What I ate, and drank, in Athens - Part 1 Pre Cruise

Pre cruise dining

One of the best parts of traveling is trying new foods.  I like to think of myself as a bit of a foodie.  I've always been somewhat of a picky eater; however, since I've aged (like fine wine) my palate has gotten more sophisticated.

 While I'll never be a huge fan of fish, seafood, mushrooms, "raw cheese" and meats other than beef, pork and chicken, I'll try new things, especially when I'm someplace different! I spent a total of 4 days in Athens recently, 2 nights before and 2 nights after my cruise on Celebrity Apex.

There are hundreds of restaurants in Athens to suit all budgets.  In summer, essentially no one eats inside.  The cafes all have awnings and huge fans and while it was very hot when I was there, if you got the right seat, dining al fresco was quite lovely.  

My first hotel, Hermes Hotel was located in the Plaka/Syntagma area and when I asked where to get lunch,  the man at the desk said go out the door, walk to the end, make a left, then you'll see many cafes.  Just pick whatever looks good to you.

So, that's what I did. The first place I saw was Piazza Duomo so I had a seat and ordered a lovely roasted pork dish with delicious potatoes and a Mediterranean spritz. Just what I needed after being on a plane for 8 hours.

Pork tenderloin and roasted potatoes

Cucumber spritz

Later that day, rather than dinner, I sort of cheated and wound up getting dessert! LOL.  Since my mind and body really didn't have much concept of time, after a walk and a nap, I headed back to Palmie Bistro for dessert and something to drink.  The banana crepe made for a great 'midnight snack' around 5 PM or so! Pretty sure I just had a coke or club soda.

Banana Crepe at Palmie Bistro

 My hotel provided a nice breakfast and that's reviewed in the Hermes Hotel post which can be found HERE.

The next day, it was over to STYL Café for chicken souvlaki for lunch after my HOHO bus tour.  Again, dining al fresco was fairly pleasant and the meal was excellent.  Toss in a 4€ glass of rose and it was an excellent meal.  

Souvlaki

Rose all day

Athens has a large number of rooftop bars and restaurants.  I wanted to have a nice cocktail with a view so I went over to the Electra Metropolis Hotel.  This stunning property was down the street and to the right from Hermes Hotel.  The rooftop has a bar, restaurant and pool. This hotel seemed popular with families as well since I saw a number of kids splashing about.  

My cocktail was delicious and the bar even had individually packaged containers of mixed nuts which was a nice touch.  I was able to see the Acropolis and in the distance, one of the raging wildfires north of the city. I also saw some firefighting aircraft flying about.  

The Electra Metropolis Hotel is more modern and probably 4.5-5 stars.  I checked the rates and they were around $250+ USD per night.  A bit over budget but it's a great location.

I forget what this was, but it was amazing

Individual containers of mixed nuts

Rooftop bar at Electra Metropolis

Lobby at Electra Metropolis

 Pro Tip: Sometimes power goes off in Athens.  It can happen whether there are wildfires burning or not.  I got temporarily stuck in the elevator on the 10th floor.  Luckily, there were nice seating areas on every elevator landing.  I walked down 2 floors at a time.  Ugh.  Also, in the summer, Athens is HOT. ALWAYS have bottled water with you.

After my adventure hauling my sorry self down 11 flights of stairs (the ground floor is referred to as 0 not 1 like it is here) I stopped at a new little bistro called Burrattino Spritzeria. Yes, Italian food in Athens.  The restaurant has a large variety of spritzes, hence the name.  My peach spritz was fabulous, I actually had to order a second one to make sure I liked it.  LOL.  Spritzes are huge in this part of the world, or so it seems, and for good reason.  They're very refreshing on hot summer days, and nights, and the combinations of liquors is seemingly endless.

I opted to get a margarita flatbread since I wasn't really hungry and it sounded delicious. I was correct, it was excellent.  I'd walked past Burrattino a few times so it looked like it would be a fun spot for dinner.  I'm glad I stopped and it was really close to my hotel.  Essentially out the front door and straight ahead for a block or so.  After my tasty dinner, I headed back to my hotel to recover from my adventures.  

With so many great restaurants, you'll be hard pressed to get a bad meal or to NOT find something you want to eat.  The nice thing about the Plaka/Syntagma/Monastiraki neighborhoods in Athens is that there are so many places to choose from.  If you can't find something you want to eat, you're doing it wrong.  I wish I had more time to eat in some other spots!