Arranged over three floors and with a small, tranquil courtyard just 100 metres from the Parthenon, Spondi is one of Greece’s most award-winning restaurants, and the country’s first to receive two Michelin stars. Chef Angelos Lantos, who collected a second star in 2008, presides over an exclusively French menu featuring artful, often playful, dishes: smoked milk croquettes laid over green bedding to resemble eggs in a nest; a deconstructed Saint-Nectaire ‘cheese on toast’. Its cellar, the talk of the town, holds more than 1,300 labels.

Pyrronos 5, Pagrati, Athens, Athina 116 36

+30 2107 564 021

https://goo.gl/maps/sQTxpuZwLFPGc2UF8

HYTRA


In 2012, a big year for Hytra, the restaurant received its second Michelin star and relocated from Psiri to the sixth floor of Athens’ gleaming Onassis Cultural Centre, flitting to the building’s seventh floor terrace during the warmer months to offer diners a panoramic view of the Acropolis and Mount Lycabettus. While high concept dishes remain accessible, chef Tassos Mantis strives to use local, sustainable and foraged ingredients: think free-range rooster from Alexandrakis Farm and milk-fed lamb.

107-109 Syngrou Avenue, Koukaki, Athens, Athina 11745

+30 2177 071 118

https://goo.gl/maps/Xfe2o2SMCC2D4ezU8



BARS






A FOR ATHENS

A is also for Acropolis, apt as this rooftop bar gives you one of the city's finest views of the ancient UNESCO landmark. The cocktail menu is another call back to Greece's golden age, with its Odyssey theme. The ‘Stormy Martini’ is a sophisticated blend of Gin Mare, fino sherry, Martini Ambrato, Talisker Storm and seaweed, while the ‘Cyclops’ mixes a house blend of Havana Club and overproof rums with citrus, homemade orgeat and Peychaud's Bitters.

 

2 - 4 Miaouli, Psyri, Athens, 105 54

NOEL