A day of eating in Athens
Athenians eat late and socially. Breakfast is often light and on the move: a koulouri, a ring of bread covered in sesame seeds sold from street carts, or a slice of spanakopita or tiropita, flaky filo pies filled with spinach or cheese, from a neighbourhood bakery. Coffee culture is serious, and in summer the iced freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino are what most locals drink.
Lunch can be quick or leisurely, and dinner rarely starts before nine. In warm months, tables spill out onto pavements and rooftops, and a meal can easily last several hours.
Street food classics
Souvlaki is the Athenian staple: grilled skewers of pork or chicken, or gyros, meat cooked on a vertical spit and shaved off, wrapped in warm pitta with tomato, onion, tzatziki and sometimes fries. It is cheap, filling and available almost everywhere. The streets around Monastiraki are famous for it, but neighbourhood grills often do it just as well for less.
For something sweet, try loukoumades, small fried dough balls soaked in honey syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon or nuts, or a bougatsa, a custard-filled pastry often eaten for breakfast.
Meze and the taverna
The best way to eat in Athens is to share. In a taverna or a meze restaurant, order a variety of small plates for the table: fava, a creamy yellow split pea purée; grilled octopus; fried courgette balls; saganaki, pan-fried cheese; horta, wild greens dressed with lemon and olive oil; and a classic Greek salad with a slab of feta on top. Grilled fish is sold by weight, so ask about the price before ordering.
To drink, ouzo or tsipouro, an aniseed or grape spirit, is served with water and ice and accompanied by small dishes. Greek wine is excellent and increasingly well known; try a crisp assyrtiko or a light, resinous retsina, which pairs surprisingly well with fried food.
Markets and food neighbourhoods
The Varvakios central market on Athinas Street is a noisy, vivid place, with halls of meat and fish and streets of spice shops, olives, nuts and cheese around it. Small restaurants inside the market serve hearty traditional dishes to market workers and are an authentic lunch stop.
Psyrri, Koukaki and Pangrati are all good neighbourhoods for dinner, with a mix of traditional tavernas and creative modern Greek restaurants. Wherever you go, finish with the free dessert or shot of liqueur that many places offer at the end of a meal.
Good to know
- Bread is often added to the bill automatically, at a small cost; it is normal.
- Many tavernas display food in the kitchen; it is fine to ask to see what is on offer.
- Tap water in Athens is safe to drink, though many restaurants serve bottled water.