The summer might end in a few weeks, but fortunately, Athens has food and drink options that not only relax us and make us escape but also take us to distant exotic and tropical places: Hawaii, the Caribbean, Panama, Mexico, and Cuba.
Wherever you want to go, you don’t need to get a ticket; just hit the streets of the Greek capital and follow our suggestions.
El Tropicana
It’s always summer at this bar in Avissinias Square!
A backdrop drenched in colour and full of plants, orange lights reminiscent of the sun, and totems everywhere create an atmosphere straight out of the Caribbean. Cocktails, Latin American flavours, and music worldwide take centre stage here.
The morning starts with fine coffee, and the day continues with brunch, which includes well-made burritos, nachos, quesadillas, and tacos.
As the sibling of the Buena Vista Social bar, which is right next door, El Tropicana shares with it a kitchen where only creative flavours and love for fine ingredients are accepted.
Arguably, the best time is when it starts to get dark. The sun goes down, the nearby antique shops close, and the wild summer party begins with travelling music and delicious cocktails made with love from A to Z.
Handmade syrups, fresh ingredients, excellent spirits, and a lot of imagination go into signature and classic cocktails that experienced bartenders prepare.
10 Avissinias Square, Monastiraki, tel.: 210 3210 016
Tiki bar Athens
Undoubtedly the most emblematic place of tiki culture in Athens. Its exotic aesthetics and the corresponding disposition of the space and its people immediately take you to Hawaii in every sense.
Let’s start with the award-winning bar and its vast variety. The bar’s love for rum can be seen in its refined cocktails, especially the ultra-classic Mai Tai and Zombie, the likes of which, in taste and quality, you will not find in the whole city.
In the same logic and on the menu, what stands out are the tiki fries with mango ketchup, the burger with chicken panko and guacamole, the tacos with Barbacoa beef, etc.
From the leopard seats to the retro movie posters, the events, and the frequent live performances, everything in this bar is so perfectly placed that it brings summer to the outskirts of the Acropolis, even on Christmas days.
Faliro 15, Makrygianni, tel.: 210 9236 908
Juan Rodriguez
Juan Rodriguez is a fantastic person. According to the story created by the owners of this particular bar, Armelina Antonaropoulou and Costas Loukas, their hero was born in Panama and enslaved there.
Fortunately, after escaping and being freed, he made his dream come true: he opened his own completely idiosyncratic bar, specifically on Pallados Street.
This place is decorated to perfectly serve the narrative created in Athens.
Therefore, in Psirri, and specifically on Pallados Street, this place is decorated to serve the narrative that created it perfectly.
Handcrafted by master craftsman Alex Petrakis, it is full of golden chandeliers, striking wall paintings, heavy wooden furniture, and colourful decorative elements.
Cocktails aged in oak casks, aged rums, tequilas, and vermouths are masterfully mixed in classic and creative drink options (list curated by Spyros Anagnostou; see 7 Jokers).
The highlights are the music, which changes every day since Juan’s decks are filled with the city’s best DJs (Bakerman, Chairman, Ms Lefki, etc.).
Pallados 3, Athens, tel.: 210 3224 496
Che
A beautiful neoclassical building on Karaiskou Street houses a huge mural depicting Frida Kahlo that evokes Che’s philosophy.
The courtyard resembles a Mexican hacienda and is just what you need for days when the temperatures rise. From morning to night, the rhythms are relaxed, and everything predisposes you to spend a few hours there trying special tastes.
The choripan sandwich with pretzel bread, chorizo sausage, and tartar sauce is delicious. It is the perfect breakfast or brunch with salpicon de frutas pancakes, i.e. pancakes with fresh fruit, cream cheese, and dulce de leche.
The rest of the menu includes pineapple-braised chicken empanadas, shrimp and mango salad, an avocado grinder with aji Amarillo sauce, and beef flap steak with herbs, coffee, and plantain.
The cocktails are mainly made with mezcal and tequila, and the fresh ingredients take the drinks to the next level.
On the plus side, the parties are organised frequently and are a separate chapter in themselves. There is music and dancing until the end in the outdoor area and the atmospheric hall, which is wonderful for the winter months.
151 Karaiskou, Piraeus, tel.: 210 4296 660
Mexha
Here, you will taste the culinary tradition of Mexico. But let’s start with the space where cacti, colourful tiles, parrots, colourful flowers and wallpapers set the mood without overloading the atmosphere.
The menu, signed by Haris Ventis, includes all the emblematic dishes of Mexican cuisine.
Crispy nachos with chilli con carne, cheese sauce, guacamole, and sour cream, all made by hand; chicken fajitas with well-cooked fillet, peppers, and sour cream with mint; tacos from handmade corn tortillas; and beef chimichanga, a crispy breaded burrito with barbacoa beef, sour cream, cheddar, and vegetables.
The bar is just as exciting, emphasising cocktails from top spirits, hand-made syrups, and oleo sugars. It is made with top spirits, hand-made syrups, and oleo sugars.
And the best part? Mexha has a Traveling Bar, a cocktail bar that moves to meet the needs of events so they can come to our party, in the garden or on our roof instead of us going there.
56 Agios Konstantinos, Maroussi, tel.: 216 0017 188
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