A Piraeus cult classic where you can enjoy seafood like a proper local. Margaro, who originally comes from Mykonos, opened her little taverna in 1944. It’s still tucked away in the same spot, next to the Naval Academy in Hatzikiriakio. During the post-war years, Margaro fed simple comfort food to the dock workers. Her son Lazaros took over the business in 1960. Today, you’ll find him serving a daily menu that’s limited to five dishes (depending on seasonal availability): shrimp, crayfish, red mullets, koutsomoura, a type of red mullet, and lithrini, a small red snapper. All of them are pan-fried, not grilled. In charge of frying are Margaro’s four grandchildren, who have all inherited her perfect technique: just a little, in order to be crispy outside, but fresh and juicy inside. And that’s about it, accompanied with a simple tomato salad topped with a chunk of delicious, creamy feta from Argos. It’s an ideal perch to watch handsome sailors come and go from the Naval Academy and enjoy your ouzo the Greek way: paired with seafood, plenty of sunshine and a refreshing sea breeze.

A bit further down the street is Yiannis, an honest family-run taverna that’s enjoyed steady trade for the past 30 years. The current owners hail from Symi island, a small paradise next to Rhodes. Unlike the area’s more premium seafood restaurants, there’s no view. But Yiannis’ great cooking, good service and reasonable prices speak for themselves. Stand-out dishes (although everything is delicious) are the mussels saganaki (cooked with tomato and feta), grilled octopus, bite-sized battered dogfish, and  pan-fried Symiako garidaki, tiny shrimp found around Symi and loved by Greeks for their sweet flavour.

A star player in Piraeus for over 80 years, this fancy but unstuffy fish restaurant is where choosy locals take out-of-towners to impress them with a refined fish lunch or dinner. Once a humble beach taverna feeding Athenian holidaymakers, today Dourabeis is a third generation family restaurant that channels the ethos of its founders, Giorgos and Rallia Dourabeis. Many dishes on the simple but sophisticated menu hail from their native islands of Kos and Kythira. Fish and seafood comes from the Greek islands and is always fresh and seasonal. A complimentary fish soup kicks things off. It’s usually followed by shellfish (there’s a big variety, but the wild Greek oysters and sea urchin are favourites). On nearly every table, you’ll find the famous peeled tomato salad with pickled pepperoncini, olives, whole lettuce leaves and radishes, dressed in extra virgin olive oil. For mains, steer towards a whole grilled fish, a delicate red mullet ceviche, or the delicious crayfish sashimi.

One of the most famous dining destinations in Athens. Varoulko was the first Greek restaurant to win a Michelin star. Celebrity chef and larger than life owner Lefteris Lazarou is regarded as Greece’s top “seafood specialist”. He learned the trade from his father, who was a cook on merchant ships. Lazarou opened his first restaurant, Varoulko, in 1987 in a grubby Piraeus backstreet. He relocated to the centre of Athens for a few years, before returning to his roots in Piraeus. Right beside the water, on stylish Mikrolimano port, this is a restaurant for special occasions or date night dining. Either come for lunch and enjoy more light and simple flavors or take it all the way and experience the more complex, creative dishes of the dinner menu. Try the soup with cuttlefish ink, asparagus and crab, the perfect taramosalata, the dolma (grape leaves) with minced shrimp and crayfish drizzled with their fabulous turmeric sauce and the mouthwatering poached egg on potato mousse with smoked eel and truffle oil. The menu also includes beautiful pasta and seafood dishes like the pasta with grouper, minced shrimp and baked cherry tomatoes. The true fish lovers should just go for one of their famous fresh fish dishes (depending on the season fish may vary) like the fresh sea bream fillet with creamed celery root, chorizo and chocolate flavoured olive oil. Despite that this is clearly a seafood restaurant, the menu has a long list of dishes suitable for vegetarians and vegans.