The variety of sweets available for every taste, preference and dietary requirement that is offered by patisseries in Athens and Thessaloniki today is truly remarkable. The desserts market is increasingly accommodating gastronomic “minorities” on a larger scale, with a steady rise in pastry shops that serve gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, and vegan baked goods and sweets. Specifically, the global market for vegan dessert production was valued at $2.77 billion in 2022 and is growing faster than any other sweets sector.
Classic Greek sweets such as galaktoboureko, loukoumades, cakes, and biscuits are being reinvented under this new culinary umbrella, prepared in versions suitable for various dietary needs alongside modern French patisserie desserts. The ethics of this new age of patissiers are also intact, with their use of fair-trade ingredients, and practices that start and finish in their workshops without ready mixes, artificial colourings or preservatives.
Currently, the largest concentration of patisseries and bakeries catering to special dietary preferences and sensitivities are found in Athens, with Thessaloniki following. Ioannina leads with a grocery store offering exclusively gluten-free sweets and foods. we present all of these wonderful spots here.
ATHENS
Marinos Kosmas Gluten Free Pastry & Bakery Project
A bakery and patisserie exclusively offering gluten-free products. The workshop of the experienced pastry chef Marinos Kosmas, this is the first certified patisserie exclusively for gluten-free products, and prepares a variety of interesting handmade breads daily (sourdough, white and hemp, buckwheat, carob bread, tomato bread, and more), traditional and modern sweets (syrupy desserts, lemon pie, cheesecake, brownies), pies (mince pie, chicken pie, cheese pie, and more.), and baked goods—delicious cookies, breadsticks, waffles and pancakes. All are gluten-free, lactose-free (dairy-free), and egg-free, tasty, and satisfying. The chef has also authored the book “Gastronomy and Life without Gluten” (Gastronomy Essentials editions).
Address: 78A Mesogeion, Ambelokipi, Phone: +30 211 0125176 and 27 Irakleous, Nikaia, Phone: +30 211 7150194, Website
Slim Bites
A patisserie with sugar-free and vegan options. This venture, inspired by a pioneering architect and her husband in 2011, rejects ready mixes and preservatives. All sweets are handmade, and their calorie content is listed. There are also several vegan and gluten-free options prepared in special areas. They produce birthday cakes decorated with sugar paste (customers are informed accordingly). They offer a wide variety of sweets and treats, with their handmade ice creams being particularly delightful, and only a few items contain sugar, such as the macarons. The business sells its sweets at four locations.
Address: 37 Patriarchou Ioakeim, Kolonaki, Phone: +30 210 7224757, Website
Asterisque
A bakery with exclusively gluten-free breads, pastries, and sweets. This unique bakery produces exclusively gluten-free breads, pastries, and sweets, using French, certified gluten-free flours from buckwheat, millet, and rice. All raw materials used, from spices and nuts to chocolates, are certified gluten-free, with recipes developed by renowned baker Charis Papalitsas. They sell five types of bread with sourdough or yeast, a baguette, a bread with dried figs, hazelnuts, and orange zest, bagels, doughnuts filled with chocolate, cheesecake, exquisite canelés, savoury tartlets, and gluten-free beers.
Address: 2 Charvouri, Mets, Phone: +30 6945 992614, Website
The Vegan Fairies
Sweets with vegan and raw creations using mostly organic raw materials, in a charming shop. Their creations do not contain refined flour or sugar—sweeteners used include maple syrup, agave syrup, rice malt, and dates. Key ingredients include grains like buckwheat, nuts, coconut oil, and fresh fruits. Stars of the menu include raw vegan cakes, raw vegan cupcakes, raw vegan cinnamon rolls, baked banana bread with buckwheat, and donuts. The packaging is biodegradable, recyclable, and reusable. A new store is opening soon in the city centre.
Address: 29 Nikolaou Plastira, Nea Erythraia, Phone: +30 210 6206916, Website
Fresh
Fresh has a chain of high-level patisseries that offer several vegan options, sold alongside a wide range of regular sweets. Their pastries are quite unique, many of them vegan and sugar-free. The truffles, macarons, and ice creams are exceptional. They also sell splendid cakes – red velvet, Dragees Tea Cake, souffle, and other impressive creations.
For the store addresses and online orders, visit the Fresh Website
Monokeros
A patisserie with vegan, vegetarian, and sugar-free options. They produce exclusively pre-fermented, slow-maturing bread over 24-48 hours, with raw materials from small Greek producers – their flour comes from Thessalian wheat milled in a small mill in the Peloponnese – and sweets follow the same philosophy, with seasonal fruits, stevia, and sparingly used sugar where necessary. The sweet lineup includes cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins, croissants, and tarts (lemon, forest fruits, chocolate, ekme-kadaif with caramelized kadaif and roasted Aegina pistachio) as well as vegan, vegetarian, and sugar-free options.
Address: 4 Phaedrou, Pangrati, Phone: +30 210 7510887, Website
Artoglyko
A bakery and patisserie offering a variety of about 20 types of bread for over 20 years, with the Metsovo wholemeal sourdough bread being a standout. Their handmade pies, including spinach pie, village-style cheese pie, and milk pie, are also in high demand. Classic sweets such as pastries and numerous baked goods (cookies, breadsticks, dips) are available on their shelves.
Address: 14 Prasinou Lofou, Neo Irakleio, Phone: +30 210 2823410, Website
Keenkies
This place is popular for its loukoumades (Greek doughnuts) and peinirli (boat-shaped pizza) in a surrealistic style and in vegan renditions. Surreal loukoumades flavours include carbonara, pastitsio, pizzini, available in both regular and vegan versions. The menu is more ‘straight’ when it comes to sweet ones: Argentinean loukoumades with hazelnut vegan praline, Lila Pause-flavoured loukoumades with strawberry praline, chocolate and Lila Pause pieces, dulce de leche loukoumades with praline and salted almonds, with agave syrup, tahini, and walnuts, as well as classic ones with honey and nuts. Besides loukoumades, the shop also produces peinirli with the same innovative spirit – carbonara, pastitsio, pizzini, as well as banoffee and hangover peinirli (with tofu), offering many vegan options.
Address: 56 Themistokleous, Exarchia, Phone: +30 210 3815278, Website
Lukumades
A specialised shop for exclusively vegan loukoumades, offering a wide variety of “sauces” and fillings for these fluffy, well-made doughnuts. Fillings include apple, lemon cream, bougatsa cream, milk cream praline and mastic cream. Sauce options range from classic honey and cinnamon or walnuts, or powdered sugar, to chocolate praline, Bueno, white chocolate, pistachio praline, salty caramel, chocolate syrup with agave, etc. They also produce savoury loukoumades – with feta cheese and spicy honey, Dakos loukoumades with a tomato sauce topping, feta, oregano, and olive oil, and The Cretan, filled with mizithra cheese and topped with honey and sesame.
Address: 21 Aiolou & Agias Eirinis, Monastiraki, Phone: +30 210 3210880, Website
Fysis
A patisserie offering plenty of gluten-free and sugar-free options, and known as the first to make noteworthy sweets without sugar. Among the pastries, tarts, cakes, syrupy sweets, treats, and ice creams, it produces several exceptional desserts suitable for individuals with dietary restrictions like gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance and allergies. The business follows green practices, using predominantly organic raw materials and seasonal fruits and herbs. Artificial flavours, preservatives, and bulking agents are excluded, fruits and herbs are seasonal, sugar is used sparingly or replaced with natural substances such as agave, honey and maple syrup. Chocoholics will enjoy the small but exquisite “All Chocolate” collection featuring brownies with raw cacao and nuts without gluten and sugar, and mi-cuit molten cake with a heart of liquid chocolate, which is rich in cocoa mass and without sugar.
Address: Mesogeion Ave 450, Agia Paraskevi, Phone: +30 210 6090740, Website
THESSALONIKI
To Glykopasteion tis Fysis
A patisserie specialising in sugar-free, lactose-free, gluten-free, and vegan desserts. Handmade sweets cater to individuals with dietary restrictions and preferences. Sugar is replaced by grape molasses, coconut sugar, agave syrup, royal dates, and dried fruits. Raw nuts are the primary ingredient for sweets, with natural colours from turmeric and matcha tea, flavored with natural vanilla and Madagascar cinnamon. The shop offers cashew cheesecakes, chocolates, tsoureki (sweet bread), cakes with coconut sugar, natural ingredient cakes, hazelnut and honey praline spreads, chocolates with grape molasses and honey, and ice creams with grape molasses, fresh fruits, and coconut cream
Address: 24 Nafpliou, Kato Toumba, Phone: +30 231 5539222, Website
Papillon Colore
A chocolaterie and patisserie known for its high-quality chocolates, dragees, and treats, with many gluten-free options. The chocolates are either imported or sourced from Belgium, including Dragees Buratti chocolates in eight different flavors like tiramisu, cappuccino, caramelised peach, forest fruits, along with classic almond and hazelnut, and a wide variety of dragees (many gluten-free). Delicious offerings include cupcakes, macarons, butter cookies with sugar paste, and soft nougat in various flavours.
Address: 38 Mitropoleos, Phone: +30 2310 221575, Website
Magoa
A modern patisserie offering gastronomic sweets by experienced pastry chef Giorgos Avgeros with many vegan options. Visually stunning, all handmade within the framework of a French patisserie, and based on well-known flavours creatively reimagined by the chef: lemon pie, Paris-Brest with hazelnut, butter biscuits, and more. The signature dessert is their roll with blueberry jam, jasmine, and a whipped blueberry ganache. They also sell elegantly decorated cakes, ice cream in many flavours, handmade chocolate dragees, and pralines.
Address: 29 Palaion Patron Germanou, Phone: +30 231 1301157, Website
Artopia Koukoumeria
A bakery with sugar-free and vegan options, a century-old family business founded by baker Vasilis Koukoumerias when he arrived in Thessaloniki in 1922 from Asia Minor. Now in the hands of the fourth generation, it produces classic and sourdough bread, slow-maturing breads, savoury and sweet baked goods, sugar-free and vegan products. Their exceptional tsoureki is entirely handmade with various fillings – try the walnut and cinnamon tsoureki. They also sell a robust variety of crispy Thessaloniki bagels, plain and whole grain, with raisins, cheese, pepper, mushrooms, village spinach pie and cheese pie, and sweet, cheese, and minced meat bougatsa.
Address: 50 Mikras Asias, Kato Toumba, Phone: +30 231 0912365, Website
Pasalidis
A patisserie known for its sugar-free and vegan options, it is one of the oldest in the city, offering a wide variety of excellent vegan sweets (patisserie and traditional) as well as several sugar-free desserts. Among its vast range of vegan sweets, highlights include the Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Pie, Paris Brest, Profiterole, Cheesecake, Millefeuille, Black Cherry Tart, Carrot Cake with Mango, Ekmek, as well as triangles and karyokes chocolates.
Address: 78 Filippoupolis & 140 Ag. Dimitriou, Phone: +30 231 0217281, Website
Gluten Free Pantry
Here’s a store that exclusively trades in gluten-free products, selling bakery products from its own production made daily, such as sourdough bread, handmade sandwiches, traditional pies, toast, bagels, dips, tsoureki (sweet bread), cakes, muffins, fresh refrigerator sweets, and many more. Additionally, its shelves are stocked with a wide array of packaged gluten-free products from well-known companies in the field (A Gluten Free Pastry & Bakery Project, Schär, EatFree, Freee, Niama, Felicia, Condito, Farabella, Nutrifree, Quinua Real, Sam Mills, Sisinni, Estate Velegrakis, Kazani Sayia, Nomad Honey, and many others), covering almost the entire range of daily food and delicacies.
Address: 4-6 Zois Kaplani, City of Ioannina, Epirus, Phone: +30 6947 269343, Website
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