Restaurants in Athens

[floridababa]

Will be there 2 nights. Hotel A is for Athens close to Plaka. Trying to find some good food options.  Are there restaurants near the harbour ?

[zqvol]

Do you want the harbor or the Plaka, they are not close to each other (10+ miles apart)

[edinburgher]

12 hours ago, floridababa said:

Are there restaurants near the harbour ?

As already mentioned, the port area is in Piraeus, not in the city proper, which is where you will find the streets which make up "the Plaka". and surrounds, with plenty restaurants to choose from.

 

Try browsing eg Tripadvisor for restaurants suggestions and ideas as you can use the filters to narrow down the selection to those of most interest to you.

 

Or simply look at restaurants as you walk around as menus will be displayed outside.  And if a restaurant is busy with other diners, that too can be an indication of popularity.

 

And do note that Piraeus is a  large port, not really "a harbour". and very busy along its full length with numerous ferries and cruise ships coming and going. I don't think you would even get a glimpse of water from dry land.

Edited August 13 by edinburgher

[floridababa]

Thinking of doing a sunset cruise so would like a restaurant nearby

[marazul]

@floridababa

The east side of Piraeus has a small harbour and marina named Mikrolimano (mikro=small, limano=harbor). It is surrounded by restaurants. The area around the ship/ferry port is not very nice. There is a good chance the sunset cruise will leave from Mikrolimano and not the port.

[floridababa]

Ok great so I will do some searching

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, marazul said:

The east side of Piraeus has a small harbour and marina named Mikrolimano (mikro=small, limano=harbor). It is surrounded by restaurants.

I stand corrected and apologise to floridababa for giving incorrect information, but it is true that one can "learn something new each day" and I just did thanks to marazul.😀

[marazul]

7 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

I stand corrected and apologise to floridababa for giving incorrect information, but it is true that one can "learn something new each day" and I just did thanks to marazul.😀

It takes a village...😁

[jb12]

Let's get back to Athens. Can anybody recommend some decent restaurants near Acropolis at South side exit if my calculations are correct. TIA 

[marazul]

Just now, jb12 said:

Let's get back to Athens. Can anybody recommend some decent restaurants near Acropolis at South side exit if my calculations are correct. TIA 

ManiMani

Specialties from the Mani peninsula in the Peloponnesus. Very good!

Or walk into Plaka for a more traditional taverna such as Psaras Tavern.

 

[jb12]

My wife found this place To Kati Allo but it has no menu or way to make reservations. 😕

[Hlitner]

We have always enjoyed Daphne's which is within walking distance of the Plaka/Syntagma Square.  If booking that venue (which seems to specialize in fresh seafood) and its not overly hot, ask to be seated in their outdoor garden.  If hot, you want to be indoors :).

 

Hank

[EtaC]

We had tried to get reservations at Strofi which is south of the Acropolis in the Makrigianni district. It came highly recommended (Rick Steves) and is supposed to have great food as well as a fine rooftop view. Unfortunately, it's closed for most of August (owner's vacation?). We made reservations instead at Dionysos Zonar's which is southwest of the main entrance. I ate there once on a trip about 25 years ago so I can't really say how the food is now. It is somewhat touristy (for want of a word) but the view of the hill is exceptional, especially at night.

[EtaC]

On 8/14/2024 at 6:44 PM, jb12 said:

My wife found this place To Kati Allo but it has no menu or way to make reservations. 😕

The name is amusing at least. It translates as "Something Else" 

[Hlitner]

7 hours ago, EtaC said:

We had tried to get reservations at Strofi which is south of the Acropolis in the Makrigianni district. It came highly recommended (Rick Steves) and is supposed to have great food as well as a fine rooftop view. Unfortunately, it's closed for most of August (owner's vacation?). We made reservations instead at Dionysos Zonar's which is southwest of the main entrance. I ate there once on a trip about 25 years ago so I can't really say how the food is now. It is somewhat touristy (for want of a word) but the view of the hill is exceptional, especially at night.

I cannot let the Rick Steves comment pass :).  We like the Rick Steves guides and have often recommended them to fellow independent travelers...right here on CC.  But we have also said that although we like a lot of what is in the Rick Steves books, we generally avoid his restaurant recommendations.  Why?  When we have gone to some of the places suggested in his books, we usually find a restaurant full of tourists with their Rick Steves books on the table.  The locals have fled to other venues.  So now, we purposely avoid most restaurants that are recommended by Mr Steves.  We do a lot of international travel, when we are on our own and choose our own venues, and it is fun to do some research and discover the interesting restaurants (we live to eat).  When it comes to Mr. Steve's books, we still pay attention to some of his walking tour ideas, but quickly run away from the restaurants.

 

By the way, how to find the more interesting and best local places?  The quick answer is to ask locals.  One can also look at some online sites and read various customer reviews.  But keep in mind that a review that is more than a few months old is often worthless.  Since we tend to travel on our own (not on tours) we do get to interact with locals and never hesitate to ask them about where to eat.  That has really helped us find some fantastic places.  Even at a hotel, consider that the Concierge will usually steer you to restaurants that benefit the Concierge (few ever pay for a meal when they go out with their family).  Ask a friendly desk clerk, bellman, doorman, etc. and you sometimes do hit the jackpot.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[EtaC]

You're probably right that once Steves recommends a place it becomes instantly popular and overrun. However, he wasn't the only source we looked at. Any website that discusses restaurants in Makrigianni mentioned Strofi along with Mani Mani and To Kato Allo that have been mentioned above That said, we will be asking locals (my cousins) about their favorites when we get together.

[little britain]

One of the best Plaka restaurants 

 

https://psaras-taverna.gr/

 

The cheese in filo with honey 🍯 is delicious and worth the trip there alone. Stunning setting on the steps 

[hawgcruiser]

I would also recommend the Psaras-taverna.  We ate there pre-cruise and the food and views were fantastic. It came highly recommended by our tour guide and did not disappoint.