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Soup season · Athens, Greece
The best bowl in Athens: Tripe soup
Tripe and trotters simmered for hours into a milky broth, sharpened at the table with garlic vinegar and chili flakes.
Athens ends its long nights at the meat market with a bowl of patsás. It's the city's hangover cure, its 5am breakfast and its oldest working kitchen tradition.
Epirus
Athinas 42, 105 51 Athens
Get: Mixed patsás (tripe and leg) with the garlic vinegar and chili flakes
Éna patsá anamikto, parakaló, me skordostoúbi.One mixed patsás, please, with the garlic vinegar.
The soup house inside the central meat market, run by chef Dimitris Karatzenis since 2001; at least eight soups a day, and people come straight from the clubs.
Early morning through lunch; open all night on Fridays and Saturdays in the colder months.
Make it at home
Patsás, Athens market tripe soup
Buy honeycomb tripe that's already been cleaned and blanched (most butchers sell it that way) and ask for a split veal or pork trotter. The long simmer is hands-off; the garlic vinegar is what makes it Athens.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) cleaned honeycomb beef tripe
- 1 veal or 2 pork trotters, split (ask the butcher)
- 1 large onion, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 4 quarts (3.8 l) water
- 1 tbsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 eggs
- Juice of 2 lemons
- For the garlic vinegar: 6 garlic cloves, crushed, in 1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine vinegar
- Dried red chili flakes (boukovo) and crusty bread, to serve
How to make it
- Rinse the tripe and trotters well under cold water. Put them in a big pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Drain and rinse; this cleans the flavor.
- Return to the clean pot with the 4 quarts water, onion, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the tripe is tender enough to cut with a spoon and the trotter meat falls off the bone.
- Make the garlic vinegar while it simmers: crush the garlic into the vinegar and leave it to steep.
- Lift out the tripe and trotters. Cut the tripe into bite-size strips. Pick the meat and soft skin from the trotters, chop it and discard the bones. Strain the broth (you want about 2 1/2 quarts; boil it down if there's more) and return everything to the pot. Add the salt.
- For the classic thickened version, whisk the eggs with the lemon juice in a bowl. Slowly whisk in 2 ladles of hot broth, then stir it back into the pot off the heat. Warm gently for 2 minutes; don't boil or the egg will curdle.
- Serve very hot, with the garlic vinegar, chili flakes and bread on the table so everyone seasons their own bowl.
Pans and tools
- 8-quart pot
- fine sieve
Chef's tips
- The broth sets to jelly when cold; that's the collagen from the trotter, and it's what gives patsás its body.
- Skip the egg and lemon for the clear, market-stall style and go heavier on the garlic vinegar.
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge; reheat without boiling if you used egg.
Four more bowls in Athens
Kakavia (fisherman's soup)
The Greek fisherman's soup: small bony fish, potatoes and onions simmered in olive oil and lemon until the broth is gold.
Trata · Plateia Anagenniseos 7-9, Kaisariani 161 21
Get: The kakavia, with the boiled fish served on the side, and a horta salad
Μία κακαβιά, παρακαλώ.One kakavia, please. (Mia kakavia, parakaló.)
A no-frills fish taverna on Kaisariani's square that gets the day's catch from local fishermen and is named again and again for its fish soup.
Make it at home: Kakavia, the Greek fisherman's soup
The fishermen made it with what they couldn't sell. Use a mix of small whole fish and one nicer fillet, and plenty of olive oil.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) small whole fish (red mullet, scorpion fish, porgy), cleaned
- 1 lb (450 g) firm white fish fillet (grouper, cod or snapper), in large pieces
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 lb (450 g) waxy potatoes, peeled and cut in thick slices
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) water
- 2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Juice of 2 lemons
- A handful of chopped parsley
How to make it
- Warm the olive oil in a wide pot and soften the onions and celery 8 minutes without browning.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Lay the small fish on top, wrapped in cheesecloth if you want to lift them out cleanly, and simmer 15 minutes more.
- Lift out the small fish, pick the flesh from the bones and return it to the pot; discard bones. Add the fillet and simmer 6 to 8 minutes, just until it flakes.
- Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Serve the broth and vegetables first, then the fish, with bread and more olive oil.
Chef's tips
- Don't stir once the fillet is in, or it falls apart.
- Some cooks beat the lemon with 2 egg yolks and whisk in a ladle of hot broth before adding it back, for a silkier soup.
Chickpea soup
Chickpeas simmered soft with onion, olive oil and lemon, the plain, perfect lunch of the old market cooks.
Diporto · Sokratous 9 & Theatrou, Athens 105 52
Get: Revithia (chickpea soup) with bread, olives and a carafe of retsina
Μία ρεβυθάδα, παρακαλώ.A chickpea soup, please. (Mia revitháda, parakaló.)
A basement taverna with no sign and no menu, run for over a century; the cook tells you what's on, and the chickpeas are almost always on.
Make it at home: Greek chickpea soup with lemon (revithia)
Three ingredients and patience. The chickpeas have to be completely soft, so cook them until a few start to break.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) dried chickpeas
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp flour (optional, to thicken)
How to make it
- The night before, cover the chickpeas with plenty of water. In the morning, drain, toss with the baking soda and rest 15 minutes, then rinse well.
- Put the chickpeas in a pot with water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm), bring to a boil and skim the foam carefully.
- Add the onions, olive oil, bay and oregano. Simmer, partly covered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the chickpeas are creamy inside.
- Add the salt. For a thicker soup, whisk the flour into the lemon juice with a ladle of broth and stir it back in; simmer 5 minutes.
- Taste for lemon and salt and serve with a thread of olive oil on top.
Chef's tips
- Baking soda softens the skins; rinse it off well or the soup tastes soapy.
Egg-lemon chicken soup
Chicken broth thickened at the last minute with eggs beaten with lemon, with rice in it, silky and bright.
Filippou · Xenokratous 19, Athens 106 75
Get: Kotosoupa avgolemono when it's on, then one of the day's stews from the pots
Μία κοτόσουπα αυγολέμονο, παρακαλώ.A chicken egg-lemon soup, please. (Mia kotósoupa avgolémono, parakaló.)
Cooking since 1923, an old-school mageirio where you choose from what's in the pots; locals' pick for clean soups and stews.
Soups change daily; avgolemono is a winter regular, so ask.
Make it at home: Avgolemono (Greek egg-lemon chicken soup)
The trick is tempering: hot broth goes into the eggs a ladle at a time, so they thicken instead of scrambling.
You need
- 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lb / 1.6 kg)
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 1 onion, halved, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk
- 2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup (150 g) medium-grain rice (or orzo)
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- Juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup / 120 ml)
How to make it
- Simmer the chicken with the water, onion, carrot, celery and salt, skimming, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Lift out the chicken and strain the broth back into the pot (about 2 1/2 quarts / 2.4 l). Shred some of the meat for the soup; keep the rest for another meal.
- Bring the broth to a simmer, add the rice and cook 15 to 18 minutes until tender. Turn the heat to its lowest.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then beat in the lemon juice. Whisking constantly, add 3 ladles of hot broth, one at a time.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the pot, stirring, and heat gently 2 to 3 minutes without letting it boil, until it coats a spoon. Add the chicken, season with pepper and serve.
Chef's tips
- If it does boil and curdle, take it off the heat and whisk hard; it's still delicious.
- Reheat leftovers gently; the rice keeps thickening it.
White bean soup
White beans, carrot, celery and tomato cooked in a lot of olive oil: the soup Greeks call their national dish.
Klimataria · Plateia Theatrou 2, Athens 105 52
Get: Fasolada, a plate of the day's oven dish, and stay for the music on weekend nights
Μία φασολάδα, παρακαλώ.One bean soup, please. (Mia fasoláda, parakaló.)
An old taverna by the Central Market, named in the city's own lists of places for traditional food; the beans are a cold-weather staple here.
Make it at home: Fasolada (Greek white bean soup)
Use more olive oil than feels right. It's what turns beans and water into something rich.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) dried white beans (cannellini or gigantes), soaked overnight
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, sliced into coins
- 3 celery stalks with leaves, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (14 oz / 400 g) chopped tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp chile flakes
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- Juice of 1/2 lemon, chopped parsley
How to make it
- Drain the beans, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes and drain.
- Warm half the olive oil and soften the onion, carrots and celery 10 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, bay, chile and water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Simmer, partly covered, 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are very soft.
- Add the salt and the rest of the olive oil and simmer 10 minutes more; mash a ladle of beans against the side to thicken.
- Finish with lemon and parsley. Serve with bread, olives and feta.
Chef's tips
- Salt only at the end; salted early, the beans stay hard.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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