Athens has moved from souvlaki-and-taverna reputation to a serious modern Greek dining scene, with multiple Michelin-starred rooms around the Acropolis and the coast. The everyday backbone is still grills, bakeries and neighborhood tavernas.
Athens at a glance
What to eat
Mezedes (tzatziki, saganaki, dolmades); Souvlaki and gyros; Grilled octopus and fresh fish; Moussaka and pastitsio; Baklava, loukoumades, galaktoboureko.
When to go
Best: April–May and September–October. Hardest: July–August.
Top tables
Delta, Michelin 2★ (2024). This guide lists 11 award-winning restaurants in all.
Where locals eat
Local favorites off the prestige lists include To Kati Allo and Feyrouz.
11 award-winning4 critic-reviewed2 local favorites3 hot right now1 markets6 walking tour stops10 chef's picks10 romantic dinners5 breakfast spots10 new openings14 dish spots
Food walking tour: Bougatsa to Souvlaki: an Athens morning around the Central Market4.5 hours on foot, 6 stops, in eating order. Add the whole tour to your trip, then give it a day.
Two Michelin-starred kitchens for a proper sit-down, three old Athens counters for the cheap and historic stuff, and five smaller places where the cooking is family-run and the bill stays low.
The well-known five
CTC Urban Gastronomy
Kerameikos
Michelin 1★ (2024)Contemporary Greek-French$$$$
Order: The blind 11-course tasting menu.
Holds a Michelin star (2024 guide) and blends Greek and French technique in a menu you don't pick from. Time Out's 2025 guide lists it among the city's best.
Order: Tasting menu built on produce from the family farm outside Athens.
A Michelin-starred room in a historic building, run around the owners' own farm produce. It is the formal option on this list for a long tasting dinner.
Order: Loukoumades with honey and cinnamon; sweet custard bougatsa.
Opened in 1923 as a loukoumades coffee shop and has barely changed: marble tables, mosaic floors, a self-service tray. The semolina custard in the sweet bougatsa is the reason to go.
Best for: breakfast or dessert stop · Hours: Mon, Wed, Sat 08:30-18:30; Tue, Thu, Fri 08:30-20:30; closed Sunday
Aiolou 87, Athens 105 51
Worth confirming: hours and that it is still open.
Order: Regional dishes and cured meats from the deli counter.
A neoclassical house that is part deli, part tavern, built around regional Greek products and cured meats. Good for a grazing lunch near the Central Market.
Best for: grazing lunch with wine
Evripidou 52, Athens 105 52
Worth confirming: hours and that it is still open.
New places change fast. “Provisional” means a guide or directory lists it as new but we have not confirmed the opening date. Check hours and book ahead before you go.
Memorable breakfasts in Athens
The top pick here; the rest are on their own page.
Stani
Omonia
Order: Sheep's-milk yogurt with honey
A traditional dairy shop preserves an older Greek morning ritual.
Picks come from romantic-dinner lists on booking and review sites. Confirm dinner service, menus and availability before you book.
Food walking tour
Bougatsa to Souvlaki: an Athens morning around the Central Market
Custard bougatsa, the meat market, a cured-meat deli, Levantine pies and charcoal souvlaki, all within 2 km.
Start 9:30 at Krinos, Aiolou 87Time 4.5 hoursDistance about 1.9 kmBest days Monday to Saturday. Krinos is closed Sunday and the Central Market is normally shut then; Feyrouz does not list Sunday hours.
This is a compact loop through the old commercial core, starting at a 1923 bougatsa shop and ending at a loukoumades counter. In between you pass through the meat and fish halls of Varvakios, then eat a cured-meat plate, Levantine lahmajoun and charcoal-grilled kebab within a few streets of each other.
Pacing: Share every plate and skip the second helping at stops 3 and 5. If you are full by Feyrouz, take the lahmajoun to go and still do the loukoumades.
Plan B: Sunday or rain: Krinos is shut Sunday, so start with a sweet bougatsa at Ta Serbetia Stou Psyri (Eschilou 3) and swap souvlaki to Lefteris o Politis (Satovriandou 20, near Omonia); hours worth confirming for both. Karamanlidika and Krinos are fully indoors if it rains.
Avoid: Sunday, and the first minutes after the market opens if you dislike raw meat and fish counters.
Bring: Cash in small bills, a tote for market buys, and a light appetite: every stop is meant to be shared. Comfortable shoes for polished marble and uneven pavement.
Skip it if: You avoid meat and fish markets, or want a sit-down tasting-menu day.
Ends at: Lukumades, Aiolou 21 at Agias Irinis, a few minutes from Monastiraki metro.
Walking times and distances are approximate, and opening hours change: confirm before you go.
Guided food tours
Take a guided food tour in Athens
2 small-group tours led by local guides, run by Eating Europe. Prefer to go on your own? The self-guided route is above.
Athens Morning Food and Drinks Tour: A Bite From The Acropolis
From €672.5 hoursUp to 12 guestsWalking tour
Morning walk through Plaka and the Acropolis district ending in Koukaki, with Greek pies, donuts and gyros.
You will taste: handmade phyllo pies, Greek honey donuts, gyro wraps, freddo espresso.
Guided tours are run by Eating Europe, a small-group food tour company in 23 European cities. Chef Amazing earns a commission on bookings made through this page, at no extra cost to you. Prices are per person, from the operator, and can change: we confirm the date, price and availability with you before you pay.
Crazes move fast. “Just spotted” means one report so far, and most entries rest on a single source: confirm hours and expect a wait.
The Athens food map
Every place in this guide, pinned. Tap a pin to see what to order, then add it to your trip.
Open the full Athens food map: every place on our lists too (pizza, ice cream, romantic, where locals and the famous eat, cooking classes), searchable by dish.
· 13 of 15 dish places are pinned; the rest appear in the lists below. Pins are placed by address or name and can be a little off; always confirm in your maps app.
Plan my days in Athens
Tell us what you like and we will line up the places on this page into a day-by-day plan. Only places from this guide, never anything else.
What to eat in Athens, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
Lonely Planet: April-May and September-October have mild temperatures, smaller crowds and lower hotel prices; June-August is 'hot, hot, hot' with tourists and high prices; mid-August is quiet as Athenians leave for the islands and some restaurants close. Wikipedia: July/August mean daily max 34.3 C. Easter (late April/May) fills hotels. 'avoid' months are our reading of the heat/closure statements; LP itself names no month to avoid. Nov-Mar is cold with the lowest hotel prices (LP).
In season
Wild greens (horta)Feb–May
Wild asparagusAprThis is Athens names April
CherriesMayThis is Athens names May
Figs and Aegina pistachiosSepFistiki Fest in Aegina each September (17-20 Sep 2026)
Nemea grape harvestSep
New-season olive oilOct–Nov
Quince and pomegranatesOct–Dec
Easter lamb on the spit, kokoretsi, magiritsaAprTied to Orthodox Easter (moves; April or early May). Lenten nistisima (vegan) menus in the 40 days before
Food events
Tsiknopempti (Smoky Thursday)FebThursday 11 days before Clean Monday; grilled meat everywhere. Moves with Easter (Feb/Mar)
Athens Street Food FestivalMayThree-four weekends in May at the Old OSY Depot, Gazi (2026: May 8-10, 15-17, 22-24; 2023 ran 5-28 May)
Fistiki Fest (Aegina pistachio festival)SepHeld at Aegina's port each September (island day trip from Athens); 17-20 Sep 2026
Closures to plan around
Some restaurants close for a summer break from mid-July to mid-September (World Travel Guide, page modified 2023-02)
Mid-August (Assumption, 15 Aug): Athenians leave for the islands and some restaurants, galleries and bars close (Lonely Planet, modified 2025-11)
Tavernas serve separate vegan Lenten (nistisima) menus in the 40 days before Easter (athenstourism.org)
Meal costs and tipping (EUR)
Casual: street souvlaki 4-6; taverna lunch 10-15
Mid-range: 25-35 dinner (athenstourism.org); World Travel Guide: moderate 30-60 for three courses incl. house wine
Tipping: World Travel Guide: service charge is legally included (13%); a further 10% tip for waiter is customary. athenstourism.org: bread cover charge 1-2 per person.
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
What the critics said (last 24 months)
Recent reviews from Athens. The summaries are ours, in our own words; follow the link for the critic's full take.
Plyta
New
Pangrati
Athens Insider, Sudha Nair-Iliades · Dec 2025
Affordable, straightforward Greek cooking from Akra and Cookoovaya alumni, open about a month
Locally loved places that are not on the big prestige lists.
family-run
To Kati Allo
Central Athens (near Acropolis Museum) · $
Order: Whatever is cooked that day: moussaka, stuffed vegetables, meat dishes
Family-run tavern with no menu and an open kitchen, plates around EUR 7-14, steps from the Acropolis Museum. Single source (Time Out); verify it is open.
Seen in timeout.com · worth confirming hours before you go
family-run
Feyrouz
Historic center (Karori & Agathonos) · $
Order: Lahmatzun and peinirli, tabbouleh, or a bowl of mahluta (pumpkin) or yaprak (yoghurt) soup; finish with baklava or kunefe from the sweet shop across the street.
A small family-run street-food spot that brought Levantine cooking to Athens, blending Balkan and Middle Eastern flavors.
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (Michelin Athens 2024). Researched October 25, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
Chef Amazing’s lists for Athens: where locals eat, new openings, romantic dinners, ice cream, cooking classes and more, each place with what to order. Cooking classes in Athens: who teaches, what you cook, how long and how to book.
