Greece - Korina Miller [95]
Telis (Map; 210 324 2775; Evripidou 86; pork chops with chips €7; 8am-2am Mon-Sat) You can’t get more basic than this fluoro-lit, bare-walled, paper-tablecloth psistaria (restaurant serving grilled food). Telis has been slaving over the flame grill, cooking his famous pork chops, since 1978. There’s nothing else on the menu – just meat and chips and Greek salad, washed down with rough house wine or beer.
EXARHIA
Kimatothrafstis (Map; 213 030 8274; Harilaou Trikoupi 49; small/large plate €3/6; 8am-11pm) With riot police outside Pasok headquarters across the road adding a distinctive Exarhia ambience, this impressive newcomer dishes out a range of home-style Greek cooking and alternative fare. It’s a great-value, bright and casual modern mayireio with communal tables. Choose from the buffet of the day’s offerings. Plates come in two sizes – big or small.
Rozalia (Map; 210 330 2933; Valtetsiou 58; mains €4.50-11) An old-style Exarhia favourite on a lively pedestrian strip, this family-run taverna has a standard menu of grills and home-style fare such as pastitsio (layers of buttery macaroni and seasoned minced lamb). The large courtyard garden is popular in summer, when fans spraying water help keep you cool. They also run the adjacent Achilleas.
Food Company (Map; 210 380 5004; Emmanuel Benaki 63-65; dishes €5.50-9.50; 10am-2am) This place is recommended for its range of healthy salads, wholesome dishes, and hot and cold pasta and noodle dishes.
Midrange
PLAKA & SYNTAGMA
Tzitzikas & Mermingas (Map; 210 324 7607; Mitropoleos 12-14, Syntagma; mezedhes €5.90-9.90) This bright, cheery, modern mezedhopoleio isn’t in the most atmospheric of locations, but it dishes out a great range of delicious and creative mezedhes. There are walls of shelves lined with Greek products and the theme extends playfully to the toilets.
Palia Taverna tou Psara (Map; 210 321 8734; Erehtheos 16, Plaka; seafood dishes €11.50-26) Hidden away from the main hustle and bustle of Plaka, this taverna is a cut above the rest, which is why they fill the tables on the street, the terrace and the place next door. There is a choice of mezedhes but it is known as the best seafood taverna in Plaka (top fresh fish €62 per kilogram).
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STREET FOOD
From vendors selling koulouria (fresh pretzel-style bread) and grilled corn or chestnuts, to the raft of fast-food offerings, there’s no shortage of snacks on the run.
You can’t go wrong with local tiropites (cheese pies) and their various permutations. Ariston (Map; 210 322 7626; Voulis 10, Syntagma; pies €1.10-1.70; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri) has been around since 1910, serving the best range of tasty, freshly baked pies with all manner of fillings.
However, Greece’s favourite tasty snack is the souvlaki, packing more punch for €2 than anything else. You can’t miss the smells wafting from the souvlaki hub at Monastiraki, but you’ll find one of the best souvlaki joints in Athens nearby at tiny Kostas (Map; 210 323 2971; Plateia Agia Irini 2, Monastiraki; souvlaki €2; 5am-5pm). This old-style virtual wall joint, in a pleasant square opposite Agia Irini church, churns out tasty, freshly made pork souvlakia and kebabs, with its signature spicy tomato sauce.
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Mono (Map; 210 322 6711; Paleologou Venizelou 4, Plaka; mains €12-22; Mon-Sat) This classy taverna, on the outskirts of Plaka near the cathedral, is one of the new breed of restaurants serving refined contemporary Greek cuisine, not just the same old stuff in a nicer setting. Decor is subtle Greek chic, there’s a lovely courtyard, and the presentation and ambience are top-rate, even if it doesn’t have the picturesque setting of nearby eateries. Try the pork with rosemary mezes.
Furin Kazan (Map; 210 322 9170; Apollonos