Restaurants

If you are in Athens during warm weather -- and you more than likely will be -- you will quickly discover that to the Athenians (as to most Greeks) dining outdoors is just as important as the meal itself. As with the rest of the rebirth that the ancient city is experiencing culinary offerings are undergoing a renaissance. Traditional Greek cuisine is undergoing its own reinvention in the hands of new chefs (most of them trained abroad) while classic foreign cuisines are also becoming well represented. Three new restaurants have been awarded the prestigious Michelin star. However, those seeking authentic Greek cuisine have no reason to worry: In spite of the booming restaurant industry's recent love affair with the new and trendy, traditional tavernas have not gone out of style, and indeed have been cropping up all over the place (with the excellent Mamakas restaurant in Gazi being the trailblazer when it first opened its doors in 1998). These tavernas put an edgier spin on their predecessors with lighter fare, catering to a mostly younger clientele, and pay more attention to pleasing the city's increasingly refined palates. Even though it is impossible to cover the entire city's offerings in such limited space, I have tried to highlight the best and most exciting restaurants, from the traditional tavernas and mezodopoleia or ouzeri, where you can enjoy many small dishes, to new tavernas, fusion restaurants, and more.

Be aware though that dining in Athens (like in any other European capital) will rarely come cheap at the quality restaurants. If you wish to dine with the locals, keep in mind that Athenians do not dine before 10pm, so plan accordingly. Your tip should be 10% to 15% on top of the bill (check first if it is included or not in the bill). Menus can be found in both Greek and English (if not, the waiter will help you with suggestions.) Since 2002 restaurants are required by law to offer nonsmoking seating. You may or may not find this law enforced.

Dining Out -- Because many of the city's finest nightlife options are found in bar-restaurants these days. At these places you can enjoy a lively scene and great music with a small meal or well-prepared finger food.

A Note on Credit Cards -- Much has changed in Athens but one thing remains the same: Many Athenian restaurants still do not accept credit cards, especially tavernas and "lower brow" places. Consider yourself warned.

The Plaka

Some of the most charming old restaurants in Athens are in the Plaka -- as are some of the worst tourist traps. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you head off for a meal in the Plaka.

Some Plaka restaurants station waiters outside who don't just urge you to come in and sit down, but who pursue you with an unrelenting sales pitch. The hard sell is almost always a giveaway that the place caters to tourists. (That said, remember that announcements of what's for sale are not invariably ploys reserved for tourists. If you visit the Central Market, you'll see and hear stall owners calling out the attractions of their meat, fish, and produce to passersby -- even waving particularly tempting fish and fowl in front of potential customers.)

In general, it's a good idea to avoid places with floor shows; many charge outrageous amounts (and levy surcharges not always openly stated on menus) for drinks and food. If you get burned, stand your ground, phone the tourist police (tel. 171), and pay nothing before they arrive. Often the mere threat of calling the tourist police has the miraculous effect of causing a bill to be lowered.

Quick Bites in Syntagma

In general, Syntagma Square is not known for good food, but the area has a number of places to get a snack. Apollonion Bakery, 10 Nikis, and Elleniki Gonia, 10 Karayioryi Servias, make sandwiches to order and sell croissants, both stuffed and plain. Ariston is a small chain of zaharoplastia (confectioners) with a branch at the corner of Karayioryi Servias and Voulis (just off Syntagma Sq.); it sells snacks as well as pastries.

For the quintessentially Greek loukoumades (round doughnut center-like pastries that are deep-fried, then drenched with honey and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon), try Doris, 30 Praxitelous, a continuation of Lekka, a few blocks from Syntagma Square. If you're still hungry, Doris serves hearty stews and pasta dishes for absurdly low prices Monday through Saturday until 3:30pm. If you're nearer Omonia Square when you feel the need for loukoumades or a soothing dish of rice pudding, try Aigina, 46 Panepistimiou.

Everest is another chain worth trying; there's one a block north of Kolonaki Square at Tsakalof and Iraklitou. Also in Kolonaki Square, To Kotopolo serves succulent grilled chicken to take out or eat in. In the Plaka, K. Kotsolis Pastry Shop, 112 Adrianou, serves excellent coffee and sweets; it's an oasis of old-fashioned charm in the midst of souvenir shops. Oraia Ellada (Beautiful Greece) a cafe at the Center of Hellenic Tradition, opens onto both 36 Pandrossou and 59 Mitropoleos near the flea market and has a spectacular view of the Acropolis. You can revive yourself here with a cappuccino and pastries.

The Best-Kept Secret in Athens

In an obscure location and difficult to find, the taverna I'm about to mention is so off the beaten path it doesn't even have a name, but its prices are so low and its food so exceptional that it is truly Athens's best-kept secret.

When my grandfather was still alive he would often muse about the old days, about how much smaller and friendlier Athens used to be, about how in its zeal to become a modern European capital it had lost its unique flavor. When he told me about this little taverna in Gazi, it must have been 1985 or 1986, only a couple of years after the toxic spewing gasworks had been shut down, turning Gazi and its surrounding areas of hat and silk factories into an urban wasteland. He and his friends would go there during the war for shelter, warm meals, and barrel wine. This was during the beginning of the Nazi occupation and before the famine, though even the Nazis couldn't find it on their nightly patrols despite the many nights with live music. He never went searching for the taverna after the war. I think he doubted it would still be there, so imagine my surprise a few months ago when I came across a site online where people were talking about an obscure little taverna that was hard to find, with no name, close to the popular Mamakas restaurant and the Benaki Annex building on Pireos Avenue in Gazi.

Intrigued, I went searching for it myself. The area is a ghost town during the day (but for how long is anyone's guess given how popular the area is becoming and the Metro stop Kerameikos just a couple of blocks away). Eventually, I finally arrived, finding a taverna specializing in Byzantine cuisine that opens only for dinner. There is no name, no telephone number, no reservations, and credit cards are not accepted. But what you will find is one of the most delicious meals you have ever had. I had a slow-roasted lamb on parchment and politiki salata (Constantinople Salad) that floored me. The following night I brought my mother for dinner and for drinks afterward at Mamakas. We paid far more for four drinks than we did for two meals, four appetizers, two salads, and four glasses of wine.

So how do you get there? Begin at Mamakas restaurant on Persephone's Street. Walk down a couple of blocks until you reach the block before the train tracks. Turn left on Dekeleon Street and follow it a couple of blocks to a little triangular square. At the corner (the street is still Dekeleon) is a Turkish cafe. Descend the stairs below the cafe and you'll found this little treasure.