Athens in Your Pocket

Restaurants
GREEK CRETAN
REVAIZI
Cretan cuisine is extremely en vogue these days in Athens
but this is a hidden original Cretan restaurant in the harbour
of Piraeus, that was not even featured in Greek listings
magazines till recently. You’ll enjoy all the usual Cretan fare
(‘gamopilafo’, rabbit etc), excellent meats and real Cretan
wine, plus a free welcome ‘raki’ carafe, to the sounds of
Cretan music (live on Friday evenings). Take metro line 1
all the way to the harbour of Piraeus, on exiting the station
turn right and walk along the harbour for 500 metres. Take
a right turn just before the Church of Agios Dionissios.
QThermopylon 21 & Kastoros, MPiraeus, tel. (+30) 210
4080017. Open 12:00 - 01:00. €€. P ­E
Restaurants
© Athens Convention Bureau
Many Athenian restaurants sell a number of things like
décor, location, view, exclusivity and attitude, forgetting to
pay adequate attention to their primary business: food.
Some others concentrate on food but make their customers
pay through the nose for the privilege.
In Your Pocket staff untertake the strenuous task of
selecting, among hundreds of establishments, those
that truly respect the custom of their visitors and take
their business seriously, whether they are humble cheap
souvlaki joints or sophisticated expensive Michelin-starred
restaurants.
Your experiences are always appreciated. Please post
your own review on our website or email us at: athens@
inyourpocket.com
AMERICAN
HARD ROCK CAFÉ
There are no surprises with Hard Rocks, you know that.
It’s all guitars and jackets and motorbikes hanging
from the walls, burgers, margueritas and rock n’roll!
One thing that certainly distinguishes this one, is the
very Athenian three-storey refurbished neoclassical
building, a few steps from the historic Plaka district. Go
ahead, buy this Athens T-shirt that is missing from your
collection and enjoy a true Hard Rock evening.QC‐3,
52 Adrianou Street, MSyntagma, tel. (+30) 210
3245170, www.hardrock.com/cafes/Athens/. Open
09:30 - 00:00. P ­J ­A
FINE DINING
TUDOR HALL
Housed on the 7th floor of the luxurious King George
Hotel, right on Syntagma square, this is a restaurant with
an aristocratic feel for a truly special night out in Athens.
The menu is a fine mixture of Greek and French dishes
prepared with the best local organic produce.The dinning
hall has a theatrical splendour with chandeliers, high
ceilings and Greek pillars but we recommend you book a
table on the terrace where you’ll feel you can almost touch
the floodlit Parthenon.QF‐3, Georgiou A, Syntagma Sq,
MSyntagma, tel. (+30) 210 3222210, www.tudorhall.
gr/. Open 12:00 - 16:00 & 19:00 - 24:00. Closed Sun.
€€€€. P ­J ­A ­U ­B
VAROULKO
By far the best sea food restaurant in Athens. Lefteris
Lazarou, a celebrity chef awarded with a Michelin star and
founder of Varoulko, chooses the foremost ingredients
and creates a magnificent, yet simple menu. He maintains
a personal relationship with his guests and you’ll often
see him leaving his kitchen and sitting with them and
discussing their impressions. A cellar visible from one of the
dining halls hosts an excellent list of Greek and international
labels. A selection of daily-prepared imaginative deserts
will ensure the best possible conclusion to your Varoulko
experience.QC4, Akti Koumoundourou 52, MThissio,
Kerameikos, tel. (+30) 210 5228400, www.varoulko.gr.
Open 13:00 - 1:00. €€€€ €€€€. P ­J ­A
GREEK MODERN
ALERIA
Great setting that manages to successfully combine pop,
belle époque and urban funky elements with the romantic
simplicity of a beautiful terrace, the food here is equally
impressive. The cuisine on offer ranges from traditional
Greek dishes to fusion Mediterranean cuisine, prepared
with simple ingredients in ingenious combinations,
with delightful results.QMegalou Alexandrou 57,
Metaxourgio, MMetaxourgio, tel. (+30) 210 5222633.
Open 21:00 - 01:00. Closed Sun. €€€. P ­J ­A
ARCADIA
Greek cooking of the new school, where traditional
favourites are given a twist by a young team. The menu is
not extensive but everything on it is good: the lamb dishes
are the pick. The setting is suitably contemporary and the
staff wonderfully friendly, often going out of their way to
find a seat somewhere, anywhere, when the place is full
up. Opens early for breakfast too.QD‐6, 27 Makrigianni,
MAcropoli, tel. (+30) 210-9238124, www.greektaverna.
gr/en/. Open 08:00 - 00:30. €€. A ­U ­B ­S ­W
ATHIRI
Dine in style in this excellent Greek restaurant named
after an Aegean grape variety. Here you will enjoy
traditional Greek dishes like stifado and beef stew served
with hand made pasta, the way tourists usually don’t.
All the ingredients used are fresh, the atmosphere in
the neo-classical building is civilised but not stiff and
the service professional yet friendly. A restaurant worth
one of your less casual (but not expensive) Athenian
evenings.QB4, Plateon 15, Kerameikos, MThissio, tel.
(+30) 210 3462983, www.athirirestaurant.gr. Open
20:00 - 01:00, Sun 13:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon. €€€.
T ­J ­A ­L ­B
Get the In Your Pocket
City Essentials App
...in the picturesque area of the Acropolis
Museum on Makrigianni street...
Makrigianni 27 str, Athens
tel. 210-9238124 | info@arcadiarestaurant.gr
Open Everyday: 08.00 a.m. - 12.30 a.m.
greektaverna.gr
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April - June 2017 15