Where to Eat Like a Local in Athens

At the Athenian table, no one’s in a rush—friends drift in, neighbors stop by, and even the server might pause for a smoke. This guide moves from the heart of Athens to its fringes (and even out toward the sea), stopping at hole-in-the-wall street food stands, underground tavernas, a wine bar tucked inside a ship repair warehouse, and institutions that have fed Athenians and visitors for generations.

There’s no sign pointing the way to this cellar tavern that’s largely unchanged for 130 years, so you’ll have to follow your nose and the sound of live music to find it. Mavromatika salata at Louis Cafe Leonidou 87 +30 21 0347 6926 Katherine Whittaker Athenians have been legume lovers since antiquity. Beans and pulses remain a fixture on meze menus the city over as a healthier, more affordable alternative to meat.

To complete the island experience, grab a table in the garden, or sit inside to admire their take on traditional décor, with wine barrels and a mural of a Greek village along the back wall. Taramosalata at Fita Ntourm 1 +30 21 1414 8624 Katherine Whittaker This is one of many Greek dishes called a “salad” that’s actually a dip. Marinated artichokes at Xoxlidaki Adrianiou 31 +30 21 0674 6661 Spring in Athens is all about artichokes. Xoxlidaki’s stand out for their simplicity: marinated in vinegar, drizzled with lemon, and finished with a sprig or two of dill.

At Xoxlidaki, the move is to pair them with one of the 250 bottles of ouzo lining the walls. Like many traditional dishes, it varies by region, but nearly any fish or seafood can form its base, with seasonal vegetables tossed in along with plenty of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. One of my favorites is at Pezoulas, a fish tavern once popular with performers and musicians that opened in the 1950s, with a tranquil outdoor patio reminiscent of a plateia on a Greek island.

The fish are boiled whole with herbs and vegetables like potatoes, celery, and carrots, and once it’s soft enough, you take the fish out of the water to clean it and remove the bones. The stock becomes the base of the soup, along with puréed vegetables and chunks of meaty fish. Here, as in many koutoukia, the dish to order is the Athenian lamb chops, grilled on a wood or charcoal fire.

They’re long and slender, with just a bite or two of juicy meat at the base, and you order them by the kilo. To enjoy lamb chops like a local, get your hands a little dirty (no utensils, please) and make sure to bite off the thin strip of meat that attaches to the bone from top to bottom—one of my favorite bits.

Ameletita (lamb testicles) at O Mitos Cretan Food Aristidou 62, Kallithea +30 21 0951 0134 Katherine Whittaker The tradition of eating ameletita—literally “unmentionable,” though sometimes called “white caviar”—goes back to Byzantium, when the cut was prized for its aphrodisiac powers. Souvlaki at Lefteris O Politis Satovriandou 20 +30 21 0522 5676 Katherine Whittaker Souvlaki—meat grilled on a skewer—is Greece’s quintessential street food, with roots as far back as 1700 B.C.E., when archaeologists at Santorini’s Akrotiri settlement uncovered evidence of a similar preparation.

Kunefe at Feyrouz Karori 23 and Agathonos 1 +30 21 3031 8060 Katherine Whittaker Syrupy sweets gleam in the windows of dessert shops around Athens, but skip the tourist-magnet displays and go to Feyrouz. There, you’ll get a taste of the culinary traditions that came to Greece with the Ottomans—and some of the city’s best sweets. Kokoretsi at The Triangle Athinon 36, Kalivia Thorikou +30 22 9904 8540 Katherine Whittaker Kalivia, about an hour outside Athens, is near some of my favorite beaches along the Attica coastline, like Chamolia and Vravrona.

Many locals flock to The Triangle for the steaks—one of the few places in Attica that nails a proper medium-rare—but I head for the kokoretsi: long skewers of organ meats wrapped in intestines, seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.