Autumn is right around the corner and enjoying a hot cup of coffee is even more enjoyable with a crisp in the air. Culinary Backstreets gives us a tour of the new wave cafes in downtown Athens with trendy aesthetics and hip baristas!

Despite (or perhaps because of) Greece’s ongoing economic crisis, the number of quality coffee shops in Athens has mushroomed in recent years, and a rising cadre of professional baristas – a trendy title to hold nowadays – is taking pleasure in sharing their knowledge of coffee making and drinking.

Regardless of what kind of coffee you like to drink, make sure to head first to Kaya, without a doubt the best espresso bar in the city. Located in Stoa Bolani, an arcade close to Syntagma Square that hides some of central Athens’ best secret spots, this tiny coffee workshop is always teeming with locals.

To Dentro tou Cafe (The Coffee Tree) in Exarchia doubles as a cozy coffee shop and a retailer of freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee sourced from all over the world.

To read this article in full, please visit: Culinary Backstreets

As you arrive on the corner of Vyzantiou street in Koukaki, there is a new cocktail bar quite a bit different that a lot of people are talking about. 

As you walk into this cocktail bar, you will notice that the bartenders are dressed as if they are ready to go on a safari. The decoration resembles a tropical climate and all guests are holding colorful cocktails in their hands. On the walls, the television is playing documentaries with small, cute animals that you can't stop staring at. They are called Meerkats, they live in the dessert and all people in the bar are talking about them. 

Once upon a time there was boy named Romain who lived in Paris, France. His passion was to mix drinks, make alchemies and create dream drinks that people could drink. He studied at the Lycée Hôtelier de Marseille Bonneveine and soon found himself conducting some of the world's finest cocktails bars such as the Experimental Cocktail Club, Little Red Door, Conserverie in Paris, Ritz in London, Carlton in Cannes.

Suddenly though, he fell in love with Christina, who is half Greek. So from the city of light, he came to the city of the sun and decided he did not want to return to Paris again. The two of them, together with Andrea Vernikos, opened the Meerkat, a cocktail bar in the most vibrant neighborhood of the city center today: Koukaki.

You can visit the Meerkat from 10am for a nice coffee, grab a bite of innovative toasts or drink (from the morning if you want) Romain's cocktails that every passing day are becoming more and more famous in our city!

Address: Vizantiou 7, Athina 117 41
Tel: 21 3045 3390
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Originally posted on AthensVoice
Translated by XpatAthens

Partly fueled by growing tourist numbers according to the Huffington Post UK, Greece and especially Athens is booming with speciality cocktail bars and “mad mixologists.” One travel and drinks writer takes us to two bars who serve some of the most unique drinks in Athens.

“Look up Kerameikos in most guidebooks and you'll be told about the famous cemetery there, that this was once the home of ceramicists and is where we get the very word ceramics from. But it's also where you'll find the MoMix Bar Kerameikos, which opened in November 2012 and has been so successful there's now a MoMix in the Athens seaside suburb of Glyfada, joined this summer by MoMix Bar Santorini.”

“It's in the Kerameikos original that you'll find MoMix co-founder Aris Chatziantoniou performing the molecular mixology that gives the bar its name. The cocktail menu is a cube that lights up when you move it and has such weird wonders as cocktail bubbles, cocktail tubes, magic needles and a Saganaki Cocktail.”

“Aris is far from being the only mixologist making his name on the Greek cocktail scene. A ten-minute walk from Syntagma Square, a bar called The Clumsies opened in 2014. In less than a year it was ranked number 22 on The World's 50 Best Bars list, and in 2016 it rocketed to number 9. That's not so surprising when you learn that it was founded by two award-winning Greek bartenders, Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis.”

To read this article in full, please visit: Huffington Post UK

Olive oil, fine cheese, cured meats and other delicacies — Where to find the best deli’s in Athens from Greece Is!

Brimming with delicacies from every corner of Greece, this deli is the perfect place to find rare meze – like salt-cured tuna from Alonnisos and pies from Kozani. It’s ideal for both lunch and dinner; your meal will be made with ingredients straight off the shelves around you.

Address: 26 Mitropoleos, Syntagma

Telephone: 210 331 5547

At this mecca of Greek cheese, you’ll find incredible products to take home and enjoy as well as plenty to eat right on the spot. Kostarelos, which is family-run, produces a variety of cheeses but it’s perhaps most noted for its feta, both soft and hard, which is exceptional – try some tucked into a sourdough sandwich.

Address: 30-32 Patriarchou Ioakeim, Kolonaki

Telephone: 210 725 9000

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

If you like sparkling wines, then you will want to check out Warehouse CO2 in Athens. Located close to Syntagma Square, this new all day bar is an offshoot of the more established wine bar in Exarchia. Warehouse CO2 houses wines from Greece and around the world, offering an impressive list of different kinds. Follow along with Why Athens on a Friday afternoon off work and explore Warehouse CO2!

"We’re at the beginning of the sparkling wine movement in Athens and as it currently stands, Warehouse CO2 are the pioneers. I was overjoyed that sparkling wines were finally not treated as an afterthought in this city and I now have a choice beyond one overpriced glass of Moet. The other part of course is that you can get acquainted with Greek sparkling wine which I have to be honest, I knew nothing about and was a tad sceptical of. But I do now, and in short, they’re very good and deserve to be tasted."

"This second Warehouse CO2 is a place you can easily get acquainted with and a welcome addition to the bar scene in Athens. It offers a solid introduction to Greek sparkling wines or to reacquaint you with your sparkly favourites."

To read this article in full, please visit: Why Athens

The idea to open a traditional Cretan kafeneio came about when two childhood friends, Yioula Svyrinaki and Michalis Psomadakis, moved to Athens in 2012. They were both working day jobs, Yioula at a deli and Michalis in construction, when they started developing their plans to open To Laini, a kafeneio (a cafe that also serves food) specializing in Cretan cuisine. Culinary Backstreets shares their story and how To Laini came to be in March 2017.

They wanted something "small, cheap, welcoming, serving great tsikoudia and good food." Their space is just that – it’s quite small, with no more than ten tables in total and a bar. Their open “kitchen” behind the bar consists of a couple of electric stoves, a camping gas canister and a portable little oven. When we first saw it, we wondered how they managed. But when there’s a will – and we would add, a love for food – there’s a way.

Their guiding philosophy is to offer dishes made with high-quality products, cooked with love and at a low price point. Everything they serve, both food and drink, comes from Crete, either from family members there or other small producers they personally know and work with. Luckily, the main distributor delivering food products from different parts of Greece to Athens is nearby.

To read this article in full, please visit: Culinary Backstreets

Photo Source: Culinary Backstreets

Launched in September 2017, Akapnos is dedicated to promoting and rewarding all shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. that don't allow smoking inside. They are by no means anti-smoking - they just want to help those who want to have a smoke-free environment. Listed on their site, the venues they include have the following requirements:

Akapnos is a group of Greek citizens who wish to improve the self-image of its citizens, as well as the image of Greece from foreigners. They care immensely about the long-term interest in Greece and wish to preserve its legacy and heritage.

To explore the 244 verified smoke-free venues in Greece (so far), please visit: Akapnos

Different neighborhoods in Athens cater to different crowds and scenes, so there's never a shortage of places to explore! For more of a classic, upscale theme to your evening, head over to Kolonaki and check out these places that Greece Is recommends. If you're looking for jazz and rare whiskies, Kolonaki won't disappoint.

This trendy bar, which moved here from the neighborhood of Kerameikos, is just as successful at it’s new corner location in Kolonaki. Open every day from 10.00 in the morning, and serving brunch on the weekends, it’s still perhaps at its best in the evening. 

Address: 53 Skoufa
Telephone: 210 346 2077
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 - 03:00

Skoufaki has the look of a traditional Athenian bar: the bar itself is large, so there is room to sit and watch the bartender in action, but the rest of the space offers limited seating. It fills up daily with people looking for excellent drinks and good music (it’s one of the few places that has a DJ every day of the week).

Address: 47 Skoufa
Telephone: 210 362 3867
Hours: Sunday through Thursday 10:00 - 01:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00 - 03:00

This historic bar between Kolonaki and Exarhia, with its film noir-inspired interior, has been serving quality drinks ever since it opened in 1978. The space is separated into small rooms decorated with old posters on the walls, and the music is an alternative mix of select tunes from genres such as jazz, rock, soul, and everything in between.

Address: 3B Delfon
Telephone: 210 363 4583
Hours: Everyday 10:00 until late

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

Located in the heart of downtown near Syntagma Square, The Pie Shop opened its doors in October 2017 with the motto, "Bake the world a better place." Dating back to Minoan times and 5th century BC onwards, pies were everywhere in ancient Athens, most notably the cheese pie. Not much has changed today, as pies can still be seen being enjoyed all over Greece.

Amidst this sea of Greek pies, The Pie Shop is looking beyond national borders to the large variety of pies across the globe. The shop is owned by two women, Marina and Nanda, who love food and love to bake. All the pastries are handmade and prepared with only the best ingredients. After having spent most of her adult life working in the food industry, Nanda has learned the simple secret to success: use the finest and freshest ingredients.

During their visit, Culinary Backstreets tasted their way across the globe, from Indian samosas to Argentinian empanadas and British egg and bacon pie – we even tasted a Korean tomato tart that rivaled the Mediterranean version. All of these many different pies looked good and tasted even better.

Address: Voulis 16, Syntagma

Telephone: +30 211 403 7328

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8:30am-6pm; closed Sunday

To read this article in full, please visit: Culinary Backstreets

Located in the upscale neighborhood of Kolonaki lies Yoleni's, a multi-level food emporium offering visitors anything from a taste of cold cuts and cheese to wine at the wine bar or head upstairs to the restaurant.

Nikolaos Pipas with Dorotheos Chatziioannou opened Yoleni's in 2016 with the goal to showcase the hidden gastronomic treasures of Greece. Pipas spoke to the NY Times and said, "I was thrilled every time I found a new product hidden in a tiny corner of Greece, in a village where an old granny would tell the secrets of a recipe or a hidden treasured ingredient. We wanted to find all those treasures for Yoleni’s, to show people the real Greek cuisine.”

Behind the wine bar is Yoleni's expert on Greek wine who helps visitors narrow down their wine choice. They have over 30 types of local wines by the glass, and even more by the bottle.

The restaurant offers two menus, one called Topos, that was created by Yoleni's to revive their grandmothers' lost recipes. Menu offerings include grilled sardines wrapped in vine leaves, a cheese and egg pita, or a traditional Greek pie.

Yoleni's doesn't stop there. On another level they have a paradise for meat-lovers, with a butcher shop and steakhouse sharing the space. Go down a level for dessert and coffee and if the kids want to play, Yoleni's offer a children's play area. For a small fee, kids can play while their parents enjoy their meal or even go shopping in the neighborhood.

On the third floor, Yoleni's offers cooking classes that teach old and forgotten recipes, as well as an olive oil bar.

To read this article in full, please visit: NY Times

 

Photo source: Tripadvisor