When we talk about casserole dishes, images of Sunday meals with the whole family around a white-clothed table waiting for the giouvetsi (beef and orzo casserole), the pastitsio (baked pasta with ground beef and bechamel) or the roast lamb and potatoes come to mind.
Food cooked with love and all the ingredients, the herbs and spices simmering, and sweetly mixing. Served on the good platter and accompanied by fresh salads, appetizers and fresh bread. Steamy, fragrant, made by tireless hands. This food that awakens senses and memories – and is known with the term comfort food – isn’t something you’ll come across easily in Athens. Not because it’s no popular, but because it’s not easy to cook with love and care.
However, there are decent options, by people who love what they do, and love good food. We’re not saying that you can have your grandmother’s meatballs in tomato sauce, but we can certainly say that in the following restaurants you’ll find the next best thing.
Let’s see 10 honest, tasty and low budget cookshops in the city.
Vathis in Kifisia
A typical tavern that bears the test of time and gets better each year. With a nice interior and a majestic fireplace for the winter and large verdant garden for the summer. The menu includes the extraordinary Hünkar beğendi, lachanontolmades (cabbage rolls), chickpeas, kokoretsi (intestines wrapped around offal), and stews that sell out fast. A household name and a welcoming atmosphere. You must try the liver that you need to order in advance.
7 Kyrou street, Kifisia
Thessalia in Nea Kifisia
For more than 40 years the restaurant “Thessalia” has been feeding generations of Athenians that visit from noon. The interior is warm and clean and prepares you for the clean flavours. The garden with the plane trees is ideal for warm sunny days. The menu is large. The “papoutsakia” (stuffed aubergines), the lachanontolmades (cabbage rolls), the fish soup and their pizza baked in a wood burning oven, as well as their bread are considered a must.
19 Eleon street, Kifisia
Kitsoulas in Chalandri
What can one say about this cookshop whose reputation has crossed the borders? At “Kitsoulas”, the tables are set early and the first hungry customers arrive around 12 at noon. The space is small both inside and outside, and as a result queues form from the groups of people waiting for a table (they don’t take reservation, only walk-ins). Try the lachanontolmades, the stuffed courgettes, the rooster in tomato sauce stew with the pasta and the fricassee and accompany them with the warm sourdough bread that is offered generously.
25 Filikis Eterias, Chalandri
To Omorfo in Kolonaki
At this laid-back tavern you can have the best casserole dishes in the city centre. Small and warm with a nice atmosphere, they have been serving with equal care the diverse crowds that pass through there. The menu that changes every day includes honeyed goat, tomato beef stew, chickpeas, cabbage rice, delicious ground beef patties and amazing stews. A standard meeting point for lunch or night cravings.
50 Xenokratous street, Kolonaki
Filippou in Kolonaki
A household name all these years, “Filippou” restaurant is one of the few points of reference in the city centre. Many celebrities have been among its customers and they have highly praised their traditional stews and especially their stuffed tomatoes. This is Greek cuisine at its best with dishes that are always tasty and well-prepared, using the best ingredients. Great stews and a delectable rooster with pasta. It’s worth visiting now that the weather is still good, so you can sit outside.
19 Xenokratous street, Kolonaki
Papagiannis in Ilisia
A typical cookshop that smells like a home kitchen. With tables both inside and outside, this hidden away tavern has fed generations of journalists, actors or ordinary hungry residents of Ilisia. You must definitely try the legendary spinach pie, the stews, the ground beef patties with the miniature courgettes, the exceptional soups and, in general, whatever you order it’s certain you’ll like it.
53 Papadiamantopoulou street, Ilisia
Oikonomou in Ano Petralona
Another household name, an honest shop with casserole dishes and stews that make a difference. In a lively street of Petralona, groups of younger and older people, couples and lovers of casserole dishes crowd here exactly for these dishes. Since 1930 dishes that have fed the Athenians of the centre are being prepared here with love and care. Choose from the stew and casserole dishes. It’s a guarantee.
41 Troon street & Kidantidon, Ano Petralona
Ramona in Kallithea
A tavern in a basement with barrels and the atmosphere of an old traditional tavern. Even though the name doesn’t bring to mind a Greek grandmother, the flavours you’ll taste at “Ramona are 100% Greek, with the tomato beef stew, the lachanontolmades, the gigantes beans, all the delectable legume soups and the amazing escargot in tomato sauce being the protagonists.
11-13 Minoos street, Kallithea
To Eidikon in Piraeus
A traditional cookshop that has maintained its character throughout the years. “To Eidikon” (it means special) is a special case. It serves amazing fried meatballs, liver, omelettes and fries, as well as 2-3 salads. If you’re looking for something different, “To Eidikon” is for you.
38 Psarron & Salaminos street, Piraeus
Martinis on Patission Street
Honest, tasty “mom’s” food without flourishes. A clean shop that respects customers and has maintained a stable quality for years. Students, couples, families, and workers come here for the tomato beef stew that melts in your mouth and the stuffed courgettes. Great stews, salads and a different souvlaki (pork skewer).
289 Patission Street & Iakovaton, Athens
