I-Heart-Mykonos-tank-top.jpg
Greek-flag-socks.jpg
Santorini-luggage-tag.jpg
save-water-drink-ouzo-t-shirt.jpg

Best Cocktail Bars in Athens

Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.

The Clumsies
All Photos (c) Mike Gerrard

If you look at the economic reports you'd be forgiven for thinking it was still all doom and gloom in Greece, but it's boom in one respect: cocktail bars. Partly fuelled by a steady increase in tourist numbers, Greece is following the world trend for creative cocktails and mad mixologists, especially in Athens.

The Outdoor Patio at MoMix Bar Kerameikos

Look up Kerameikos in most guidebooks and you'll be told about the famous cemetery there, that this was once the home of ceramicists and is where we get the very word ceramics from. But it's also where you'll find the MoMix Bar Kerameikos, which opened in November 2012 and has been so successful there's now a MoMix in the seaside suburb of Glyfada, joined this summer by MoMix Bar Santorini.

Aris Chatziantoniou

It's in the Kerameikos original that you'll find MoMix co-founder Aris Chatziantoniou performing the molecular mixology that gives the bar its name. The cocktail menu is a cube that lights up when you move it and has such weird wonders as cocktail bubbles, cocktail tubes, magic needles and a Saganaki Cocktail. 

Grecophiles will know that saganaki is fried cheese, and the photo on the menu certainly looks like a piece of fried cheese in a frying pan. The 'cheese', though, turns out to be a block of cream mixed with the Greek brandy Metaxa, which is soaked with a mixture of citrus and spices and then flambéed. It's a cocktail that you eat with a fork.

'How about a Greek MaiTai?' Aris asks. 'I use Metaxa instead of rum, with Cointreau Blood Orange, lime and peach bitters.'

I'm surprised at the use of Metaxa, which has been around forever and is as Greek a drink as ouzo or retsina. I ask Aris if he uses it a lot.

'Of course,' he says. 'It's a very versatile spirit. It is also a taste of Greece, and we should be using our Greek spirits. I use it in my version of a Negroni – a Megroni! I also like using mastiha, which is a mastic that comes from the island of Chios. It's used as a chewing gum and for medicinal purposes but it also makes a good liqueur with an unusual taste, and I make a mastic foam for some cocktails.'

Like a mad scientist, leaping around with great enthusiasm, Aris takes what appears to be a blob of mastic jelly and floats it in a giant cocktail glass containing some kind of blue liquid. After a few seconds he removes it on a spoon, takes a syringe and injects the jelly with a few drops of Metaxa. He pours some passion fruit juice over it, adds some orange and Fernet-Branca, and offers me the spoon. 

The 'cocktail' explodes in the mouth, with the tart fruitiness of the passion fruit, the slightly minty taste of mastic and a surprisingly strong taste of brandy, considering he used just a few drops. I can't quite believe that he charges only €4 for this and a range of other cocktail bubbles that he's created. I can believe it when he tells me he has a laboratory upstairs where he spends hours playing with flavours, and where he also offers training and seminars.

Vasilis Kyritsis at The Clumsies

Aris is far from being the only mixologist making his name on the Greek cocktail scene. A ten-minute walk from Syntagma Square, a bar called The Clumsies opened in 2014. In less than a year it was ranked number 22 on The World's 50 Best Bars list, and later had rocketed to number 6! That's not so surprising when you learn that it was founded by two award-winning Greek bartenders, Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis.

The Clumsies also has a Historic Spirits Collection

The Clumsies' cocktail list runs to several pages and even has a name: Genesis. That's because 'All of our ingredients originate from the Greek soil.' Each cocktail has its flavour profile listed (sour and sweet, dry, sweet and salty, umami...), and international spirits like Tanqueray Gin and Ketel One Vodka are accompanied by Greek flavours such as Skinos Mastiha Spirit, Samos Vin Doux Dessert Wine and Metaxa 7 Star.

Vasilis suggests a cocktail called Hypnotic. It blends Bulleit Bourbon with figs, some goats' cheese, Metaxa 7 Star and Roots Herb Spirit. This is made from a Cretan mountain plant called dittany, which locals also use to make tea which they drink to cure headaches and other ailments. The sweet and sour mix of Kentucky and Crete, of figs, cheese and Metaxa, is both potent and delicate. It's Greece in a glass, and at €7 is half the price it would be in London. He then makes us his take on a Ramos Gin Fiz.

'We don't use egg whites,' he says, 'because Greeks don't like egg whites, but instead we use aquafaba. This is the water left after you've cooked chickpeas, and we turn it into a foam. We use Metaxa 7 Star instead of gin, so the drink is basically Metaxa with chickpea icecream!'

In the Play Room at The Clumsies

Like Aris at MoMix, Vasilis also has his upstairs laboratory, which he calls The Play Room. Here he and his team experiment, throwing together different flavour combinations and coming up with ever-more-inventive ways in which you can make cocktails. As far as Greek cocktails go, it's far from being a recession.

More Information
The Momix Bar Kerameikos
Open Sun-Thu 8pm-3am, Fri-Sat 8pm-4am

The Clumsies
Open Sun-Thu 10am-2am, Fri-Sat 10am-4am

These creative bartenders were making some cocktails with that unique Greek spirit, Metaxa.  Greece Travel Secrets was lucky enough to enjoy a private tour of the Metaxa Distillery in Athens, and you can see our slideshow on our YouTube channel.

Where to Stay in Athens

Other Athens pages

  • Visiting Santorini wineries is a popular activity on this Greek island in the Cyclades, whose volcanic soil provides a distinctive terroir.

    Santorini Wineries

    Visiting Santorini wineries is a popular activity on this Greek island in the Cyclades, whose volcanic soil provides a distinctive terroir.

  • 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.

    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.

  • Corfu’s special cuisine includes dishes like sofrito and pastitsade and the chance to try ginger beer and kumquats.

    Corfu’s Special Cuisine

    Corfu’s special cuisine includes dishes like sofrito and pastitsade and the chance to try ginger beer and kumquats.

  • Corfu olives are an important part of this Greek island's economy, with an estimated 3-4 million trees producing olive oil of exceptional quality.

    Corfu Olives

    Corfu olives are an important part of this Greek island's economy, with an estimated 3-4 million trees producing olive oil of exceptional quality.

  • Information for travelers on Corfu Food and Drink including restaurants and tavernas, Corfiot specialties, desserts, wine and other Greek drinks like ouzo.

    Corfu Food and Drink

    Information for travelers on Corfu Food and Drink including restaurants and tavernas, Corfiot specialties, desserts, wine and other Greek drinks like ouzo.

  • The First Corfu Beer Festival took place in Arillas in North West Corfu and celebrated the beer of Bavaria and of Corfu, in the Ionian islands of Greece.

    Corfu Beer Festival

    The First Corfu Beer Festival took place in Arillas in North West Corfu and celebrated the beer of Bavaria and of Corfu, in the Ionian islands of Greece.

  • This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

    A Drive around Attica

    This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

  • Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.

    Ten Best Museums in Athens

    Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.

  • Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.

    Athens: Travel Information and Advice about Athens, Greece

    Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.

  • Antonis Maroudas is a Zakynthos winemaker who lives on the 'wine road' and is one of the people who make Zakynthos.

    Zakynthos Winemaker

    Antonis Maroudas is a Zakynthos winemaker who lives on the 'wine road' and is one of the people who make Zakynthos.

  • 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.

    Where to Eat in Athens and Piraeus

    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.

  • If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.

    Athens Events and Public Holidays

    If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.

  • Athens International Airport is east of Athens city centre with its own Metro train station, buses to Athens and Piraeus, taxis and car rental offices.

    Athens International Airport

    Athens International Airport is east of Athens city centre with its own Metro train station, buses to Athens and Piraeus, taxis and car rental offices.

  • 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.

    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.

  • The Greece Travel Secrets guide to Greek grape varieties to help you know which wines to choose when dining in restaurants or buying wine in Greece.

    Greek Grape Varieties

    The Greece Travel Secrets guide to Greek grape varieties to help you know which wines to choose when dining in restaurants or buying wine in Greece.

  • Greek food and drink is a highlight of any visit and Greece Travel Secrets brings you info about food and drink from all over Greece, from Athens to Zakynthos.

    Greek Food and Drink

    Greek food and drink is a highlight of any visit and Greece Travel Secrets brings you info about food and drink from all over Greece, from Athens to Zakynthos.

  • Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.

    The Best Hotels in Athens

    Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.

  • Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping

    Athens in the Rain

    Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping

  • This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.

    A Walk around Kolonáki

    This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.

  • In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!

    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!

  • The best things to do in Athens, Greece, include top archaeological sites like the Acropolis and must-see attractions such as the National Archaeological Museum

    The Best Things to Do in Athens

    The best things to do in Athens, Greece, include top archaeological sites like the Acropolis and must-see attractions such as the National Archaeological Museum

  • Amusing children in Athens is easy as there is lots to do including a children’s museum, planetarium, beaches, and easy excursions to the nearest islands.

    Amusing Children in Athens

    Amusing children in Athens is easy as there is lots to do including a children’s museum, planetarium, beaches, and easy excursions to the nearest islands.

  • 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.

    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.

  • 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.

    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.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Latest Posts

RSS

  1. Greece Welcomes Parthenon Fragments Returned by the Vatican

    Greece welcomed three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon, which were returned following an intervention by Pope Francis by the Vatican Museums, during a reunification ceremony in Athens. The fragm…

    Read More

  2. PM: Greece to Hold General Elections on May 21

    Greeks will be going to the polls on May 21 after the country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the news on Tuesday.

    Read More

  3. Transavia to Fly Direct to Kefalonia from Paris in Summer 2023

    Low-cost Dutch airline Transavia, part of the Air France-KLM group, this summer will operate direct flights between Paris and the Greek island of Kefalonia two times per week, according to the Greek N…

    Read More

  4. Greece Among Europe’s Top 10 Most Desired Destinations for Easter

    Greece is among the 10 most searched for destinations in Europe, according to travel intelligence provider ForwardKeys, as intra-European air seat capacity is set to recoup pre-pandemic levels this Ea…

    Read More

  5. Elefsina’s Archaeological Museum Reopens After Refurbishment

    The Archaeological Museum of Elefsina, one of the first archaeological museums in Greece, has reopened its doors to the public after completing maintenance and improvement works. The upgrade focused o…

    Read More

  6. Athens’ Iconic Lykavittos Theater to Reopen in Fall

    The historic Lykavittos open-air theater atop Lycabettus Hill in central Athens, will be reopening to the public following a complete revamp, announced Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis this week. The po…

    Read More

  7. Passengers Rank Thessaloniki ‘Makedonia’ Airport Among Best in Europe

    Thessaloniki “Makedonia” Airport has been named one of the top in Europe at the 2022 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards by the Airports Council International (ACI) World and travel technology compan…

    Read More

  8. Greece on Top 20 List of Best Countries for Entrepreneurs and Startups

    Greece is among the top 20 countries for entrepreneurs and startups, according to a recent study conducted by Compare the Market, a UK-based insurance comparison website.

    Read More

  9. Travelers from Poland Already Booking Greek Summer Holidays

    Demand from Poland is growing with 30 percent of Polish travelers having already booked their holidays to Greece, according to feedback collected by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) duri…

    Read More

  10. Europe’s Highest Growth in February Airbnb Demand was in Greece

    Demand for Airbnb-style rentals in Greece was the strongest in Europe last month despite historically being the least busy period of the year, marking a 60 percent increase compared to 2022, said anal…

    Read More