Restaurants in Athene

In Athens, you can eat something on every street corner. For example, there are small stalls where they sell donuts and koulouri (bread rings with sesame seeds). There are chestnuts and corn cobs being grilled and coffee shops everywhere selling delicious sweets. The restaurants in Athens range from a simple souvlaki grill to most hip fusion restaurants. But where can you eat out really well? Where can you find good restaurants in Athens?

A bit spoiled

If, like me, you’ve lived in Athens for some time, you are a bit spoiled when it comes to food. At home we cook with fresh products from the market, the local butcher or greengrocer. I really learned to cook from my mother-in-law, especially traditional Greek dishes. So when we eat out by ourselves, I want to eat something special, something I don’t make myself and neither does my mother-in-law.

Outside the touristy neighborhoods

I like to eat in neighborhoods where few tourists come. Simply because the food here is often much better than, for example, in the Plaka or the area around the Acropolis. I love discovering new restaurants with original dishes. Most of these restaurants do not serve moussaka, pastitio or souvlaki because Greeks already eat these dishes often enough at home. So what should you think about?

Greeks love conviviality, noise and sharing food. For me personally, you can’t do a greater favor than with a table full of small bites. Grilled cheese, good salads, stews, fish, you name it. Did I mention that the local Greek wines are really very good?

Delicious dining out in Athens

I often try new restaurants. Eating out is much cheaper in Athens than in the Netherlands, so we eat out at least once a week. Often because of this I suddenly have a new favorite restaurant but some classics remain. Which restaurants in Athens are highly recommended?

Tips for restaurants in Athens

Here I give you the addresses of restaurants in Athens where I think you can eat good food.
Do you have a good tip of your own? Then send me an email at info@meetinathens.eu.

O Tzitizgkas kai o mermigkas

This restaurant chain was created when the two friends Panayiotis Mazarakis and Tasos Dimas decided to do something with their shared love for Greek cuisine. The first restaurant was opened in Ano Patisia and decorated with a great sense of style. They collected recipes from all parts of Greece and looked for suppliers with the best products.

The interior of the restaurant reminds you of a grocery store with cans and jars everywhere. They cook with local and pure products. The menu is very extensive and diverse so everyone will find something to their taste. Reservations are recommended especiall

To Mavro Provato

To mavro provato is Greek for black sheep. The restaurant is located a bit outside the historic center, in the Pangrati district, near the Kalimarmaro stadium. However, it is easily accessible if you walk from the Evangelismos metro station.

The owner has decorated this small restaurant with a great sense of style, simple and sleek but at the same time warm and cozy. The menu consists of small dishes that could be described as Greek with a modern twist. The portions are not very large, but this ensures that the prices are low and you can try several things. The restaurant is not large and most of the tables are outside on the sidewalk. Since this is a very popular spot of Athenians themselves, it is advisable to make reservations early: 0030 210 7223466.

Yiantes

This restaurant is located in the hip Exarcheia neighborhood. Most guidebooks warn you to stay far away from this neighborhood, but it’s better not to listen to that. Personally, I like coming to Exarcheia because it is full of nice bars and cozy restaurants. Yiantes has a courtyard and bar and serves delicious dishes like octopus in honey sauce and a pasta of mini eel. Really worth trying if you like unusual dishes. You expect a high bill here because of the exclusive menu, but it is not that bad. For 50, – eur you eat with two very extensive.

Klimataria

Still a traditional Greek restaurant in this list. Because I think that as a tourist you should eat real Greek food at least once. Greek food like a Greek grandmother would prepare it. This is how you eat at taverna Klimataria. You will find this place hidden behind the central market on Plateia Theatrou.

Extra tip

When eating out in Athens, remember that Greeks don’t eat at Dutch times. Lunch is around two in the afternoon and in the evening most Greeks eat after nine. You can easily grab a bite to eat in Athens at eleven in the evening.