Where to Eat in Athens and Piraeus
Athens
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
We've also included some highly-acclaimed places, ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants that we aspire to eat in one day, to cheap tavernas that we love and which simply ooze atmosphere.
Price Guide
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Expensive
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Moderate
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Inexpensive
Around the Acropolis
Spondi €€€ This neo-classical mansion has contemporary art works on the walls and has been voted the best restaurant not just in Athens but in the whole of Greece several years in a row. Pyrronos 5, Varnava Square, tel: 210 752 4021, spondi.gr.
To Kouti €€ One of the few reliable places on this busy Plaka street, most of the others catering for the fast tourist trade. Here the service is more leisurely, the menu's unusual and the setting with its Acropolis views will give you a romantic night to remember. Adrianou 23, tel: 210 321 3229, no website.
Bakalarakia € This is one of the Plaka's basic basement tavernas, and is much older and much more reliable than many of the smart places on the street. This is named after its specialty, a cod dish served with a garlic sauce. On one of our research trips when we spent several weeks in Athens, we ate in here a lot! Kidathineon 41, tel: 210 322 5084, bakalarakia.gr.
O Platanos € It sometimes seems like 'The Plane Tree' (like the plane tree it's named after) has been here forever, so well-established is it in its leafy square. Visitors love it as it is so typically Greek, but locals hang out here too, and though the food is nothing fancy, it is wonderfully cooked. Great atmosphere too, whether outside on warm summer evenings or dining cosily inside in winter. Diogenous 4, tel: 210 322 0666, O Platanos website.
Around Omonia Square
Athinaikon € Wonderful venerable old place with its wooden interior still intact, and some of the waiters seemingly dating from the same era. They have one of the best meze menus in town, dozens of dishes made fresh every day so it's a chance to try lots of different things like grilled octopus, meatballs with mint, or deep-fried whitebait. Themistokleous 2, tel: 210 383 8485, athinaikon.gr.
Diporto € If you want a real Athens eating experience then head for this old place in a basement beneath the Central Market, where the market traders go for good, honest, fresh, hearty food, though you'll find local business people there too. If you're on a budget, it's ideal. It's at the corner of Theatrou and Sokratous, There's no phone or website so you just have to turn up and chance your luck, and you can read more about it here: culinarybackstreets.com.
Our Pick of the Athens Guides
Around Syntagma Square
Aegli Café and Restaurant €€€ Fabulous setting in the National Gardens by the Zappeion, but don't assume it's just another café as the bistro-style menu is very inventive, as is the more extensive (and expensive) French-influenced evening menu. They make nice cocktails too. Zappeion, tel: 210 336 9363, aeglizappiou.gr.
Balthazar €€€ This has long been one of the most stylish places to eat in Athens, housed in a wonderful 19th-century mansion on the north-east edge of Kolonaki. They do vegan and vegetarian dishes as well, have a separate sushi menu, and if you're on a budget and want to sample their amazing food without breaking the bank they have a Finger Food menu as well. Vournazou/Tsocha 27, tel: 210 644 1215, balthazar.gr.
Ratka €€-€€€ International menu ranges from sushi to pasta in this chic place which has been a fashionable meeting and eating spot in Kolonaki for decades. Haritos 32, tel: 210 729 0746, no website but you can read its glowing reviews on TripAdvisor here.
Ouzadiko €€ This contemporary take on a traditional Greek ouzerie shows off the new Greek-style cooking at its best with a long list of meze, the Greek version of tapas, to choose from, and the chance to find out that not all ouzos taste the same. Karneadou 25-29 (in the shopping mall), tel: 210 729 5484, no website.
Benaki Museum Café € Great place for a spot of lunch on this attractive second-floor terrace, with a very popular buffet on their Thursday late-night opening, for which you would be advised to book. Koumbari 1/Vasilissis Sofias, tel: 210 367 1000, benaki.gr.
Dexameni € Well-loved and long-established café-restaurant, with mainly light meals but a great people-watching place in a lovely little Kolonaki square. Platia Dexameni, tel: 210 723 2834, no website but you can read more here: culinarybackstreets.com.
Piraeus
Jimmy's Fish €€-€€€ Ask an Athenian to recommend one Piraeus fish restaurant and chances are it would be this one, not just for the fresh fish and its speciality seafood pasta dishes but also its lovely setting on the harbour at Mikrolimano. Don't turn up late on a sunny Sunday lunchtime and expect to find an empty seat. Akti Koumoundourou 46, tel: 210 412 4417, jimmysfish.gr.
Dourabeis €€ If a seafood restaurant has been in business for over sixty years then it must be doing something right, and the secret here is: keep it simple. The freshest of fish, the lightest of grillings and dinner is perfect. Not cheap but then fish never is. Akti Dilaveri 27-29, tel: 210 412 2092, Dourabeis Facebook page.
Other Athens pages
Athens Agora
The Athens Agora or ancient market is a must-see site and one of the best things to do in Athens with its restored arcade building, the Stoa, and its museum.
Piraeus
Piraeus is the port of Athens from where many ferries to the Greek islands depart, and it also has an Archaeological Museum and the Hellenic Maritime Museum.
The Pnyx
The Pnyx hill near the Acropolis is one of Athens' true hidden gems, a place to wander freely away from the crowds and discover ancient places and mysteries.
Athens Olympic Stadium
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to the original Athens Olympic Stadium, built for the 1896 Olympic Games and open to the public for jogging and photography.
Athens to Santorini
There are lots of flights from Athens to Santorini as well as a ferry service from Piraeus, with flights to Santorini leaving from Athens International Airport.
Cape Sounion and the East Coast
The beach resorts of Athens are easily reached from the city and also close are Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon, ancient Marathon and Rafina's port.
Manousakis Wine Tasting
We visit and tour the Manousakis Winery on Crete with a wine-tasting and a chance to buy their tsikoudia, sea salt, olive oil and other goodies.
My Athens: a Portrait by Travel Writer Mike Gerrard
In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!
A History of Athens
A History of Athens from the first people to live on the Acropolis through the Golden Age of Pericles and Alexander the Great to the military junta.
Greek Ouzo
Greek ouzo is an aniseed-based aperitif made all over the country but especially on Lesbos, tasting like a Greek pastis or arak and usually drunk with water.
Santorini Wineries
Visiting Santorini wineries is a popular activity on this Greek island in the Cyclades, whose volcanic soil provides a distinctive terroir.
What Is Metaxa?
What is Metaxa? Metaxa is an amber Greek spirit combining brandy made by distilling wine, sweet wine from Samos and a secret recipe of Mediterranean botanicals.
National Archaeological Museum
The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.
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Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.
Athens Walking Tours and Other Experiences
Athens walking tours and other experiences like cookery lessons, ceramics workshops, dining with a family, and street art are available from Alternative Athens
Greek Architecture
This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.
Athens Acropolis
The Athens Acropolis has the city's most iconic building, the Parthenon, along with other historic buildings and is where the Elgin Marbles were taken from.
Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.
How to Make Petimezi
How to make Petimezi, the sweet Cretan syrup made from wine must, is explained to Greece Travel Secrets.
Athens Weather and the Best Time to Visit
The Greece Travel Secrets website looks at the Athens weather, the chance of rain, the climate in summer and winter and the best time to visit Athens.
Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum
The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.
Mount Lykabettos
Mount Lykabettos is the highest hill in Athens and provides some of the best views of the city, with a funicular cable car the easiest way to get to the top.
Changing of the Guard in Athens
The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.
Athens Dining Guide
This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.
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