Chef and food writer Stathis Georgiadis gives the inside track on the best restaurants in Athens, which serve up everything from traditional fare and street food to Michelin-star cuisine and experimental Greek dishes.
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Best Restaurants In Athens
Varoulko
Varoulko is one of the most elegant sea-view spots in the city. The Michelin-starred chef Lefteris Lazarou specialises in taking traditional Greek dishes and adding a creative and flavourful seafood touch. For example, his take on the usually minced-meat-laden moussaka is made with crayfish, while his pesto pasta has squid in it. Make sure to try the smoked octopus prepared with wild greens called stamnagathi too. Visitors can take in the picture-perfect view of Mikrolimano harbour, the sailboats, yachts and tiny fishing boats floating in the distance.
Orizontes
Perched on Lycabettus Hill, one of the highest peaks in Athens, the views from Orizontes are god-level. Sit outdoors come sunset – with the Acropolis, Aegean Sea and entire city sprawled below – and you’re guaranteed to feel like you’re dining on Olympus. The restaurant is equally acclaimed for its food: Mediterranean dishes that incorporate seasonal ingredients and local produce. Go for the pork tenderloin with vegetables in feta cheese, honey and sesame if it’s on the menu. It’s rich, moreish and will blow your mind.
Seabear
Nabbing a seat at the bar of this petite oyster parlor is the cocktail hour equivalent of a touchdown on the opening drive. Seabear serves a rotating roster of six varieties on the half shell, and from 3 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, they’re just a buck-fifty a pop. Celebrate your victory and hold onto that seat. With all the coin you’ll save on a couple dozen, treat yourself to a few plates from the laser-focused seafood menu, and, of course, a cocktail. The bar’s eponymous drink—a shaken, dill-tinged sipper—is a great place to start.
Five & Ten
Hugh Acheson’s flagship oozes Old South grace, but the menu triumphantly samples from regions far and away. When you turn a 1913 house into a restaurant you get a constellation of intimate dining rooms perfectly suited for beautiful food and quiet conversations. But this grande dame does provincial as well as it does posh. If you don’t have tailgate plans, hit the deep front porch on game day for barbecued game hen sandwiches and housemade bologna brats.
Psarras Taverna
Also called The Old Tavern of Psaras, this charming restaurant first opened in 1898 and was later a famous haunt of Laurence Olivier, Vivian Lee, and Graham Greene. The traditional Greek menu features fresh seafood, meat (with especially great lamb), and plenty of vegetarian options. A romantic, casual atmosphere, great house wine, and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Indoor and outdoor seating available. Open with continuous service for lunch and dinner. Reservations recommended for dinner.
Aster
Small but beautiful, with quirky, mismatched furniture and cutlery, Aster started as a late-night tapas joint where young dancers and actors would congregate, ordering small and drinking some of the “best raki you can find outside Crete”, says Georgiadis, adding, “You’ll never wake up with a hangover.” The menu is concise, but the authentic ingredients come straight from Crete. These include xigalo, a buttery goat cheese spread; melt-in-your mouth ofti (baked) potatoes; and handmade vinegar pork sausage.
Ama Lachei Stis Nefelis
This is Georgiadis’s go-to restaurant when people come to visit him from abroad. Set in one of the most beautiful gardens in Athens, with the option to sit inside a high-ceilinged historic house when it’s too cold to sit outside, Ama Lachei is located on a quiet street in the vibrant artistic neighbourhood of Exarchia. With friendly service and a diverse menu filled with products sourced from all over Greece and an extensive wine and spirits list, Ama Lachei specialises in modern Greek cuisine. Some must-try dishes are the local cheeses, eggs with Cretan apaki (cured pork), lightly fried meatballs with ouzo and mint, and the seafood kritharoto – a Greek take on risotto. Be sure to book in advance, as Ama Lachei fills up quickly.
Geros Tou Moria
Yes, it’s a bit touristy, but this quaint, 90-year-old taverna is one of the best restaurants in Athens to try classic Greek dishes paired with live Greek music and dancing every night. Order the moussaka, lamb, or bekris mezes (veal and eggplant in tomato sauce). Sit outdoors under the grape vines for views of the Acropolis, or sit indoors to be closer to the music and dancing. Reservations recommended for late dinner service, when the music starts.
