Greek food is delicious, but as variety is the spice of life, you’ll be happy to know there’s also a multitude of top-quality ethnic street food stops in downtown Athens. From falafel, burgers and exotic sandwiches to Mexican tacos and Indian curries whipped up for you in minutes, here are some excellent selections that won’t fail to hit the spot.
Food str
Somewhat hidden away on pedestrianised Kalamiotou St next to Dude bar, this place has a burger-centric menu and its small but modestly priced burgers have a loyal following. Try the Mushroom burger with three different types of mushroom (portobello, white mushroom, pleurotus), thin parmesan slices, lettuce and ample mayonnaise; or the popular Chicken burger, with expertly grilled chicken breast, pickles, homemade tomato sauce and mayonnaise. Also delicious is the Mediterranean burger, which contains feta cheese and olive paste.
Info: 14 Kalamiotou, +30 210 3211003, Facebook
Feyrouz
Just follow your nose to Karori St, a narrow side street in the centre of town, where you’ll find one of the city’s favourite street-food spots. Using top-quality ingredients and based on Ms Eleni’s recipes, this place serves Anatolian dishes infused with motherly love. The lahmacun is available in three varieties: with a beef mince topping; with seasonal vegetables on wholemeal lahmacun; or a blend of spices, nuts and fresh tomato on a zaatar dough lahmacun. Customers can then top their lahamcun or peineirli with a choice of sauces, including “madame piperine”, a spicy pepper paste with green olives, creamy humus or cool yoghurt. Don’t miss out on the rooster in wine sauce topping, and for dessert try syrupy Anatolian sweets and well-made Greek coffee.
Info: 23 Karori & Aiolou, +30 213 0318060, Facebook
Poké Hawaiian Sushi & Sando
This place is made up of two different eateries that share a small kitchen and serve very different, yet equally scrumptious, foods. Poké, the first of the two to open, starts by filling your bowl with a base of rice, which is topped with your choice of raw fish like salmon, the catch of the day or prawns, and then the flavour is amped up with your choice of Asian pickles, vegetables, spices and sauces. Sando, which opened in 2020, serves Japanese sandwiches prepared with fluffy shokuman bread, a culinary hit of late. From the Poké Hawaiian list, try the Waimea with fish, avocado, red chili, coriander and sesame sauce, and from the Sando menu, don’t miss out on the mouthwatering cheeseburger, with juicy beef patty, crisp pickled cucumber, finely sliced onions and melted cheddar.
Info: 7 Petraki, +30 210 3226653, Facebook
Big Mouth
At this small sandwich bar on Praxitelous St, bread slices (sourdough or wholemeal bread) are toasted and filled with an array of ingredients including sausage chunks, mushrooms with melted cheese; pastrami with pickles; chicken, turkey, beef patty, salmon or tuna. Sandwiches are also made using ciabatta and brioche bread. Once prepared, the sandwiches are briefly grilled on a hotplate, wrapped in paper and cut in half. All selections are generously sized and gratifying. A sandwich with Italian meatballs, and two of their sweet selections – one with peanut butter and jam, the other with chocolate and halva – are popular favourites.
Info: 20 Praxitelous, +30 210 3250449, Facebook
Falafellas
Walking along pedestrianised Aiolou St towards Agia Irinis square, you’re likely to come across a queue of people hungrily yearning for falafels made by Giorgos and Aris. Successful since it opened because of its high flavour sandwiches made with good quality ingredients, this take-away serves falafel in small and large pita bread wraps. The flavour of the falafel wraps can be amplified with a variety of sauces and ingredients including a refreshing minty yoghurt sauce, tahini, pickled aubergine, crunchy cucumber, chili sauce and hummus.
Info: 51 Aiolou, +30 210 3239809, Facebook
Granello
Yet another somewhat hidden street-food gem in the city centre, Granello is situated on a tiny pedestrianised alley reachable from Lekka St via Karagiorgi Servias St. Its owner Kyriakos Liodakis, a pizza enthusiast, set up a wood-fired oven and has honed the talent of baking delicious, thin-crust pizzas the Neapolitan way. He uses leavened dough, exclusively, flour and water, leaving the dough to sit for 48 hours, and then tops it with ingredients imported from Italy or supplied locally by small-scale producers. The menu includes 10 different pizzas: despite its simplicity, the classic Margarita is very delicious, the Piccante, with spicy salami, chilli-flavoured honey and a parmesan-mozzarella combination, is for thrill-seekers, as is the Vulcana, topped with fierily hot sausage. Also well worth trying is the Bianca, topped with burrata cheese, parmesan, garlic, fresh basil, olive oil and black pepper.
Info: 18 Perikleous, +30 210 3226542, Facebook
Poncho
Alfonso Alvarez –widely known by his nickname Poncho, opened a place that is as small in size as it is large in character. Poncho Tacos near Syntagma square serves three types of tacos and three types of quesadillas, all of which are delicious. Daily, Poncho and his small crew make fresh, handmade taco dough using masa de mais, which after being cooked is topped with either mushroom, pork gyro, or chicken. These are sprinkled with various ingredients like cheese, finely chopped spring onion, pineapple and coriander, with wedges of lime on the side for extra zing. The handful of little tables outside and the seating areas at the bar indoors are all equipped with two bottles: salsa verde with avocado and coriander, and mildly spicy chipotle, for squeezing onto your taco, while a devilishly spicy habanero sauce is also available for those who dare. Two homemade drinks are recommended to cool down the hot taste – agua de Jamaica with hibiscus and, if preferred, tequila, or agua de tamarindo with tamarind and, if preferred, mescal. Craft beer and other refreshments are also sold.
Info: 10 Plateia Karytsi, +30 210 3317538, Facebook
Volvi
At the Athens Varvakeio Meat Market entrance, on Evripidou St, Volvi, no larger than 2×2 metres squared, just about manages to do for a team of three. Don’t expect a wide and colourful variety of foods, here you’ll find only pork souvlaki skewers and soutzoukakia (meatballs baked in spiced tomato sauce). The meat and minced meat used in this tiny spot are purchased fresh daily from the neighbouring butcher shops. The succulent and delicious pork skewers can be enjoyed in a pita wrap or as a main with tomato, onion, chili flakes and mustard. The small soutzoukakia are scrumptious. The store closes at the same time as the meat market, around 6pm.
Info: 24 Evripidou, +30 211 1180587, Facebook
Hoocut
This contemporary souvlaki place was launched by the team behind trendy Cookoovaya restaurant and has a similarly elevated approach to the common street food. The large, high-ceilinged space includes four sections: a bakery, a fruit and vegetable shop, a butcher shop and a grill area. Ingredients are gathered and prepared at a large marble bench in the centre of the space by aproned cooks. The four types of meat served here, pork, beef, chicken and ewe, are from good cuts and served in three different ways, either as small pita in wraps, piled onto pitta bread or over fried chips. The hand-cut fries are thin, crispy and tasty. Vegetarian options include calamari in pita bread or dolmadaki (stuffed vine leaves) in pita bread, salads and aubergine dip.
Info: 9 Agias Irinis Square, +30 210 3240026, Facebook
Curry Express
Managed by the curry-crazy team that operates the Indian Chef restaurant on Syggrou Ave, this fast food Indian restaurant has an extensive menu that includes yummy and filling Indian souvlaki wraps. Chicken Korma or tandoori wraps aside, this place also serves delicious basmati rice bowls, chicken or vegetables cooked in a variety of ways, tandoori chicken, noodles and numerous vegetarian choices. Wash your meal down with a cooling Iassi, a traditional Indian yoghurt drink that can be drunk plain or with mango.
Info: 37 Kolokotroni, +30 210 3315807, Facebook
Read also:
Top 10 pizza spots in Athens – Neapolitan, classic or Canotto
5 special restaurants in Athens that serve amazing food
The best burgers in Athens – the street food that became an art
