Athens Food and Drink

The below photo is the salad I can’t stop talking about. It’s from a Wine Bar called Oinoscent, on a small street in the Plaka area of Athens. This particular salad may have been seasonal, but all their food and wine was really good, really appealing and reasonably priced.

This (below) was another favorite in Athens. It’s a cocktail bar in the Syntagma neighborhood called Baba Au Rum. It’s on a pedestrian-only “street” and has wonderful drinks and atmosphere!

This (below) is the one to go to if you want a more traditional Taverna-but-upscale place: Dopios. Rob and I did an olive oil tasting here, plus some delicious seafood and grilled food.

While you’re enjoying the neighborhood, you may as well have a drink at one of the rooftop bars. We chose Roof Garden MS, but there are plenty (!) near Monastiraki. If you zoom in on this picture you’ll see the Acropolis in the background. When you’re there, it looks HUGE!

This next on one is a unique place: Nolan. It’s a Greek-Asian fusion place. At the time we were there it was a really hard reservation to get. It’s a little more expensive, but a totally new experience!

Definitely also walk up the hill towards the “back of” the Acropolis Hill to the Anafiotika neighborhood. It is crazy beautiful!

There’s a little restaurant on the stairs up the hill that is fun for a quick snack: Yiasemi (this word looks very different in Greek, look at the sign in the picture below). It is very overpriced, and who cares. You’re sitting on the cutest imaginable stairway alley in the cutest area of Athens, sipping a coffee or a glass of wine. Word to the wise. There are three restaurants on the same stairway. Two of them are expensive-but-fine and people are happy. One of them does some absurd after-the-fact overcharging. It is part of the entertainment to watch people trying to settle their checks from that joint.

All of the above places are either in, or walkable from the Plaka area.

Another Athens Recommendation

You will no doubt hit the Acropolis, but if you want a smaller, wonderfully personal museum, try the Museum of Cycladic Art. They have just the right size collection of ancient art and artifacts, and historical context. We loved it!
Also, they have a very cute cafe, for when you want to take a break and discuss the art!

Naxos

Here’s Alex’s mini-guide to Naxos:

He says this list is excellent: 

https://santorinidave.com/best-restaurants-naxos

Hotel Grotta is one of his and his wife’s favorites. 

Best eats require rezzies:

Typografio is our fave.  

Labrynth also excellent. 

At night, in the port, all of the boat owners hang out with clipboards and you walk along, look at the vessel you like and sign up for a half or full day sail the following morning. We had a half-day cruise on a catamaran that was perfect. 

Mykonos

Ah! For me this is the one that got away. Kiki’s. I am obsessed with this little, out-of-the-way taverna, and we didn’t get to go. They have no electricity, so all the food is fresh. There’s almost always a line, so they serve you free wine while you wait. And you can run down to the beach below for a swim before or after your meal. This is not the “super-tourist” “clubby” part of Mykonos, but a more laid-back (and affordable) place. Hard to get to by public transport, so be prepared for a walk from the bus stop, or the expense of a taxi.

Santorini Winery

Santos Winery. For a wine tasting with cheese & crackers, or dinner. Reservations Recommended.
This was a FAVORITE! Definitely go for sunset. We were there for a cloudy day, and still the sunset was amazing.
Definitely bring a hat and sunglasses for the time before sunset, it gets BRIGHT out there.