National Geographic Traveller (UK)
TOP 8 Culinary hotspots
THE BLACK SALAMI
BEST FOR: BREAKFAST ON BREAD
These punk bakers in edgy Exarcheia combine ingredients from small Greek producers with flour from a family of millers in Turin, Italy. Its team, comprising DJs, art curators and even bodyguards who all switched to baking in the pandemic, are enlivening Greece’s breadmaking culture. Unlike other Greek bakeries, it uses wild yeast and a long fermentation process. “Three days goes into the making of every sandwich,” says the owner, Antonis Kazakos. Try the poached eggs on the extraspecial sourdough. theblacksalami.com
LUKUMADES
BEST FOR: SOMETHING SWEET
The victors of the first recorded Olympic Games, in 776 BC, were given charisi-i plaki (honey tokens) in honour of the baker who won the maiden race. Today, these treats are known as lukumádes (sweet dough balls), one of the world’s oldest dessert recipes. They’re typically served by Greek grandmothers at family gatherings on Sundays, but have been reinvented in this hip, neon-lit spot near barlined Agias Eirinis square. lukumades.com
LINOU SOUMPASIS BEST FOR: SIMPLE CHIC
This neo-taverna in bohemian Psyrri was launched in early 2022 by friends George Soumpasis, the fashion designer behind the ME THEN label, chef Lukas Mailer and Myrsini Linou of artsy cocktail bar and cultural space Ypsilon in Thessaloniki. The team spend its time sourcing ingredients from tiny producers, and everything is made from scratch, from pickled veggies to kefir-spiked meatballs, all showcased in a minimalist white-walled taverna, stripped of all kitsch. instagram.com/lsandsia
MALOTIRA
BEST FOR: FOOD SHOPPING
This dinky deli in Plaka — Athens’ oldest inhabited neighbourhood — delights in offering tastings of Greece’s national obsession: olive oil. “Our grandmothers used to chase us with a spoon of olive oil, because they said it was like medicine,” say owners Erika Chaidemenaki and Maria Zaka. You can also try matured graviera cheese, slices of apaki (smoked pork), splodges of olive tapenade and slugs of tsipouro liqueur. malotira.gr
STOA FIX AT MOSAIKON BEST FOR: SUNDOWNERS
Don’t even think about going out for dinner early in Athens. But when it comes to drinks with a view of the Acropolis, step right this way… This contemporary rooftop bar and restaurant on the top of the boutique Mosaikon hostel blends cutting-edge cocktails — artfully iced negronis and margaritas with salted sumac rims — with showstopping views of the city’s hilltop monument, bathed in the fading light. mosaikon.gr
ESTIATORIO MILOS
BEST FOR: A RESTAURANT WITH ROOMS
Book ahead for a stay at Xenodocheio Milos, the first hotel from the team behind celebrated Greek restaurant Estiatorio Milos. Chef
Costas Spiliadis opened his maiden dining destination in Montreal in 1979, and now has starry outposts in New York, London, Miami and elsewhere. This new downtown hotel and restaurant, opposite the Old Parliament, offers Mediterranean fine dining in a modern, minimalist setting, allowing seasonal produce from fishermen and farmers to steal the limelight. xenodocheiomilos.com
THE CLUMSIES
BEST FOR: AWARD-WINNING COCKTAILS
You can grab coffee from 10am at all-day destination The Clumsies, tucked away on a downtown street. But it’s at night that the fourth best bar in the world really comes to life. This late-night spot first united Vasilis Kyritsis and Nikos Bakoulis, now working together at Line. But this is the original venue — and it’s one to set your sights on for vintage spirits and original cocktails that have made their way around the world into mini-bars and mixologist’s lists. theclumsies.gr
OUZERI TOU LAKI BEST FOR: MEZZE
Like most of Athens’ best seafood restaurants, this one is nowhere near the water (it’s a short walk from the National Archaeological Museum). No matter: the mezze here is packed with the freshest catch, as well as smoked fish. Soak up the sun in this cheery taverna setting, all Aegean white and blue, and try such dishes as potato salad with sardines, steamed ray with pink peppercorns, and black cuttlefish pasta. It’s all best paired with ouzo or tsipouro (a grappa-like spirit). ouzeritoulaki.info