The moment you approach you are overwhelmed by their fragrances. The moment you cross the door, you realise can’t choose only one thing and end up leaving with bags full of products instead of the one loaf you originally planned to buy. The following bakeries that we recommend, traditional and more modern, know good bread that’s worth biting into!
Kora Bakery
Two young girls, Ianthi Mihalaki and Maria Alafouzou, who were brought together by their mutual love for good bread, have created this bakery. You can’t get inside the shop, like you would at a conventional bakery, but you’ll order what you want standing outside. That’s why they’ve created a large window to display all their goods on white shelves. Between the bread you can see inside the workshop. Their bread is made with sourdough that is left to mature for at least 16 hours, while their pastries are made with French butter and also mature for 72 hours. I recommend the oat bread, the two different focaccias (one with rosemary and sea salt, the other one with chorizo, graviera cheese and tomato), the pain au chocolat and also the rectangular Danish pastries with the caramelised apples and the creme pattissiere that you’ll just love. On the weekends they make a bread with cacao, chocolate pieces and honey, that you must try.
44 Anagnostopoulou str, Kolonaki, 210 3627855, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KoraBakeryAthens
Betty’s Bakery
Elisavet Koulouri worked for many years in the communication and marketing sector until she decided to work in what she really loved: bread making. So, in 2016, she started kneading, making special, handmade breads and bringing them to our door. Her breads became famous by word of mouth and now her business is housed in an old auto repair facility in the neighbourhood of Votanikos, that was remodelled to deal with the increasing demand. There are various versions of her bread, like multigrain with turmeric and red chilli flakes, or with carob flour and walnuts, while there are also seasonal breads like white bread with lavender and honey and the Christmas bread with lots of nuts and spices.
10 Kassandra str, Votanikos, 694 4600896, https://www.bettysbakery.gr
Likavittos
This particular bakery is known for its German type bread that is made using German and Austrian flours. Apart from that, you’ll find around 20 different kinds of bread so that you can choose the one you like. The dough they use, apart from flour has a grape extract that gives the bread a unique flavour and a nice moistness. You’ll also find savoury muffins, pies, oat cookies (very tasty) and moustokouloura (Greek grape must cookies). The only thing certain is you won’t leave with just bread.
59 Dinokratous str, Kolonaki, 210 7211348
Takis Bakery
We don’t have to say much about this bakery. It’s been open since March 1971, when the late Takis Papadopoulos took over his father’s business who made Thessaloniki’s koulouria (a traditional kind of bagel with sesame). With the passing of the years many more products were added since Takis really loved being a baker. Since 2010 the business has passed in the hands of his children Artemi and Thodoris. You’ll find a wide variety of different breads (around 50), many pastries and sweets. I prefer campaillou, a French bread made with a mixture of flours (wheat, malt and rye) and rye sourdough. The corn bread, as well as the multigrain are simply delicious. Finally, if you’re lucky, get a piece (or two) of the apple pie or the Cretan kalitsounia (sweet cheese pies) and you won’t regret it.
14 Misaraliotou str, Koukaki, 210 9230052, Facebook https://m.facebook.com/takisbakery
Tromero paidi (great guy)
They opened right after the first lockdown, in May 2020, and in a very short period they started running out of bread before noon. A corner shop with a huge window through which you can see the ‘bookcase’ with the breads, it’s housed in a 1926 house. Stefanos Livanios and Christos Pappas, that is the tromera paidia (great guys), use Greek flour from fifth generation miller from Karditsa, Pipino Pyrrontzello, and bake daily only sourdough breads. Their multigrain bread is truly delicious, while their baguette is crusty, their wholegrain is robust and tasty, and every weekend they also make a bread with nuts and fruits that is very special. Their pastries smell of butter and their desserts are light – you must try their lemon tart. In case you plan on visiting on a Friday or Saturday it’s best to go early in the morning, or you’ll have to wait patiently in line.
30 Papadiamantopoulou str, Ilisia, 210 7777537
Mama, psomi (mom, bread)
At first sight it gives the impression of an ordinary neighbourhood bakery, which it is, but it’s not ‘ordinary’. Rallou and Giorgos quit the art of acting and took up the art of bread. They knead daily a standard wheat, a peasant sourdough, a delicious wholegrain, a multigrain, a bulgur bread with hazelnuts, a sourdough, as well as a zea flour one. You’ll also find pies with filo dough that they make themselves (try the spinach pie and the ground beef pie) as well as sweet treats like croissants, pie with molasses, galatopita (milk pie) and various types of fragrant cookies.
42-44 Zacharitsa & Zinni str, Koukaki, 210 9227686, Facebook
Pnika
Dimitris Kotsaris, the founder of this bakery, was invited to Harvard university to show them how ‘proper bread’, as he said, is made, with water and a pinch of salt. Now his son, Giorgos, is running the business, continuing the tradition, travelling around Greece to find the best wheat that they mill in their stone mill inside the bakery in Pangrati. I recommend the bread with herbs, their huge loaf (white or wholegrain) and the corn and buckwheat bread. Apart from the Athens branches, a few years ago a branch opened in the heart of the capital of Austria.
13 Pratinou str, Pangrati, 210 7251941 / 24 Petraki str, Syntagma, 210 3245162 / 26 Tositsa str, Exarcheia, 210 3812817
