In the heart of town just by the Varvakios central market, basement joint Diporto has been in business since the 1880s, churning out the same chickpea, grilled sardines, fava and greek salad combo of dishes for time immemorial. It is here you can come for a flavor of stripped-back, home cooking. On the topic of home cooking, don’t miss a trip to Geitonia in the downtown neighborhood of Kypseli for classic dishes like spanakorizo, pastitsio, and gemista—cooked as they would be by a Greek yiayia.
Over in Pagrati just a stroll away from the National Gardens and Athens’ houses of parliament in Syntagma Square, Akra has become the restaurant of the moment with much of the Athenian crowd, and for good reason. An open kitchen with a cooking-on-fire concept along with prep-benches that run the periphery of the restaurant so that the action happens all round the diners makes for an entertaining dining experience. Fresh grilled seafood and exquisite patisserie are what to order at this place.
If you’re heading out and wondering which night is best to party, don’t fret—”every night of the week,” is the answer most Athenians will give you. Locals dine late and dance until dawn. Athenian wine bars, like Tanini Agapi Mou in buzzing Exarcheia, are where you can start the night, with the option of a tasting if you’re new to the Greek varietals and want to find out more. Head to Galaxy Bar, an Athenian institution for fifty years now, if you’re more into the idea of a martini. For live music, Feidiou 2 is a small rebetadiko, or traditional music cafe, known for its melancholic Greek folk music and meze bites swilled down with sharp swigs of tsipouro, a Greek version of grappa. Then it’s onto Romantzo, an old magazine printing factory, for dancing until late on a moonlit roof terrace.
Where to stay
What Athens lacks in green spaces it makes up for with its proximity to the beach. Stay at the Four Season Astir Palace for a nod to a golden period of tourism for the city in the 1960s. Perched on the Saronic Gulf overlooking the island of Aegina, the hotel’s stylish mid-century bungalows designed by famed Greek architects Prokopis Vasileiades, Emmanouel Voulekas, Konstantinos Dekavallas and Pericles Sakellarios are the ultimate hideaway if escaping the crowds is something you crave on a city break. Beyond the privacy of your sea-view bungalow, the hotel’s offer includes six restaurants, including Nobu off-shoot Matsuhisa and the wave-lapped Taverna 37 right by the beach.
If the heady nightlife of the city is what you’re most interested in, then look to the newly opened design hotel Apollo Palm for a comfortable, central location that’s just a walk away from most of the bars and clubs of downtown Athens. This 48-bedroom hotel at the heart of Psyrri has a terrace with a view of the Acropolis. It nods to LA or Palm Springs with its fresh-feeling Americana aesthetic, punctuated with color and bespoke furnishings.
For an opportunity to live like a local, stay at Monsieur Didot, a neoclassical townhouse in the well-heeled neighborhood of Kolonaki, a stroll away from one of Athens’ best bakeries, Kora, and one-time hosts of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The suite with its own roof terrace is the one to plump for here.
