Even with missteps, I don’t think I would change much about our food journey in Athens. I came at the place with my mouth open and was more than happy with what fell inside. So, let me start from the beginning on my quest to find the best Greek food in Athens.

First Night: Atlantikos Athens

Stepping out of the Athens Luxury Suites after British Airways tried to starve us, we were famished. To be fair, I wouldn’t have eaten the plane food anyway, but the airline couldn’t spare a bag of peanuts. We wanted seafood, so we stumbled our way to Atlantikos. To call this place a hole in the wall would be unfair. It was like I crawled into a hole and found a wall with another hole in it. The menu was also unimpressive, with no calamari or octopus to be found.

What looked like a miss, turned out to be a hit and one of the best Athens Greek restaurants. Atlantikos packed a lot of punch for a little place with tables tossed along an alley. We order so much food the owner/waitress warned us to stop. I don’t know who this lady thinks she is, but she didn’t who we were! Our first course was, a classic, the Greek salad. This would be one of probably 100 Greek salads I had on this trip, but also one of the best. We followed this up with sardines, fava beans, tuna, and a trio of fried fish. All of this topped off with two liters of wine.

The sardines were excellent, the tuna fresh (but with too many bones for our taste), I even loved the fried mixture. Usually I don’t like fried food, but they didn’t overdo the breading and kill the taste. Atlantikos is a great laid-back restaurant for seafood lovers. I am not sure if it was extreme hunger or the food was really that good, but I remember Atlantikos as so exceptional..we had to go back.

After exploring a bit, we did hit a (very) late night tourist trap. It was unfortunately the only thing open. I won’t go into detail, but I will say if a guy is trying to drag you in, it’s not worth it. The majority of Greek food was excellent. This restaurant was like most things indulged in after too much wine, at too late of an hour, regretted in the morning..

Athens Greek Food: Day One (full day)

Waking up, invigorated, preparing to shovel things in my mouth, we were on our way. Knowing there is a major food market, we made a B-line for the area. The Central Market is more like a slaughter house, with enough fresh meat to make the strongest PETA member implode. This market doesn’t hold back on showing you were meat really comes from.  Hint, it is not neatly packaged with a smiling cow on the package. Sea creatures didn’t fare much better, with every edible thing in the sea was brought in that morning.

Varvakeios

This brings me to my first restaurant, the only one I saw in the market. Varvakeios made Atlantikos look like Ruth Chris. Tiny, with a bunch of overweight Greek men blowing smoke everywhere…a perfect lunch spot. We asked for shrimp and grilled calamari, again no calamari. We were resigned to our fate when something strange/wonderful happened. The owner walked around the corner holding a squid and said, “I’ll grill for you”. It doesn’t get too much fresher than that (or we thought). The shrimp were also freshly caught, and had to be brought to the table with a crane they were so big. A great way to start the day, but we wanted octopus, so after eating here we did what any normal person would do, had another meal.

Taverna Aris

It is time for our traditional second lunch, because anything worth doing is worth doing twice. Taverna Aris was probably the best of all the Athens Greek restaurants we visited. We hit this place twice in two days, and hit it hard. The meal started with, of course, a Greek salad and continued from there.

Next, we went after a second calamari. It was just as good as the first and perfect for those who enjoy a good sea monster. We order some octopus and sausage both excellent, although as shown in the picture the octopus served non-traditionally. I prefer my octopus to look like something out of a Japanese tentacle cartoon, but this one was chopped up. Still it tasted great, and we had enough eye candy with the calamari. Taverna Aris was for me the best, casual dining experience in Athens Greece, although I probably can say that about several places. I know this, Greek food was rapidly climbing the ladder of my favorite cuisines.

To Paradosiako (Evgenia)

Yadda Yadda Yadda, walking around, yadda yadda Roman Ancient Agora of Athens, OK it’s time to eat. It’s been about four hours since second lunch, and man can’t live on beer and wine alone. All that exploring (and drinking) got us hungry so we settled down to a place that was right near the Athens Status Suites, Paradosiako. Starting with a Greek salad (just assume I always ate a Greek salad) the restaurant itself wasn’t memorable with one exception. I order the Greek dish moussaka, a dish dubbed Greek lasagna.

Now by looking at the picture you can see this clearly looks like lasagna. Tasting this and being of Italian decent I can say this is nowhere near a lasagna. Somehow, they warped layers, beef, and tomato sauce into something else. The layers are eggplant and covered with a strange egg/cream/nutmeg sauce. This is not a light dish. I am not saying I hated it, I might even try it again. It is just not my favorite Greek food, nor was Paradosiako one of my favorite Athens Greek restaurants. Lucky for me second dinner was on its way…

Vintage Wine bar & Bistro

Well second dinner came after a quick balaclava at a place that slips my memory. I also accidentally threw a Gyro down my gullet at Tylixto Greek Wrap. It may have been a souvlaki, I use the two interchangeable even though there is a difference. Either case I had enough to drink at this point where it was much appreciated.

My wife on the other hand wanted something a bit more refined, and had a craving for some lamb. We made our way to Vintage Wine bar & Bistro. This was one of the best Athens Greek restaurants (noticing a theme), totally different from the others. The first striking difference was the price. My arms shrunk a bit when reaching for my wallet at the end of the meal. Having said this, we had a great charcuterie (deer) plate paired with some amazing wine. The real star of the meal was lamb that was so juicy you would think it was picked off a tree. The picture makes my mouth water, although it doesn’t do the dish justice. We ended the night with a brandy and excitement for the Greek food to come in the morning.

Editors note: I accidental mixed up Cinque Wine & Deli Bar and Vintage Wine bar & Bistro. Thanks to the comment below for correcting me! The restaurant was indeed Vintage Wine bar & Bistro

Eating in Greece: Day Two

We woke up hungry and ready to eat, so eat we did. To begin with, like we do in every country, we grabbed so fresh orange juice. This always poses the question: Why is OJ so terrible in America? I won’t spend too much time pondering this. For our first meal we mimicked our eating from the previous day. Once again hitting Tavern Aris and basically getting the same meal. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, so we didn’t, well at least not at first.

O Kostas

You know that feeling when you know you haven’t eaten enough lamb in sandwich form? Well I did, so it was time to find what some consider the best Gyro in Athens. O Kostas was mentioned many times in various food blogs and was 5 minutes from our hotel, a match made in heaven.

It was quiet when we got there, only one other couple in front of us. O Kostas was another small establishment, making me believe that the less square footage the better the food. The place may also have been the cleanest establishment in Greece. The owner went so far as to handle all money with tongs so as not to touch it, while preparing food.

As for the food, how can I describe a perfect Gyro? The vegetables were fresh, the meat cooked and seasoned ideally. It made me realize Gyros are like pizza, most are all at least good, but when you get a great one you know. O Kostas made a great one. The only problem was I had to eat it on the street, and it made juggling my beer a bit difficult…

Daphnes Restaurant

Fast forward a bit, we were ready for dinner. At this point we threw caution (and our research) to the wind and hit a number of restaurants in a row. I started with something sweet, getting a Galaktoboureko, a dessert I loved in New York. The one I had here was disappointing, not bad, just, not great. 

After trying three or four places, we ducked into one last spot. Daphnes Restaurant had all the makings of a tourist trap, yet we still went in. This was lucky, the restaurant turned out to be one of the best Athens Greek restaurants of the day. It was not a hole in the wall, but still great.

I ordered the rabbit (seen atop this page), I am not sure if it was the satisfaction of eating what some consider a pet or if it was the sauce. The dish was so good I was sucking the meat off the bones. My wife ordered the lamb and it was equally delicious. It was nice to devour some animals that walked rather than swam. An added bonus is that the restaurant is located across the street from The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, visited frequently by Lord Byron (Google him/educate yourselves…!) and thus, the quintessential romantic dinner and a view are in place …

Wrapping up our Athens Greek food Tour

I think we did some damage for two days. Of course, the damage was to our hearts and waist lines, but it was worth every bite. For the moment it was time to say goodbye to our Athens Greek restaurants; the next morning early we jumped on a plane to Santorini. You would think both places had Greek food, so it is all the same. Yes, there were some similarities, but there was a different feel to the food on the island. We stepped off the plane, dropped our bags off at the Athina Luxury Resort and were on our way to satiate our hunger….

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The hotel offered us a nice environment, close to a fresh market, friendly staff, and a great price. All of this within walking distance of the Acropolis, a highlight amongst attractions in Athens. Once again, I used TripAdvisor for my initial research into the hotel. If most people are giving it a good review I will do more digging.  I travel a lot, so I have learned that not every highly ranked place has what I am looking for, as far as amenities. Using the link below you can read what others said and check out prices.

Click Here for Reviews of the Athens Status Suites

The Good About Athens Status Suites: A Plaka Athens Hotel

The Athens Status Suites is situated in a great location. Plaka Athens hotels are probably the most convenient in terms of getting around, and I recommend this area to any first-time visitor. The Athens Status Suites was no exception. Everyone seems to know this, with exception of the Taxi drivers we encountered, but I digress. Wandering the streets is one of my favorite parts of any trip. The hotel made it incredibly easy to step outside your door and be in the middle of the action. Yes, there may be a couple of tourist traps near the Athens Status Suites, but that is to be expected. Anytime you are near popular attractions, restaurants with tourist menus pop up around them…

The hotel is right next door to a beautiful church, marked by Templars, and literally minutes away from many smaller attractions. As mentioned, the area is also packed with bars and restaurants. Athens, the city, closes a bit early for me, but the restaurants around the Athens Status Suites were open later than most.

Of course, some people complained about the hotel being too close to the church (due to the bells) and the bars. The claim was that the noise from both kept them up at all hours… This is the same type of person who would complain about winning the lotto on Christmas. I barely heard the noise, if I wanted to be in a quiet neighborhood I would have rented an air B&B in Shady Pines. As for the church, the bells ring…like a church bell does, but I am certainly not complaining about it…

Larger Sites

The hotel isn’t only in walking distance from smaller attractions, but all the major ones as well. It is about a 30-40-minute hike to the Acropolis. Of course, it is uphill, but coming back is easier. You also need to consider you will only need to make this trip once, because one time to the crowded Acropolis is all anyone can handle.  The Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Agora are about a 10-minute stroll. This may be the best thing about the Athens Status Suites, you can get to most of the best sites by foot and have plenty of time for the Central Market.

The Good About the Athens Status Suites: The Service

We stayed in this hotel on two separate occasions and both times the service was excellent. I am not sure if all Plaka Athens hotels share this quality, but this hotel really surprised me. This is one of the benefits of staying at a smaller boutique hotel, it seems the people know everyone, and they treat you accordingly. On our first three nights we were upgraded to a suite, always a nice touch. Whenever I get something for free, I am in a good mood. As we checked out the first time, knowing we would be back, they kept one of our bags for us. That made our trip to Santorini a hell of a lot easier.

It was the little things that I liked: the flowers and welcome note on both of our stays.  The fact that they were extremely helpful in finding a place to eat, or simply helping us with our Greek. It is funny how easy I am to please…and how difficult it seems to be for most hotels. The friendliness must be a Greek thing, because the Athina Luxury Suites in Santorini is another one of the few  hotels I found with this kind of service.

The Value

There isn’t much to say about the value of this hotel except that it was cheap enough to put a smile on my face. For the location, room quality and service we still paid less than $100 a night. I have boarded dogs and paid more than this. The place was a steal, if you paid this in a city like New York you would expect to have to share your room with a felon.. Instead I had a great room and an excellent location for Motel 6 prices. You can check out prices below.

Click here for the most recent prices

The Good About the Athens Status Suites: The Room

Ok, first let me put it out there, the room is kind of strange, but in a good way. We stayed in two rooms, one being the suite, the other being a standard room. Both were much larger than typical European rooms. It felt like I could play football in the suite. Even the standard room was more than adequate. The rooms were clean, and the bed was comfortable. The only strange thing about them were the décor. Everything in both of our rooms was all white, it took a second to get used to, but I liked it..

One final thing I liked about the room was the bathroom was much more private than I usually get in Europe….

The Weird About the Athens Status Suites: The Hotel

Yes, I liked this hotel and yes it has some great amenities. The bar upstairs had an amazing view of the Acropolis, but the hotel itself is kind of odd. First, as seen above, the entrance is so little it was hard to find. I felt like I was trying to get into Hogwarts whenever I was returning from the day. The elevator was so small I usually just took the stairs; it felt like a place they sent you to if you were bad in solitary confinement. When more than one person entered the space, I got nervous.

Ok, there was also no pool, and I don’t think there was a workout room, and there also wasn’t much in addition to the rooftop bar. The rooms were funky, and while I liked them, some might not. The hotel is kind of strange, but not nearly enough to stop me from going again.

Where to Stay in Athens?

You want to stay close the action. You will want to have a comfortable room at a great price (i.e., stay away from the sketchy places.. even if they are cheaper). Lastly, you will also want great service. The Athens Status Suites covers these things and more. Yes, I have had nicer hotels, the Athina Luxury Resort in Santorini comes to mind. I also paid much more for them. In terms of cost to quality, this hotel is at the top of my list in places I have stayed.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor

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Greece is an amazing place and surprised me on many levels. I didn’t realize just how much I would love the country.  Yes, as usual, I ate my way through it, leaving octopus fleeing for their lives. In many Greek restaurants in Athens there were warning posters of me.  I ate a ton of food in Athens, Greece, but the country has a lot more to offer than just great food. So, is Athens worth Visiting? Even if the islands are your final destination, Athens is worth visiting because of the history, food and people. I get more into that below.

Athens was interesting, intriguing and often awe-inspiring, as it seemed to encompass a lot of the best and worst aspects of many other cities. It felt foreign, yet comfortable and familiar.  I tried to see as much as I could in the first four days I was there (and the last night).  Strapping on my cargo shorts and fanny pack I walked around like a tourist (actually I wore neither of these things). I wanted to hit as much of the city on foot as possible to get a feel for it. First things first…I had to eat.

The Good About Athens, Greece: The Food

There is only one (hyphenated) word I would use to describe the food in Athens, that is mother !#@!@ delicious.  The other word I would use is “fresh.” The fish were so newly caught their families didn’t even know they were missing yet. We only ate at Greek Restaurants in Athens, Greece…you don’t go to the beach to snowboard. Therefore, we weren’t going to any Italian, English or American establishments in Greece. Once again, I am going to whip out my soap box: who are these people eating pizza or McDonald in Greece. I guess if you have eaten so much calamari that you’re growing a tentacle you might need to deviate, but not me.

The realization of how fresh the food was started with the first meal at the restaurant Atlantikos in Athens. After being starved and deprived of water by British Airways we arrived at this literal hole in the wall, tucked away in an alley. The small menu had almost nothing on it but seafood. We were warned that the liter of wine and numerous requests might be too much. The owner didn’t know how hungry we were for real seafood. Everything we ate was amazing. I particularly enjoyed the sardines, something we just can’t seem to get right here in the United States.

The Food is Fresh

The freshness of the food made it a pleasure to eat daily. I hit all the obvious things, starting with a Greek salad (news flash: it does not contain lettuce) at every meal, lamb and tons of seafood.  I also had rabbit, trout and as many other species as I could get into my mouth.

Athens Central Meat and Fish Market encompassed all the best qualities of the food. With meat and fish being peddled by what seemed like hundreds of vendors. It was clear from the look and taste that these creatures were gleefully living hours earlier. I had shrimp that followed the correct path, from the sea to the market, to the grill, to my mouth in the time span of a few hours.

The Good about Athens, Greece: The People

The people of Greece, for the most part, were some of the nicest, most helpful people I have encountered in the world. It was like I received all the smiles of those in Istanbul, without ending up in a lamp shop. In Athens, Greece we stayed at the Athens Status Suites, where Ellenia who worked the front desk was wonderful and incredibly accommodating, offering advice, anecdotes, flowers in the room and a warm welcome at every encounter.

When we switched locations staying at the Athina Luxury Suites in Santorini; the hotel manager Sara was also amazing, as was the rest of the staff. I am from New York, when I go back to stay at hotels there, I feel blessed that the staff didn’t spit on me.

Restaurants were also more than accommodating. We visited one (the only one I saw) inside the fish market, to our disappointment he didn’t have fresh calamari on the menu. Instead of just being happy we ordered, he literally disappeared to the market and brought back a squid the size of a cat that he was happy to grill for us. That kind of service was shown throughout Greece. Athens, Greece (along with the rest of the country) is possibly the most welcoming area I have ever traveled. The people alone answer the question is Athens worth visiting.

The Questionable about Athens, Greece: The History

Athens is one of those places where you have to be careful if you’re putting in a swimming pool, because you may unearth some 3000-year-old temple. History everywhere and it goes much deeper than just the Acropolis. The Roman Agora, the Ancient Agora, Hadrian’s Arch, hell just ruins scattered throughout the city are something to marvel. The only city I have seen with more history pouring into the streets is Rome. Even that doesn’t have sites that are as old as the ones in Athens, Greece. So how can anyone find fault with the history of the city? Well it takes a special kind of troll, and I, as many know, can be very special. Is Athens worth visiting for the history… of course, but I will complain anyway!

My Personal Complaint

I have two pet peeves about Athens monuments. First, many of them are not 100% original. Like a really beautiful 75-year-old, you can bet not everything is real. I can see where the new marble meets the old; to me if you’re adding marble, you are not preserving you are rebuilding. Hopefully we won’t see the Nike logo on one of the columns. On top of that there are cranes on the Acropolis 24/7. It takes away from some of the grandeur when it feels as if you’re at a construction site.

My last gripe is that sites like the Acropolis suffer from their own popularity. Dodging thousands of people taking selfies, wearing strap-on water bottles gets a little frustrating. I witnessed a lady swat at a man that walked into her camera shot. I wasn’t sure if I was at a historic temple or an MMA fight. Still, I loved the Acropolis site despite these small drawbacks.

Many of the other sites are seemingly untouched. The Temple of Hephaestus (seen above) is beautiful and quiet. The entire Ancient Agora is extremely peaceful. With so many nooks of history it was worth the flight over there alone. It may not have the popularity or grandeur of the Acropolis site, but this might be a good thing.

The Bad About Athens: Athens is kind of Dirty

I really don’t mean any disrespect, but there is no other way to explain, between the tourists and the not so speedy garbage service it seemed the entire time there were huge piles of garbage in many locations. I can live with this, but I can imagine the smell in the summer.

What gets me more aggravated are the “street artists” that have totally decimated the place. Many cities have graffiti, but nothing like Athens, Greece. It is everywhere, covering buildings old and new alike. It isn’t even good street art, just tags that have ruined the aesthetics. Not like I would care if it is good or not, but if you’re going to spray near a 1000-year-old church, make it presentable. Between the garbage and the graffiti, it leaves the impression of a unclean city.

The Bad About Athens, Greece: Taxi Drivers

We had terrible luck with cab drivers in Athens. We took four cabs to and from the airport on our trip, I only don’t remember one of them- he was the good one. The first guy overcharged us, then told us he doesn’t take cards (there was a Visa sign on his car). The driver proceeded to drop us off with 4 heavy bags in the “area” of our hotel. On the way back from the airport the second time we had a guy from Poland who couldn’t speak English or Greek and used our phone for the GPS. The driver also had no clue where the hotels was (it was in the most popular tourist neighborhood!). He also had a melt down due to traffic caused by the country’s weekly subway strike. Again, he also dropped us off about 300 feet from our hotel.

The last guy basically stole 10 Euros from me; this was after he almost got into a road rage fight on the way there. Knowing the bill is about 40 Euro, I handed him a 50 and he waves and says thank you. I knew better, I just didn’t have the energy to press the issue. As in most cities watch your wallet with cab drivers.

Conclusion: Is Athens Worth Visiting

Yes, Athens is worth visiting. Despite the messy atmosphere and cab drivers that are less trustworthy than Bernie Madoff at a charity fundraiser, the city itself was amazing. While Athens, Greece is worth visiting for the food alone; this was one of those cities that just felt like home. Athens is a place where I walk from a spot to stuff my face, to a spot where I can look at something built 2000 years ago, then back again. I never felt unsafe in the city; Greece is one of the most relaxing places I have been visited, thus far….

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