Tiropita (cheese pie), be it with filo pastry, county style filo, puff pastry or kourou dough (shortcrust pastry) is the most famous breakfast food in Greece. Each bite is heaven. The variety of tiropites is great. Usually, we have a favourite kind, from a favourite shop, bakery or patisserie in our neighbourhood.
But there are many places in Athens where it’s worth trying the cheese pie, at least once. So, we took to the streets and after trying many – some tasty and others not so much – we recommend the ones that stood out. Some are traditional, household names, others aren’t, but all of them are tasty, buttery, and stuffed with feta. So, enjoy.
Ariston
Their story starts sometime in 1910, when grandfather Anastasios Lompotesis brought the recipe for the buttery kourou dough from Constantinople. That’s the fluffy dough they use daily to make many trays with the small delectable cheese pies for which the Athenians form queues outside. You’re done in two bites, and the buttery taste remains in your mouth for long. Apart from the legendary cheese pies, at Ariston you can also try various other luscious pies. In total the number of recipes that are on display at the cult shop on Voulis street reaches 120.
10 Voulis str, Sintagma, tel. 0030 2103227626
Mam
It’s impossible to be walking down Panepistimiou street and not stop for a cheese pie at Mam. Its crunchy dough with the buttery feel and the golden colour, together with the delicious filling are the secrets to its success. It’s been made using the same recipe since 1958 when the shop first opened. Truth is, you can’t have just one, so you’ll see the regulars leave the shop holding two of these small cheese pies.
34 Panepistimiou street & Ippokratous, Athens, tel. 0030 210 3619830, Pesmantzoglou & Stadiou
I Stani
This shop in Omonia square might be more famous for its creams and cult desserts, but they also make one of the tastiest cheese pies you can find in the centre of Athens. With kourou dough, they use their own butter and feta filling. Bear in mind that they don’t make too many, so in order to get one you need to get there in the morning.
10 M. Kotopouli str. Omonia, tel. 0030 2105233627
Diethnes
The cheese pie here is made with puff pastry, and of course a fair share of butter, and its filling is light, creamy cheeses. Diethnes first opened its doors in the early 70s and became a reference point for the people of the Pangrati neighbourhood. If you want to try the cheese pie or the other tasty puff pastries (their pepper pie is a must) it’s best to visit early in the morning. Diethnes is a benchmark.
76 Sp. Merkouri str, Pangrati, tel. 0030 2107228166
Dimitra Gounaridi
The cheese pie at this shop, that has been around for over a century of handmade tradition from lost homelands, is simple, crunchy, triangular and fried, and when you bite into it the delicious hot feta cream oozes out. You must also try their amazing minced beef pie and their leek pie, while you can also buy their pies frozen, to bake at home.
3-5 Evangelikis Sholis str, N. Ionia, tel. 0030 2102712548
Mama Psomi
This bakery in Koukaki uses organic flours and makes bread that’s worth trying. The same is true about their cheese pie that is baked daily in small quantities, and whose filling is only feta. If you’re there, also try their greens pie with the bready, unoiled, dough.
42-44 Zaharitsa str, Koukaki, tel. 0030 2109227686
Tasos
One of the most popular cheese pies in the south suburbs, that is a family business. The baker, Anastasios Koitidis, known as kyr-Tasos, was the first to open the bakery in 1955, then his son took over, and now his grandson. Their cheese pie uses a crunchy, quite buttery kourou dough, with a luscious stuffing. And since you’re there, try their famous chocolate filled kok that are covered in chocolate sprinkles.
6 Maragkou str, Glyfada, tel. 0030 2108943154
Pavlou
You’ll find this patisserie on one of the busiest streets of Ilisia. They make a kourou cheese pie with all the artistry of people from Ioannina. It’s small and buttery and sells “like hot bread” the moment it’s out of the oven. As you’re eating it, you’ll order the next, while you look at the desserts on display: galaktompoureko (traditional Greek custard pie), syrup sweets and the chocolate pie you’ll probably go home with.
42 Papadiamandopoulou str, Ilisia, tel. 0030 210 7774012
Alma
At this patisserie, whose setting seems to have frozen in the 60s, the cheese pie comes from Alexandria. It’s homemade, with pastry puff they prepare in house that smells of butter, it’s round and has a delicious filling. This small shop also makes amazing sablé (a type of French shortbread cookie with jam filling).
56 Ag. Alexandrou str, P. Faliro, tel. 0030 2109834493
Makedonikon
Another household name in the city centre. Its name might make you expect a bougatsa (traditional custard cream pastry from Northern Greece, Macedonia) – which they offer, and it is indeed really good. But they also have a cheese bougatsa, rich and buttery like they make them in Northern Greece, as well as a smaller, kourou cheese pie, that’s also quite popular. We’d recommend trying both.
73 Solonos str, Athens, tel. 0030 2130256153
