Margarita Kalogeropoulou (1979)

This is the first bar I have ever seen in the area of Kato Petralona (weird, as it is situated very close to the major going out area of Gazi) but if it should stay the only one I would not mind since it makes up for a lot.

Great music, fantastic and clever decoration (from what I was told, mostly everything was done by the owner himself) and cheap drinks. What else do you need?

Spirtokouto lately opens up in the morning too (around 11:00) so you can even drop by for a coffee and then sloooowly turn it into drinks!

For years I was working right next to this so called ‘mageirio’ and it always made for a good excuse not to bring my miserable-self-cooked food to work. This is definitely as close as you can get to the Greek-home-mother-cooked food at very reasonable prizes.

Sitting there will not be the most memorable moment of your life or your stay in Athens as it is definitely not cozy nor even just nicely situated, but the cook called ‘Voula’ without a doubt makes up for that.

Every day you can choose from around 8 to 10 fresh dishes and believe me it WILL be hard to choose just one. One tip though: always have change in your pocket. The owner of the place, for some reason I still haven’t figured out, never has change on him, next to him and definitely not in the cash-machine.

Just before you walk out of the area of Psirri there is this taverna – Tsipouradiko. If you start up drinking early at night and you happen do get hungry, just drop by and you’ll get some delicious plates and of course nice nice cold raki. Or if you just get hungry at any time of the day for something tasty from Crete, drop by!

And if you’ve managed to get your stomach full and the raki has made you want something more to drink, you’re just at the right spot. Just a few meters down the street you’ll find other nice places and bars and of course all the other mostly over-rated and crowded bars of Psirri. But well you’ll definitely get in touch with the night-life of Athens!

This is once again a place which I can not place into just one category. For starters; It is definitely a taverna, based on the looks especially the small patio which gives a little bit of an island feeling to me.

Serves Greek-type food in small portions, the ones you put in the middle of the table and then everybody fights to get one piece but in the end no one dares to eat the last one. Believe me, if you find yourself in that situation don’t hesitate to take the last piece, it will be worth it!

The inside space of Xelona is bigger and has an Indian-touch to me, but maybe that is only my impression as the always in a good mood owner looks absolutely Indian to me, too!

Nevertheless, you can also enjoy just a drink at the bar and as the music is not too loud, as in most places in Athens, it suits fantastic for a calm, mid-of-the-week drink or more.

If you think you can not drink good tea in Athens you are wrong!

In this place specialized in teas in the center of Athens you can find so many – to-me-at-least – unknown brands of tea! You will probably find it hard to decide which one to taste first. Just go with a big group of friends and you will get to taste them all! Each pot of tea is served with a timer because the time you let the tea in the hot water is the secret to it all.

And if you’re hungry too… no worries! Snacks and meals are there waiting for you.