Top 6 Restaurants To Go in Athens

Greek cuisine is very waste and tasty. There are many options from fish to pork to salad. However in big cities like Athens it may be hard to find the good restaurants where you can have a good quality Greek food. Here is the list of restaurants where you can have real Greek food suggested by locals: 

1) Mani Mani : If you want a to try good quality Greek food for reasonable prices this is the place to go. The menu offers different types of dishes with an excellent presentation. The ambiance of restaurant is very nice with white chairs, black tables with high ceiling and good lighting. The waiters are very helpful and they have a wide selection of wines. Located in Koukai near Acropolis area is a popular place among locals so it’s better for you to make reservations before you go there.

Indoors of Mani Mani

2) Kosta’s Souvlaki: If you are in Greece you must try souvlaki that is is one of the most popular street foods in Greece and for a good reason. It’s stuffed with well-cooked and seasoned meat (pork/chicken), served with a cooling tzatziki sauce (yogurt, cucumber, garlic) wrapped in a delicious crispy pita.

Souvlaki

Kosta’s is a small souvlaki place located in Monastraki and they serve really delicious traditional souvlakis for very cheap prices. There is a long queue at the restaurant especially during lunch break because it’s highly popular among Athenians.

Entrance of Kosta's

3) Melilotos:  If you want to have good Greek food with local ingredients in the heart of Athens for reasonable prices Melilotos is the place to try. Located in Monastraki this restaurant is very inviting with it’s secret inner garden and white tables. The staff is very nice and the ambiance is very friendly. 

Melilotos

4)Aleksandria: If you are longing for a true Greek restaurant experience this is the place. This restaurant with its blue and white floor tiles  offers the Greek atmosphere as we see in the movies. Located in Moussio near the National Archelogical Museum this small restaurant offers delicious and authentic food and a good ambiance. I suggest for you to make reservations.

Beautiful tiles & amazing food of Aleksandria

5) To Vrasto: This family owned restaurant located in Chalandri is a modern tavern. They serve authentic Greek food based on 40 year old family recipes and they are very tasty. The place has a lovely atmosphere where you can feel like you’re at home. The retro decoration of indoors with bookshelves and a fire place gives a warm atmosphere to the restaurant. The garden area of the restaurant is very lovely, full of trees and flowers. There is a pergola and big lights made of burlap, glass and wood. The menu isn’t very wide but the food is really tasty and they have a large selection of wines. I suggest for you to make reservations.

Indoors of To Vrasto

Garden & The Pergola

Top 6 Bars to go in Athens

Greek food is famous however Greek nightlife is even more famous. In Athens there are many bar options some are not so good or very touristic. Here's the list of locals favorite bars:

1)   TAF (The Art Foundation) : This café/  bar locared in Monastraki is famous for its cocktails, wines and coffees. As you enter to an old building from the an iron door you find yourself in a courtyard which also turns in to an art gallery because it’s a place to host cultural events. They preserved the yard and didn’t cut the trees inside. During winter time they put a brenda over to avoid cold and rain. The indoors of the bar is also very cool, on the  brick walls there are pieces of art and graffiti. The ambiance of the bar is so cool and artsy that you don’t want to leave.  It’s a good hidden spot from tourists.

Entrance of TAF 

Exhibition Space

The yard or TAF

2)   Praxitelous Bar: Located in Praxitelous Street, this bar offers a cozy atmosphere to its clients. Cocktails are good and cheap around 6€ and the music differs from funk to indie and dub depending on the night. The building is very old from 1930’s and this wooden bar with its friendly crew really reflects that era. It’s a good spot to avoid touristic crowd.

Famous Wooden Bar of Praxitelous

3)   Tranzistor Café: This café / bar located in Psiri are on Protogenous street which is a quite vivid area of Athens. The interior design of bar is quite interesting that gives a cozy feeling. There is music everyday which allows the conversations.

Inside of Tranzistor Cafe

4)   Six D.O.G.S : Located in Monastraki this corner bar offers good cocktails, good music and a  dancing space. It gets very crowded after 23 and it’s open till the morning. It’s one of the favorite places of locals. It has a secret garden inside with lamps hanging from the trees and hammocks.

Secret Inner Garden

5)   Dos Agaves: This vibrant Mexican inspired bar located in Monastraki is mostly famous for it’s unusual cocktails. There are so many options if you like tequila or rum. There are many locals who visits this place and it gets really crowded after midnight. It’s closed on Mondays.

The bar area of Dos Agaves

6)   A for Athens: This is an hotel but the top floor is the bar and it’s open to everyone. Located in Monastraki, this bar offers an amazing view of Acropolis, Plaka and Monastraki Square. This one was my favorite bar due to its delicious cocktails and breathtaking view.

The View of A for Athens

Athens: Feels Like You Are in a Time Machine

It’s time for Greece. Athens, the capital of civilization. This enormous city is full of history, monuments, good food and amazing people that you’ll leave hoping to go again one day. The city is really big and there are monuments, museums to see all over the city. I suggest a priority list while wondering in the city  I would like to thank my dear friend Katerina for being my local guide during my stay. I was fascinated by the places she took me and I wouldn’t be able to discover on my own. As usual I will skip the most known sight seeing places hence they are already a must see.

The first suggestion is to walk in Anafiotika. This place located in the slopes of Acropolis isn’t discovered by the tourists yet. Reaching here is easy when you start walking to Acropolis from Monastraki square just follow the narrow streets that are going up.

An ancient church located in Monastraki Square

You walk, climb stairs on these tiny streets between white houses with different colored shatters, blue, green, pink, purple. It feels so cozy so warm that you feel like you are in an island. And that feeling is right because this site was first resided by Anafi in 1800s who came from Cycladic island to Athens as construction workers.

Narrow streets & stairs

One of the houses in Anafiotika

When you reach the top be aware of a breathtaking view. The view is composed by the archeological part near Acropolis, Acropolis itself, the new city and Mount Lycabettus. Here you may find some locals enjoying the view with a bottle of wine, beer. 

The View of Athens

You can go back down from the same way or you can go down from the other side. One way or another you will end up somewhere near Acropolis.

Where To Eat in Rome

Rome is a huge city with so many things to see and so many places to try. Here’s a concentrated list of some restaurants, bars to try based on the tips from local friends and believe me they were all amazing!

      1)   Montecarlo Pizzeria: This place is not chic but they offer the best and typical pasta&pizza in town. It’s a place really from Rome located in downtown. And they have HUGE portions. They don’t take reservations so you may need to wait for a table but it’s definitely worth it.

Pizzeria Montecarlo

     2)   Ristorante Mezzo : It’s a really nice and a chic restaurant located in Trieste area. The wine selection is very wide and there are experienced sommeliers to help you through. The food is really tasty with creative touch.

Bar of Ristorante Mezzo

      3)   Gusto: It’s a cool place for a Sunday brunch. They have a wide selection of food and the ambiance is amazing. Also it is famous among locals for their deserts.  

Gusto

      4)   Ponte Milvio District: One of the coolest district in Rome where you can do bar hopping.

Met Bar Aperitivo

I would suggest Met Bar, an outdoor bar/restaurant. I would definitely recommend it for it’s aperitivo accompanied by delicious cockatils.

Il Chioschetto

Il Chioschetto is definitely the prettiest bar in the neighborhood with a  narrow terrace looking over the river and the bridge. Drinks are cheap and it’s open till 3 am.

     5)   Art Café and LaVilla are two nice and pretty nightclubs which are less alternative and plays commercial music. Goa  Club in Via Libetta is less chic and more alternative