Athens is no longer just a city for meat eaters. As more people switch to plant-based diets—and countless others become “flexitarians” by consciously consuming less meat—Athens has welcomed a new wave of vegan cafés and restaurants, like Vegan Nation in Syntagma and Bamboo Vegan in Exarchia. These days, you can find meat- and dairy-free options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (we’ll even let you know where you can eat vegan for brunch). From raw vegan lunch boxes to meat-free street food, you’ll find plenty of exciting vegan options in the Greek capital.
Peas
Among the hipster bars and pavement cafés in the Koukaki neighbourhood, look out for bright green Peas, a cute vegan eatery and takeaway. Try the vegan version of Greece’s ultimate street food: a souvlaki wrap with grilled tempeh. Not just healthy, it’s ethical, too: coffee is organic and fair trade, ingredients are locally sourced from small producers, and the friendly crew have a zero-waste policy.
Vegan eats at Peas.
Courtesy: Peas
This sunny spot is the best place to spend a day with coffee and a laptop.
Courtesy: Ohh Boy
Ohh Boy
Sunny décor (all white, pepped-up with freshly-cut sunflowers) and speedy WiFi sweeten the deal at this Pangrati hotspot that lures an arty crowd with its excellent vegan breakfasts, brunches and sweets. There’s chia porridge with almond milk, raw vegan cheesecake and guilt-free burgers with beetroot slaw, just for starters.
Healthy Bites
Healthy Bites is a sleek little café-cum-takeaway near Omonia Square where you’ll eat among a mostly local crowd. Although everything is vegan and organic, you can indulge in ‘healthy’ junk food, such as vegan hot dogs or jackfruit nuggets and chips. The vegan moussaka has a loyal following.
Some healthy eats at Healthy Bites.
Courtesy: Healthy Bites
“This is the kind of place you wish was right across the road from your house.”
Melikrini
For a winter warmer, you can’t beat the vegan hot chocolate and delicately spiced soups at dainty little Melikrini, a few minutes’ walk from Panepistimio metro station. Do try the freshly baked pies, too. Friendly staff sweeten the deal, as do the bamboo and steel straws in their delicious smoothies. This is the kind of place you wish was right across the road from your house.
Ice Queen Gelato
Close to the Acropolis Museum, Ice Queen Gelato puts frozen treats back on the menu for sweet-toothed vegans. Their dairy-free ice cream range is ever-changing, but usually features four flavours (anything from pear to plum or pomegranate). Their vegan waffles with nutella and whipped “cream” earn rave reviews; and you can also keep the faith with a vegan cappuccino or sandwich. A no-frills setting—but it’s all about the sugar rush, isn’t it?
Coffee, food and everything good.
Courtesy: Anana
Anana Coffee|Food
Athenians are buzzing over much more than the masterful caffeine brews at Anana Coffee Food. The handmade vegan and vegetarian treats and strict no-smoking policy are also earning rave reviews at this friendly new pit stop on Praxitelous Street. Wait, there’s one final ace up their sleeve: the gracious old arcade that Anana fronts. Order a spinach and olive sandwich, a slice of their addictive banana bread or apple crumble and slip around to the café’s side entrance where you can snaffle one of the bright yellow tables inside the arcade. We usually team our edibles with a cold pressed juice or cappuccino made with oat milk. It’s like injecting your day with a dose of happy.
Lime Bistro
Located on a whitewashed sidewalk perfumed by a row of bitter orange trees, just a few steps away from Keramikos metro station, this strictly vegan restaurant makes everything from scratch using plant-based, gluten-free ingredients—perfect for people with food intolerances and allergies. The friendly faces of owners Demy and Alkistis are an added bonus to one of the most creative raw vegan cuisines Athens has to offer. Go for the glow with an antioxidant smoothie bowl paired with a ginger lemonade (its kick is stronger than tequila), treat yourself to a meat-free moussaka, or go for the vegan falafel, burgers, or souvlaki. The dessert menu is a whole different story: sweet potato and date brownies, watermelon cheesecake, coconut trifle, and towering pancakes with butterscotch syrup, all made from unprocessed, plant-based, sugar-free ingredients.
Photo: Thomas Gravanis
These might just be the biggest spring rolls in the world.
Courtesy: Crudo
Crudo
A godsend for vegan office workers, Crudo is a raw vegan delivery service in seaside suburbia Glyfada. You can also pop in and take out something from the daily-changing menu—perhaps a sweet potato and quinoa burger, kale and bean salad, or beetroot soup.
Bamboo Vegan
If you’re looking to cook something yourself, or just to stock up on snacks (including tasty vegan sandwiches), check out Bamboo Vegan. It’s a vibey mini-market and café that does coffee with plant-based milks, smoothies, and vegan variations of Greek traditional pies and sweets. Try the iced cocoa with hazelnut milk or dig into one of the daily salad bowls (like chickpeas, zucchini, tofu, and beetroot in a sweet red pepper dressing).
“A vibey mini-market and café that does coffee with plant-based milks.”
Yi
Greek for ‘Earth’, Yi is a plant-and-light-filled raw food café in Glyfada. The lactose-sugar- and-gluten-free fare is as pretty and polished as the décor (and the crowd). Come for chia bowls, Greek salad served with cashew feta, or an almond milk latte with a slice of their addictive carrot cake. A favourite with gym-addicts from Holmes Place nearby.
Plant Kingdom
In the seaside suburb of Palio Faliro, Plant Kingdom specialises in vegan and raw cuisine. Superfood salads, hemp protein smoothies, and sugar-free desserts are so tasty you can’t believe they’re good for you. Founded by two yogis and nutritionists, they also run cooking workshops and pop-up supper clubs.
A salad piled high with greens at Plant Kingdom.
Courtesy: Plant Kingdom
Trivoli
Locals love Trivoli, an unpretentious and homely “vegan kafenio” in suburban Ilioupoli (about 20 minutes from Athens city centre). Meat-free twists on classic Greek dishes—mushroom souvlaki wraps, pastitsio with quinoa, soy mince moussaka—are well-priced and well-executed.
Satisfy your (vegan) sweet tooth at The Vegan Fairies.
Courtesy: Vegan Fairies
Vegan Fairies
Got a sweet tooth? Make a detour to Vegan Fairies, a raw vegan cake shop in the residential suburb of Nea Erithrea for their very moreish vegan cheesecake, sugar-free tarts, energy balls (and game changing raw chocolate cake). We’ll let you in on a secret: Vegan Fairies’ sweet temptations are also available at Ohh Boy (see above).