A Traveller's Food Directory: Athens

In 2025, there are no longer any roads less travelled. All roads, in fact, are Google-mappable and many of their redeeming features now ranked somewhere on the internet. And yet, the only thing that so many of us in the west want from a holiday is the thrill of exploring somewhere uncharted. We want somewhere a bit empty, a bit dishevelled, charming AF and we want it kept a secret. This was very much how Athens felt to me, like I was happening upon somewhere unknown, despite having already been there before and despite the very obvious fact that Athens is not new. It is actually very fucking old.

The not quite perfectness of Athens is what appeals to so many, bits of it are a little neglected, a little scratchy around the edges. But is it fair to love a city because it looks down on its luck? No, this is extractive. The thing that I noticed, however, on my recent trip to Athens was not the roughness but the glow-up the city has had since the last time I visited. Because a city is also worth visiting when it is thriving — which is exactly what is happening in Athens right now. Its spectacular comeback after an equally as spectacular decade of recession has brought a renewed interest to both Greece and its capital. It is nice to see a place back on its feet.

The main focus of our jaunt to Greece was my cousin’s location wedding on the Athens Riviera. But, my partner and I along with my sister, brother in law and mother decided to spend the preceding four days in Athens Proper wandering about. It felt very much like an adventure in a city that, over time has worn many hats and had many seasons and now feels like it’s bursting to tell you all about it. Here’s a directory of all the things we did in Athens, some were meticulously researched, some accidentally stumbled upon.

Restaurants:

Diporto - Duck your head and descend into a cellar. When your eyes adjust to the dark, you will see a room that looks unchanged since its opening over 100 years ago, the back wall lined with barrels of wine — water is not available here, only table wine. An old man (Chef Mitsos) cooks and a younger man serves. There are no frills, no English, no plates, no napkins. It is strictly lunch only and there are no reservations, unless you are a pal of the chef (and the pals of the chefs, as we overheard, are very cross that this place is always so popular). The menu is whatever chef is cooking that day and there are no options, in fact unless you speak Greek you won’t know what you’re eating. It is Greek, home cooking as I know it and it showcases more than just gyros and moussaka.

Manari Taverna - I’d say this was an upmarket, up-to-date version of Diporto. A smart, well branded restaurant in a vibey part of town, this was clever home cooking with a cheffy twist.

Nolan - The most technically well-executed meal of our trip. To be honest it looked a bit too fluorescent for me and I found the vague description of ‘Greek-Asian’ fusion small plates unexciting. But. It was bloody brilliant, everything was beautiful, bright and tasty, the staff were the perfect hosts and the cocktails were banging. Also visit the bakery, Sweet Nolan, which is right next door.

Manu - Just by our hotel in Kerameikos, we noticed a very smart looking spot that was full of locals. We were captured by the graphics of fish at a dinner table and the clean blue tiles from wall to ceiling. Manu does fish, in all its iterations, from ceviche to sushi, fish kebabs to paella and it does them all very well indeed. A really fun meal.

Where to drink:

If I were an Athenian, I’d always be either drunk or hungover, because you wouldn’t be able to keep me out of all the cute neighbourhood bars. Our first drinking sesh was in The Clumsies, every cocktail fan’s Mecca. It looks quite bonkers, there’s a Thailand-in-the-early-2000s kind of vibe. The cocktails were phenomenal, colourful and the depth of flavour was impressive, it was proper mixology. But my favourite drinking spot was Lou, a new wine bar (it opened this year) championing Greek wine. Set down a quiet alley in Syntagma, the lovely owner (literally) sat down with us to explain which bottles he recommended and we ended up doing a mini flight, complete with generous charcuterie. We took our favourite bottle home — a Karanika sparkling white made using a traditional method. Tasty.

What to drink:

If you think that Greece has meh wine and the only Greek spirit you are aware of is ouzo, nope, fake news. The star of Greek wine seems to be rising, we had some good bottles, although it does seem hard to find the same quality stuff in the UK. As far as aperitifs go, I would sack off ouzo (unless you’re going to drink it with your Bapou, cold, alongside a salted cucumber) and try either the bergamot based kitro or, my absolute favourite, chios mastiha. For caffeinated options, try Freddo espresso — shots of espresso shaken with ice to make it extremely frothy.

Kerameikos:

I can’t really speak for any other parts of the city, but we stayed in Kerameikos, a 15 minute metro ride away from the centre, in a cute boutique hotel called Loom. Kerameikos itself is quiet and quirky and I liked being away from the crowds and noise. I couldn’t tell you the exact names of the bars or the coffee shops we visited (this is unhelpful), but I would definitely recommend a crawl either for coffee during the day or for a drink in the evening along Meg. Alexandrou and Plateou. There are also some great shopping options like ceramic shop Akron Aoton (check out their workshops!) or vintage homeware shop Modernon Red.

Mount Lycabettos:

We made a bit of an evening out of visiting Mount Lycabettos, the best viewpoint in the city that overlooks the Acropolis and sprawling metropolis. We meandered up the hill, first stopping in Kolonaki for a drink or two at some of the bars that hug the steep incline. We took the cable car up to the top of the mountain, enjoyed the view at golden hour, then walked back down. Lycabettos is a ‘green lung’ of Athens and the path on the way down is lined with prickly pears and cacti, succulents, pine trees, wild olives, mastic trees, alfalfa, and rosemary — if I did it again I wouldn’t bother with the cable car as the walk much nicer, not at all strenuous and the paths are good. I would also recommend having a drink at the second highest bar, not the one right at the top as it can be crowded.

Old Things:

Before arriving in Greece my mother informed me that on her last visit to the Parthenon and the Acropolis, she went without a guide and felt like she was ‘just looking at some rocks.’ So, for our trip she requested that we have a guided tour of the ancient sites. Listen to Coulla, she gives good advice. We bought this ticket and it was very worth it, if anything just to skip the enormous line at the Acropolis entrance. Our guide was brilliant and saved us from trying to figure out which old rock was which. As much of a highlight as seeing the Parthenon was, the Parthenon Museum was equally as impressive and put it all into perspective. For a broader view of Greece’s history, however, don’t sleep on the Benaki — it is a treasure trove of Greek, Turkish and Cypriot history, all intertwined with each other and exhibited beautifully.

Greek music:

Greek music goes far beyond Zorba the Greek — it is actually very varied, enjoyed from the Balkans to the Middle East and, rather than hang out at the tourist restaurants in Monastiraki which do offer some live music, Bouzoukia clubs are a far better (and more local) experience. These clubs are bonkers — a cross between a concert and a club, playing live Greek music until the wee hours, when you crawl out stinking of cigarettes and a good time. We actually found that the taxi drivers seemed to know the best bouzoukia clubs to visit, as their line ups change all the time. Unrelated to bouzoukia, I’ve also put together this playlist for some of the more contemporary music coming out of Greece at the moment…

The Athens Riviera:

I think this is a separate travel directory for another time, but if you fancy combining both a beach holiday and city break, stay along the Athens Riviera, the beach side suburbs south of the city. From Glyfada, Vougliami to Lagonissi, all are well connected by train, so you could explore this part of Greece’s beautiful coast line and dip into Athens just for the day.