denying the vibe at this bar-restaurant is sexy as hell. On a dark and seedy Exarchia backstreet, push back the heavy green drapes, and you emerge into a pulsing space of raw concrete, rough stone, and black-and-white marble as edgy as the neighbourhood. The excellent wine list (curated by Paisley Tara Kennett, previously at Noble Rot) is all-natural, the martinis bone-dry, and the wood-fired Cretan food is surprisingly traditional. The market-driven menu changes daily. Order lots of dishes to share: silken tarama with bottarga shavings, slightly bitter, flame-grilled greens with a yielding blob of anthotyro cheese, rooster with sage and honey, and a warm, wobbly slice of galaktoboureko to finish. The wait for a reservation can be maddening, so book well ahead. The best seats are at the bar – especially after the kitchen closes and in-demand DJs hit the decks.
Address: Pharaoh, Solomou 54, Exarchia 10682
Website: pharaoh.gr
16. Ama Lachei
Perhaps the best thing about this Exarchia crowd-pleaser is the huge, leafy courtyard, once the local school’s playground. (In winter, the former classrooms become dining rooms.) Birds flutter in the arbour, and well-fed cats wander among the small metal tables, where a chattering throng of students, tourists, and couples shares tweaked Greek meze. The competent staff handle the constant turnover with good humour. They are well versed in less familiar dishes, such as feta and honey loukoumades (mini doughnuts) or kavourmas (cured beef and lamb with humus and crispy onions). Summer evenings stretch for hours here, talking and laughing over delicious Greek cheeses and little carafes of iced raki (local grappa).
Address: Ama Lachei, Kallidromiou 69, Exarchia 10683
Website: facebook.com
Chris Anagnostopoulos
17. Feyrouz
This street corner is where I eat most often in Athens, perched on a stool dribbling baba ghanoush from my lahmacun down my chin. There’s always a queue for Levantine street food, which is delicious and phenomenally good value. The Bosphorus rice with curried chicken, chickpeas, spicy pepper relish, and a dollop of yoghurt sells out almost as soon as it emerges from the kitchen at 2pm. Plentiful meat-free options include pumpkin and fennel soup, aubergine, chickpea and lentil peinirli, and a wholegrain lahmacun loaded with za’atar and humus. Named after the cheery matriarch who runs the kitchen, Feyrouz is a heartfelt tapestry of the Kiltsiksis family’s recipes and memories from Antakya, Istanbul, and Athens. Brothers Andreas and Savvas treat every customer as a traveller needing sustenance and kindness. There’s nothing more comforting than a steaming glass of cardamom coffee and a kunefe made with Cretan mizithra cheese and heather honey at their sweet shop across the street.
Address: Καρόρη 23 και, Agathonos 1, Athina 105 51
Website: feyrouz.gr
18. Nolan
The Athens food scene has got a whole lot more exciting since Nolan opened in 2016, but this little joint is still one of the hottest tables in town. Although Greek Japanese chef Sotiris Kontizas now spends more time judging Greek Masterchef than in Nolan’s kitchen – a theatre box suspended above the monochromatic, glass-walled dining room – his hybrid cuisine is wholly personal and completely original. The short, deceptively straightforward menu includes modern classics like cold soba noodles with smoked salmon and tahini, lamb donburi, duck with pickled sweet potato, and surprisingly great side dishes (a bowl of rice is garnished with parsley, egg and truffle oil, and the mashed potato is practically pure butter).
Address: Nolan, Voulis 31 - 33, Athina 105 57, Greece
Website: nolanverse.com
19. Mavros Gatos
Sometimes, all you need is a kilo of lamb chops. This is where to get them, seasoned with oregano, doused with lemon, and with just the correct ratio of char-grilled fat to lean meat. They taste even better if you devour them with your hands; order a trio of chips, tzatziki, and imam (slow-roast aubergines and caramelised onions) on the side. The ‘Black Cat’ (there are plenty of those lurking around the table legs to scavenge any leftovers, as well as prancing on the murals inside) is the best of several old-school tavernas that have survived the gentrification of Pangrati.
Address: Mavros Gatos, Polemonos 4, Athina 116 35, Greece
Website: instagram.com

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