Syntagma & Plaka
Look for the red neon in the hallway of this discreet bar that fills your coffee and creative cocktail needs. Founded by three award-winning bartenders,…
Must-see nightlife in Athens
Athens
Look for the entrance to this rooftop bar down a narrow pedestrian lane, then inside the arcade. From there, an elevator goes to the 3rd floor and its…
Athens
Based in the former offices of famous, but now defunct, magazine Romantso, this diamond of a creative hub has multiple facets. It's an all-day cafe-bar,…
Athens
This lovely bar-restaurant is one of the reasons Petralona is considered a just-the-right-amount-of-cool neighbourhood. It has numerous rooms filled with…
Athens
Nominally, this place sells coffee and cake. But it's really about its dazzling decor, which conjures up childhood fantasies. Precisely which one depends…
Athens
One of the best of Athens' breed of maximalist-designed cafe-bars, Noel's slogan is 'where it's always Christmas' – meaning the candlelit cocktail-party…
Syntagma & Plaka
Once upon a time (1972 to be exact), this was a modern bar – the sort with an actual European-style bar. Now it's a worn-at-the-edges but atmospheric time…
Gazi, Keramikos & Metaxourgio
Occupying a Bauhaus apartment building, this multilevel warren has a great rooftop bar, restaurant, basement club and tiny art-house cinema. Expect live…
Athens
The core of this super-creative events space is a rustic, multilevel back garden, a great place for quiet daytime chats over coffee or a relaxed drink…
Syntagma & Plaka
Plaka is short on bars in general, but Brettos, both a bar and a distillery, makes up for it. More than a century old, its walls glow with stacks of…
Athens
Exceptionally good music – obscure funk and soul that makes you feel like you're living a Quentin Tarantino movie – plays at this little bar on a…
Syntagma & Plaka
If you think Greek beer begins and ends with Alfa, head here to learn more. The big open-front bar stocks the products of many Greek microbreweries, as…
Athens
This lovely old-style coffee house is a perfect place to take a break from shopping on the Monastiraki strip. Head upstairs for a seat on an open balcony…
Gazi, Keramikos & Metaxourgio
If you ever thought the problem with skateboarding was that there was nowhere to drink a coffee while you did it, Latraac have solved this for you. A…
Acropolis Area
A coffee to speed your step up to the Acropolis in the morning, or an Aperol spritz or glass of wine to soothe you into the evening on the way down – that…
Athens
When people talk about the cool-but-mellow scene in Pangrati, they're probably thinking of this busy cafe-bar on Plateia Plastira. By day it's about…
Athens
This urban bar with an exotic feel is hidden in a backstreet of the laid-back Exarhia neighbourhood. Loved by a younger crowd and students, it's one of…
Athens
Far from underdogs, the championship-winning baristas here really know how to make a decent cup of coffee. This speciality coffee roaster and cafe-bar…
Syntagma & Plaka
It's worth coming here for a coffee (from €4) or cocktail (€13) just to lounge in the sumptuous interior of this famous cafe, all velvet and brass and…
Syntagma & Plaka
Something of an oasis of Gallic calm in the midst of touristy Plaka, L'Audrion is a classy French wine bar and restaurant that sports more than 100…
Athens
This chic cafe-bar with double-height ceilings is as fine a spot for a seriously good coffee (they roast their own beans on the premises daily) as it is…
Acropolis Area
Occupying the triangular corner of a former car workshop, this is the go-to hang-out of Koukaki's hipsters. It's a buzzy, casual scene that works equally…
Syntagma & Plaka
As the name implies, the focus here is on rum drinks, with an excellent selection of rarer Caribbean rums and a whole range of cocktails, from classic…
Athens
Just what you expect in an Exarhia bar: literary leanings, retro music, a bit of food and customers who treat it like their lifelong haunt, even though it…
Syntagma & Plaka
This great little place caters to the slightly more mature bar-crawler, with pinball, David Bowie and old soul on the sound system, and better-than…
Acropolis Area
This friendly social hub is much beloved by neighbourhood residents, who go for books (they stock a small selection of translated Greek authors here), but…
Acropolis Area
Forget your typical image of a wine bar: Materia Prima is all light and air and blonde wood, with an admirable dedication to artisan winemaking in Greece…
Gazi, Keramikos & Metaxourgio
Lashes of hanging greenery and a laid-back vibe, both inside and outside, make the Blue Parrot one of the area's most pleasant spots to hang out over a…
Syntagma & Plaka
A tribute to the great Mercouri, this cafe-bar is decorated with images of the actress and politician who lobbied for the repatriation of the missing…
Syntagma & Plaka
Man Ray's muse, Kiki de Montparnasse, declared that in hard times, all she needed was bread, an onion and a bottle of red wine. This pedestrian-street bar…
Acropolis Area
Images from Alfred Hitchcock movies are spray-painted on the wall in front of this bar on a quiet street with pillows out front for lounging. The…
Athens
Set in a 19th-century neoclassical building, Poems & Crimes is the local writers' and book lovers' haunt. The quiet bookshop is also the office for a…
Syntagma & Plaka
Just what the name promises: there's an impressive 180 gins (but only one produced in Greece) as well as other fancy beverages to sample, some with…
Athens
This corner cafe-bar is a delightful slice of local Athens life, where friends chat quietly beneath an ivy bower over the footpath. Extra-friendly staff,…
Athens
Expanded in 2019, Handlebar is the place to have a coffee or a craft beer, perhaps while getting a bicycle repaired at the neighbouring shop. Even without…
Athens
This tiny cafe has made a name for itself for its hot chocolate and handmade truffles, displayed like gems in a glass case. It's a tiny, cosy place for…
Syntagma & Plaka
This relaxed wine bar, all mismatched vintage furniture, showcases the best of Greek vintages, paired with Greek cheeses and cold cuts. It periodically…
Athens
A good cool-weather destination, this cosy bar glows with candles and vintage brass instruments, and stays warm with the sounds of New Orleans bebop and…
Acropolis Area
Kitschy bachelor-pad decor, an Asian-inspired menu and an alternative young crowd make this two-storey spot a fun place for a drink. There's usually live…
Syntagma & Plaka
This casual bar-cafe hides at the end of the narrow Praxitelous arcade. It's a great place to chill out, particularly during the day. By night DJs play…
