A Guide to Greek Food in Athens

One of the best ways to experience and understand a culture is through their food. We love trying the local foods when we travel so made a point in Athens to try as much as possible. I took several recommendations from a food vlogger we follow for international travel, as well as other reviews - and made this list. It was our personal food tour. At the tail-end of our trip, we had already tried most Greek treats, so at that point it was just a matter of deciding whose version is better.

There are so many places to eat in all of the pedestrian areas surrounding the slopes of the Acropolis!

O Thanasis is a huge institution on "Souvlaki Row". It screams tourist trap! But it was our family's favorite. It has plenty of outdoor seats that continue down the pedestrian-only street as far as you can see. They also have take-away pita sandwiches for a fraction of the price.

We voted the Yogurt Kebap from O Thanasis #1. "I could have this again" -- Greg

We also tried the Kebap plate and Chicken plate.

Sitting along the shaded Souvlaki Row at O Thanasis is a great way to relax in Athens

Mokka - This is one of the best places in Athens to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee, and even a classic Greek coffee prepared on the hovoli (brewed on warm sand). Take away prices for a cappuccino are significantly less (€2.80 vs. €3.80), but it was nice to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee so we paid the extra cost.

At Mokka you can have Greek coffee made the traditional way.  Heated on hot sand, the coffee grinds plus water boil slowly allowing it to keep its aromas and thick cream on top.

To get the full flavor of ibrik, the classic Greek coffee from Mokka (€2.80), consume it slowly. Once you start tasting the first grounds, you are done - this is not a coffee you drink to the last drop!

Bubbleicious Tea Bar – we are addicted to boba tea so trying it with alcohol ("bubble cocktail") was a fun twist. ~€7

Bubbleicious Tea Bar serves cocktails with boba!

Fallafellas - specializes in falafel with tahini, lettuce, tomato, yogurt sauce and eggplant in a thin pita. It was very good!

We tried the falafel, made spicy (our favorite) and the meatball pocket from Fallafellas.  I highly recommend trying this Athens street food!  

Fallafellas is a very small eatery (see the green window) along trendy, pedestrian-only Aiolou

Feyrouz - go here for lahmacun, the thin, round flatbread topped with spiced ground meat and vegetables – a Middle Eastern version of pizza. Feyrouz offers white or whole-wheat crust and beef or vegetarian toppings. After you've chosen your topping, you can add hummus, yogurt, a spicy tomato sauce and/or different types of fresh greens. It was interesting to try and tasty for a few bites - we had no complaints but probably wouldn't get it again.

We tried the "Feyrouz" (minced beef), the Lahmanikon (vegetables and herbs), and Za'atar (flavorful spices, herbs, and nuts wrapped with salad and hummus)

Lukumades - loukoumades are considered to be one of the oldest recorded pastries in the world. At Lukumades you can order every kind of variation topped or even filled with chocolate or cream and choose from many toppings including nuts and ice cream. I tried to order the "icing sugar" but the lady recommended the traditional ones drizzled with honey and cinnamon since we have never had them before.

For the hipster donut-hole version of loukoumades, head to Lukumades on Agias Irinis Square.  We devoured the simplist version: honey and cinnamon.

Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani – I was attracted to this deli by its 6500 reviews, particularly the one, "best meal of any vacation." I wish this overpriced option didn't make it to my list. That money could've been better spent elsewhere on huge portions of traditional Greek food.  To eat inside here you must bring your vaccination card.

Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani sells a wide selection of meats and cheeses.  Not sure how to buy anything out of the case inside, it was listed on the simple menu as "cold cuts" €18.

Kosta's Souvlaki – Kosta's is a 65-year old tradition rated the best souvlaki in Athens serving grilled pork, stuffed into Greek pita, topped with tomatoes, onions, and tomato sauce for €2.20. Unfortunately we didn't get to try it because it is closed on Saturday and Sunday, which is strange because it is in a very hip night spot.  It posts its hours as 10am-6pm weekdays, but is usually sold out and closed by 3pm.

To Steki Tou Maki – This small place in the fish market is a great option for fresh fish! You can buy/bring your own for them to cook or order off the menu (like we did). Not open for dinner.

Plate of large fresh shrimp for €10 - 

really good once you get the shell, head, and tail off!

Two tentacles of octopus for €13.  Properly cooked octopus is massaged exactly 500 times.  A bit tough, ours quickly disappeared regardless.

Eating fresf fish at To Steki Tou Maki in Varvakios Market

Ice Roll – This is just a fancy way to eat ice cream. The price starts at €3.80 and then each topping /flavor boost is +€1. 

Ice Roll's technique is to mash up your chosen ingredients and then roll it up into thick tubes - it makes a big portion so plan to share!

Hoocut – I was attracted here by the picture of their gyro fries (~€10 each). We all enjoyed this meal! Place your order and pay, then you are given a beeper that goes off when your food is ready.

At Hoocut we got both the pork and chicken fries. There is so much meat on top that you cannot see the layer of fries hidden underneath. Yum! 

Stani (Στάνη) Marikas Kotopouli 10, Athina – traditional foods of yogurt/honey and cream/honey. I really wanted to try it as a breakfast but my vote was vetoed.

To Koulouri tou Psyrri (Το Κουλούρι του Ψυρρή) is a Koulouri bakery. We had tried these big round "breadsticks" in Naxos and had no reason to try them again.  Greeks don't really have breakfast - they will eat this, if anything.  Koulouri are very cheap (less than a euro) and taste good, if that is what you are in the mood for.

Smak – A street food restaurant that serves pizza and peinirli (a boat-shaped Greek pizza), I figured this would be right up our alley but Smak didn't get the popular vote (we didn't even try it). Lots of places sell peinirli so we had already sampled it.

Ariston ΑΡΙΣΤΟΝ ΛΟΜΠΟΤΕΣΗ – we had Greek pie on almost a daily basis, and still tried Ariston.  Reviews say they make the best tasting Greek pies. We tried three kinds: 1) mushroom (the winner), 2) chicken and bacon and 3) bacon, Gouda, red pepper

Ariston sells a variety of hot, fresh, delicious Greek pies (both sweet and savory)

Bougatsopoleio Thessaloniki – we came here to try their famous Greek food pastry (and watch them make it). However, we went too early. Their doors are open by 6:30am but nothing is in the oven yet.

We noticed that open times are not an exactness in Greece; they are more of a suggestion. Also it just might mean the time the door opens but not the time they have food ready. We were trying to catch the 8am airport bus on Sunday. Despite posted and verbal times, and walking around for 30 minutes, we could not find anything that opened before 8am. I specifically wanted one last taste of Mokka coffee, but the central market was still quite shuttered up when I got there ~6:30am. Finally near the bus stop in Syntagma Square, we found an open small cafe (next to McDonalds) at 7:45am.