Food is the cornerstone of Greek culture, but in Athens, dining out is a favourite pastime. So much so, Athenians go out to eat more than they watch TV. Naturally, then, the best way to experience the city is through your stomach. Here are the 11 best restaurants in Athens to dine at.
Seychelles continues to be a hotspot for the hip crowd, making it one of the best restaurants in Athens. It dishes up elevated Greek dishes like fresh pappardelle with kavourma (confit of beef and lamb) and galomizithra cheese, and fantastic local cheeses including aged graviera from Crete, volaki from Andros and goat kefalotiri from Ios. instagram.com/seychellesrestaurant
For an even hipper expression, Aster in Ano Petralona channels ’60s Athens in a retro cafeteria replete with tessellated tiles, mismatched chairs and charmingly chintzy floral wallpaper. The restaurant is charming. The food is some of the best in Athens: adaptations of Cretan cuisine like skioufikta – a type of local pasta made with apáki (traditional Cretan cured pork) and served with a fried egg on top – are as delicious as they are affordable. instagram.com/aster_athens.
Soil dials up the degustation with a memorable gastronomic experience that begins in chef Tasos Mantis’ garden in Alepochori. In a beautiful neoclassical townhouse and terrace, rare Greek herbs, flowers and fresh vegetables are masterfully choreographed in elegant, earthy dishes that showcase Mantis’ creative and sustainable culinary excellence. It’s one of the best restaurants in Athens to try something you’ve never tasted before. soilrestaurant.com
Book a garden table at Vezené restaurant, an Athenian fine dining institution with exceptional steaks and seafood grilled on olive wood embers. The smoky flavours and local ingredients make this worthy of a place on ‘the best restaurants in Athens’ list. venzene.gr
For refined dining with a view, Ithaki occupies a prized nook on the Athenian Riviera, with a menu that reflects the sea in front of you. It’s a stylish restaurant with a delicious menu making it one of the best in Athens. ithakirestaurantbar.gr
In the same neighbourhood you can indulge in a French affair at Spondi, which sits within vaulted dining rooms and across two Mediterranean-inspired terraces, perfect for a summer soiree. For one of the best bistronomic menus in Athens, visit Spondi. spondi.gr
Oikonomou, an elegant 1930s taverna in Ano Petralona, is an Athenian institution, dishing up meals tis katsarolas, or ‘of the pot’, like its famous okra and stuffed cabbage leaves in a silky egg-lemon sauce, for more than 80 years. If you were to ask a local what the best restaurant in Athens was, they would most likely say Oikonomou.
The rise of the new-age taverna is the city’s ultimate foodie flex: creative, contemporary Greek cuisine that circles back to the simple pleasures of homestyle cooking. No one has articulated this as exceptionally well as Linou Soumpasis k sia, a super sleek, ultra-mod space in edgy Psyrri that moonlights as a modern candle dispensary. Here, the menu changes daily according to season, weather and availability, with a commitment to using only the freshest, raw produce with minimal waste. Organic, local ingredients are prepared simply but assembled artfully, with each dish a revelation. The wine follows the same values, with organic, natural and mild fermentation wines, along with exclusively produced and bottled private labels.
The taverna is Greece’s culinary pin-up, and while tavernas fill Athens, there are some standouts. Klimataria is a wonderful expression of classic taverna life making it one of the best restaurants in the city. Silver-haired men pluck the bouzouki as you bathe crusty bread in olive oil, tuck into slabs of perfectly oozy moussaka and mop the juices of waxy-lemony potatoes and lamb from the oven. klimataria.gr
The gastro-taverna vibes are strong at Phita, where a contemporary approach to seasonal cuisine means modern meze like butterflied sardines on baked elephant beans and slivers of crispy potato with silky taramasalata. A must-visit restaurant when in Athens. instagram.com/phitathens
To truly take a step back in time, head underground to Diporto. The oldest taverna in Central Athens (1887), here you’ll find white-haired, thickly moustached maestro Dimitris grilling fresh, small fish in a tiny open kitchen. Don’t expect a menu, air conditioning or even a knife – “if you want a knife, go to Kolonaki,” he famously tells patrons – but do expect some of the best Greek food you’ll ever eat. The clandestine restaurant next to the Varvakios Central Market fed workers for centuries with the same warm bowls of revithia (brothy chickpea soup), creamy fava and fresh salads you find plopped on your paper tablecloth today.
