Unique restaurants in Athens with delicious dishes, special flavors, and distinctive chefs Plan your Athens food experience with Dimitris.
Unique restaurants in Athens with delicious dishes, special flavors, and distinctive chefs. For a deeper dive, join a private food tour of Athens.
On Athens's busy streets and in the suburbs, a new wave of gastronomic innovation is gradually appearing, leaving its mark. As Athenians and visitors seek new experiences, a series of new restaurants and cafes are opening their doors, offering a blend of flavors, atmosphere, and stories enriching the city's gastronomic landscape. This feature aims to spotlight these new establishments, highlighting the unique tastes and aromas and the passionate people behind them.
Astakos Restaurant
Astakos restaurant opened its doors a few days ago at Glyfada's Second Marina, right next to the local fishermen's base. With a philosophical core following the "hook to fork" tradition (from hook to fork), Astakos showcases the authenticity of sea and land, offering a rich variety of fresh seafood and fish. In the kitchen, distinguished chef Angelos Bakopoulos presents impressive creations, rejecting modern gastronomic trends in favor of a more genuine and unadulterated orientation. "Here, from bread and sweets to serving dishes, everything is handmade, in-house, championing locality and the logic of sharing. To remember that as a people, when we gather around the table we're never shellfish, but on the contrary, defenders of the idea that 'pleasures, like our stories, are for sharing,'" Angelos Bakopoulos concludes.
Beyond culinary delights, Astakos aspires to become a meeting and connection space, uniting past with present through flavors and memories created around the table. The restaurant's decor and architecture draw inspiration from the sea and local fishermen's history, creating an environment combining tradition with elegance.
The experienced hospitality and entertainment veterans, owners Alexis Papagiannak is and Giorgos Kesetzis, emphasize that at Astakos, "food isn't simply a necessity but an opportunity for social connection, celebration of collective memory and tradition." This philosophy is fully reflected in the menu and restaurant's atmosphere, where visitors are encouraged to share their meals and stories, participating in a deeper social experience that transcends simple engagement with food.
Address: Diadochou Pavlou 46, 2nd Marina Glyfada, Tel: 2108947342, Instagram: astakos.restaurant
Enkel Kaffe
It's in the heart of Peristeri. It stands out for its minimal lines, is welcoming and simultaneously makes you want to integrate it into your daily routine. It serves exceptional quality coffee and is called Enkel. In Swedish, it means "simple," and that's its main characteristic. Green comfortable chairs, a monastery-type table in the courtyard, a comfortable stool at the counter. The two brothers, Michalis and Giorgos Karagiannis, created a space here that stands out. Michalis, an enthusiastic barista and multi-awarded in the Latte Art world, transforms his passion into education and art. On the other hand, Giorgos, motivated by his brother's evolution, finds his own path in hospitality and coffee. Together they decide to create a cafe incorporating their experiences and travels. Enkel offers a range of flavors from Brazil to Ethiopia in a minimal space following Scandinavian style, gifting beautiful moments with music and quality coffee. Their goal: to offer the best experience while inspiring and sharing knowledge and ideas. Beyond coffee, you'll taste delicious sandwiches, bagels, and various other treats continually added to the menu.
Address: Kountouriotou 31, Peristeri, Instagram: enkel.kaffe
Terroir Bistrotheque
A beautiful breath in Pangrati neighborhood, which is flooded with restaurants and bars. Terroir Bistrotheque opened a few months ago by the active and long-present behind bars, Petros Bakis and the equally experienced DJ, Iro Donta. The cozy Pangrati spot has two bars. One during the day serves as the coffee station, which in the afternoon transforms into the aperitivo corner, featuring over 145 drink labels from around the world. The adjacent bar is exclusively for cocktails in which Petros specializes, with signature choices. At the same time, he's engaged in "tweaking" some classics, like the negroni, which he prepares with beet and strawberry. The wine cellar features labels from all over Greece with some international references. The wine list is Giovana Lykou's work. And all this can ideally be paired with select cold cuts and cheeses from Greece and abroad. Also, delicious bruschettas will be the ideal accompaniment.
Address: Arrianou 10, Pangrati, Tel: 2107233184, Instagram: terroir_bistrotheque
Akoko
It's gorgeous, bright, youthful, and located in the heart of Neo Psychiko. It has the absolute protagonist: chicken, and specifically only chicken from Nitsiakou farms. With much imagination, daring gastronomic touches, and select ingredients, Akoko came to offer us deliciousness. During office breaks, evenings with friends, lounging on the couch, on an outing we want to be casual and at the same time absolutely tasty. Start with corn ribs, fried corn ribs sprinkled with spice mix. Original and delicious. Continue with one of five salads. From mediterraneo to mango, all are fresh, refreshing, and original. You can't resist airy rice. And you choose either steamed basmati or spicy basmati with turmeric, jalapeno pepper, and chili. If you're not into rice, fries with spicy salt mix or spicy cheese bites with jalapenos await you, steaming and fresh.
And then, the burgers, all naturally with breaded chicken. With two types of bread, Akoko's inspired kitchen team created two fantastic flavor series. The Lobster series starts with whiskey lobster, which has whiskey sauce, chopped iceberg, crispy bacon, tomato, fried egg, cheddar, and aioli sauce. And ends with blue lobster, with blue cheese sauce and sriracha, a sauce based on jalapeno red peppers. If you finally choose buns, you have to decide between prime, parmesano, bee mustard, and wasabi. Life is full of dilemmas. And to make it even harder, a series of twelve sauces come to add extra flavor to whatever you choose.
Address: Solomou 1, Neo Psychiko, Tel: 210 6710023, Instagram: akoko_athens
Pappu Athens
An old garage transforms into a casual neighborhood restaurant. It's in Peristeri, a few blocks behind the popular Veaki street, and has as its emblem a mural. It's Manolis's grandfather, Alekos, who owned the building. Manolis grew up here. He played in the neighborhood and as he grew up, cast furtive glances at the garage's craftsmanship. In the back courtyard, which will soon be ready to host groups, there are three trees. Each time the grandfather had a grandchild, he planted a tree. "I'm the lemon tree," Manolis told me, as his grandfather planted this tree at his birth. Years passed, the garage closed, the space was converted to offices, and now Manolis had properly entered his working years. He worked in Mykonos, and there they created a nice team, as colleagues and friends, with Dimitris and Christos. All three are in their thirties and wanted to take the next step together. They decide to partner and open Pappu Athens. "In this space, absolutely intertwined with grandfather, we wanted to find a way to connect present with past, giving the space a future and prospect," Manolis tells me, answering the question of how the name came about.
Reaching the menu and food they serve, the raw material is what will guide them. "We visit the Rendi market daily, and there, depending on availability and quality, the day's menu will be determined." They serve meat and fish while having some vegan options. The menu is small but sufficient to please every visitor. We highlighted spaghetti with shrimp tartare and lemon cream, and seasonal greens with dressing from tahini and Cretan pasteli. Mushrooms with hazelnut praline and metsovone, and of course the very special and delicious tyrokafteri that's completed at the table before our eyes. For dessert, we tasted chocolate ganache with Aegina pistachio and Greek coffee biscuit with Macedonian halva foam. We'll return to try fish too.
Address: Mesologgiou 100, Peristeri, Tel: 2105740600, Instagram: @pappu_athens
Casta Diva
In Athens's heart, Milioni street revives through Casta Diva's presence, a new restaurant constituting one of the newer additions to the city's gastronomic map. In an environment of urban luxury and atmospheric music, the opening of a new chapter for the popular pedestrian street and legendary Prytaneio is marked. Casta Diva, bringing a Syros aura to the capital's heart, represents the entrepreneurial vision and quality the Fournistaki brothers established with the famous "Allou Gyalou" restaurant.
The restaurant offers a gastronomic experience, combining high gastronomy with exceptional raw materials, under the guidance of distinguished chef Akis Soltanis, who incorporates Syros ingredients into his dishes with an Asian twist. The mainly fish menu includes signature dishes like ultra-fresh seared snapper sashimi and handmade spaghetti with grouper, offering a taste continuity of Greek and Cycladic aromas with a charming and unexpected twist. The restaurant's wine approach, under Konstantinos Siganakis's guidance, is complemented by avant-garde cocktails by mixologist Zahos Eleftheriou, offering a complete experience of gastronomy and enjoyment.
Address: Milioni 7, Athens, Tel: 210 3616294
Rick's
S One Hospitality Group comes to refresh the gastronomy map in Northern Suburbs with three new restaurants. These are Rick's in Kifissia, Maison Colette in Neo Psychiko, and Talking Breads in Cholargos. The last two are about to open soon, however Rick's already started operation just on Friday, March 22, and intends to introduce its customers to an era of elegance reminiscent of "black-and-white" New York's American-French steakhouse atmospheres.
With red leather sofas, dark wood, shiny crystal chandeliers, and jazz music backdrop, this new steakhouse promises to bring warmth and luxury to Kifissia's heart. The group's head chef, Dimitris Stamoudis, will offer a menu focusing on simple but elegant flavors (from classic burgers to shrimp cocktail), accompanied by an impressive portfolio of iconic cocktails and a strengthened cellar with about 100 wine labels from around the world.
Address: Pentelis 1, Kifissia. Tel: 210 7548348, Instagram: ricks_athens
Common Questions
Where do Athenians actually eat?
Not where you think. The best spots are in Koukaki, Kypseli, and Exarchia — neighborhoods with no famous landmarks, just honest tavernas where the owner's mother is probably still in the kitchen. Stay away from anything with photos on the menu within 300 meters of the Acropolis.
Should I book a food tour in Athens?
If it's your first time, yes — and not just any tour. I run a private food walk that covers Monastiraki, the Central Market, and Psyrri with 10+ tastings. But even if you don't do mine, do one. Athens food culture is layered and a good guide saves you days of figuring it out alone. See my best Athens food tours comparison.
