In need of a caffeine fix before attempting to climb the Acropolis? We’ve picked out the best coffee shops and cafés in Athens to visit
31 January, 2023
How
do you take your coffee: sketo, metrio or glykos? Mornings
in Athens – as across Greece – see Athenians all over the city
fuelling up with a caffeine fix. Traditional Greek coffee – thick, dark and bitter, and served with
no sugar, one sugar, or two – remains the cornerstone of a morning
pick-me-up, although third-wave café culture has taken root in
Athens, too. Today, most Athenians have
switched their sketo kafés for lattes.
If you’re hankering for the real stuff, a trip to an
inconspicuous mom-and-pop kafenia (coffeehouse) tucked into a shady
plateia (city square) will have you slurping cups with sun-worn
octogenarians. Otherwise, a slew of third-wave coffee shops and
cafés across the city will keep you caffeinated on strolls between
the Parthenon and the Panathenaic Stadium. Here’s seven we
rate.
Philos in Kolonaki plates up veg-dishes alongside
coffees.
This shabby chic (or “elegantly wasted” as the team behind it so
eloquently suggests) Kolonaki townhouse is a popular lunch spot for
well-heeled residents of the upscale neighbourhood. The two-story
concept store, café and restaurant offers a curated selection of
soft cotton t-shirts, well-crafted leather bags, distinctive
teapots and pleasingly chubby Japanese pens to peruse. Make a guess
at what the parameters of the loosely-followed, but pleasing, edit
might be – well-made objects of us, perhaps? – then head downstairs
for egg-based breakfast plates and well-frothed cappuccinos. From
here, it’s only a quick walk to the city’s green oases, the
National Gardens and Lycabettus Hill.
Athens’ vegan and veggie community have found a home at this
cheerful café sat on the edge of the Monastiraki and Psyri
neighbourhoods. Anäna has an almost cult-like following, with
regulars often sporting café merch such as totes and t-shirts as
they nab tables in the curved courtyard, or at inviting indoor
tables. Single origin bean roasts are used in all coffees, while on
a menu of (mostly) plant-based plates, highlights include lemon
rolls, coconut yoghurt bowls, and towering toppings of various
veggie combinations on toast. Oat and almond milks are available,
naturally.
A barista at Samba Coffee Roasters in Kolonaki.
Sure, you can stick to a one-a-day rule when it comes to coffee,
but it’s far more fun to join the Athenians and mainline as much as
you can. Once you’ve finished a cup at Philos, take a short stroll
down Solonos street to this stylish roastery. Enjoy a cup in the
breezy, rattan-lined upstairs mezzanine or grab a seat at the
wooden stools beside the streetside hatch, from which you can order
a freddo espresso and chat with the knowledgeable baristas. The
menu includes pour-over, filter and espresso, with plant-based
alternatives for non-dairy drinkers. Don’t miss a slice of the
basque cheesecake, it’s seriously good.
This breezy backyard of a dilapidated Athenian house on Avdi
Square, in the artistic Metaxourgeio neighbourhood, serves as a
town square for the area’s recent influx of bright young things.
Saorsa offers an all-day menu and, while the food is good – dishes
include banoffee-topped pancakes, bruschetta and locally-loved
loukoumas, or Greek doughnuts available morning, noon and night –
it’s the drinks that draw in the crowds. Highlights of an extensive
selection include herbal mountain teas, various vivid smoothies,
and a cocktail and coffee selection longer than the steps leading
up to the Acropolis. Keep it simple with a nostalgic Greek
favourite: the retro Nescafé Frappé iced coffee.
Streetside dining at Naif in the Neos Kosmos
neighbourhood.
Enroute to the contemporary arts and culture centre, Onassis
Stegi, stop by colourful coffeeshop Naif. Founded by Athens
bartender Petros Zisou, who also runs moody cocktail bar
Grasshoppers, Naif is located in the up-and-coming Neos Kosmos
neighbourhood. Open all day, it serves great coffee, breakfast at
any hour and, in the evening, a selection of wines, cocktails,
beers, pasta and pizza. Join pre-work regulars (and their dogs) at
the yolk-yellow counter at 7:30am to order the Naif holy trinity –
baked eggs, fresh fruit juice and an iced cold brew.
This glass-fronted café a few blocks from Omonia metro station
might look inconspicuous but is one of the city’s most respected
coffeehouses, credited with starting the modern city’s coffee
craze. Beans sustainably sourced from small-scale growers are used
to produce single-origin roasts by the company, which are then
whipped up into intensely favoured, award-winning coffées. Order an
espresso to go, or a cold brew served in a vintage swing-top glass
bottle.
The coffee kisok at the Garden Shed Cafe, left, and a look
inside Anäna.
Open only during Athens’ balmy summer months (and not on
Mondays), this espresso-sized coffee kiosk sits beneath a blousy
Jacaranda tree in the vibey neighbourhood of Kerameikos, known for
its counterculture scene. Follow directions to Latraac Skatebowl to
find it, as the café is right next to the skate park’s plywood
curves. The space, designed by local architect Zachos Varfis, was
created as a social project during the financial crisis, with the
goal of revitalising a derelict 19th-century courtyard and
providing a free skate space for young Athenians. Visit in the
evening, as is the Greek style, to savour a strong coffee while
watching skaters practise their grabs. You may even catch a glimpse
of the city’s girl-power roller skaters shredding on the
slopes.
