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We’re all for sampling local, seasonal Greek food. But sometimes you get an itch that only a great slice of pizza can scratch (or a whole pie—we’re not here to judge). Whether you’re in need of a quick bite after a long night out, or you want to sit and enjoy a whole pizza with authentic Italian toppings and trimmings, Athens can satisfy your cravings. Even vegans will be happy with the vegetable-heavy and cheese-less selections available. Scroll down for some of our top picks for pizza in Athens.
Burn baby, burn.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
Cupola
Do you want your pizza to have a thin crust? I mean, so thin that you can’t pick it up, and you have to eat it with a fork and knife? Then you will love Cupola, a date night-approved spot on a quiet pedestrian street in Pangrati. The sauce is a little on the sweet side, but the crust is perfection: dense and nicely blistered. The move at Cupola is to order a pizza as a shared appetiser (no by-the-slice options here), then follow it with a heaping plate of fresh pasta or a tagliata with flavoured butter, rocket, and thin-cut fries. They have a fantastic selection of pizza bianche (without tomato sauce) if that’s your thing; try the fig, mozzarella and prosciutto version.
Tre Sorelle
I went to Tre Sorelle with a friend visiting from Canada, and his first reaction was that their pizza tastes just like what he knows from home. I agree. It’s not really Italian-style; the dough is excellent, making for a lovely chewy crust, and while the sauce isn’t thick, it’s pleasantly tomato-y. But the real star here is the cheese. My friend and I ordered a margherita, and the mozzarella sat in big juicy chunks. While I’m not usually one for pizza FOMO, I spotted a margherita with burrata at the table next to ours, and my only regret was not being able to eat a second pie topped with an oozing blob of burrata. You’ll also find plenty of salads on the menu (try the restaurant’s namesake salad, complete with bocconcini, prosciutto, and green apples) and wines by the bottle or glass. The cocktails are outstanding too. This elegant neighbourhood pizza parlour in Pangrati has just a handful of tables inside and out; so go early or book ahead.
Simplicity at its finest.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
Don't have a slice, go for the entire pie.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
Nonna Eda
It doesn’t get much more solid than Nonna Eda. It’s a small shop with some outdoor seating in Kesariani, just up the hill from Pangrati. The clientele is just as no-nonsense as the food; you’ll find locals filling up the tables all day. They have red sauce pizzas and white pizzas, and while you can’t just grab a slice here, you can order a pizza in either small or large. It’s thin all the way through, but very structurally sound (meaning you can pick a slice up with your hands without worrying about it disintegrating) and deliciously saucy and cheesy. If you’re coming back from a night out, or perhaps preparing for one, I’d highly recommend one of these pizzas.
Capanna
You might stop at Capanna in Kolonaki for its pretty interiors—think Instagram-worthy tiled floors and walls, neutral tabletops and backdrops for your food photos, and a colourful produce display—but you will stay for the food. Their menu includes fish and meat dishes, and more than a few antipasti, salads and pastas, but don’t skip their pizzas. They have solid basics like margherita and buffalina. But if you really want to up the ante, go for a pizza with truffle and white sauce, or even veal carpaccio. This slick joint is on the pricey side compared to many of the other pizza parlours on this list, and again, no slice options here; but you won’t regret ordering—and eating—the whole pie. Ask for a table outside, for prime people-watching on pedestrian Haritos Street.
Capanna's outdoor tables are great for people-watching.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
All fired up.
Courtesy: Lollo's
Lollo’s Atene
Lollo’s in Halandri is just as photogenic as it is delicious. Like its namesake restaurant on the island of Antiparos, this is a white-washed, sunny space with lots of fantastic surfaces as a backdrop for your food photos (your Instagram will thank you). Their wood-fired pizzas are just as picture-perfect. In true Italian style, the menu is divided into antipasti, salads, primi and secondi, followed by a big selection of pizzas. The pizzas are divided into margherite, rosse, bianche, gourmet, piccante, and even a very respectable selection of vegan options. It’s hard to say no to a classic, so try the margherita bufala, then mix it up with a spicy nduja pizza featuring a spreadable (and spicy) pork salumi.
Granello
If you are the kind of person who likes the thinnest crust, all blistery, Granello is your go-to pizza spot. They bill themselves as an Italian pizzeria, and they do make a lovely pizza napoletana topped with excellent sauce and beautifully stringy fior de latte. Their menu includes a pizza bianca (sauceless) and a truffle-heavy option. Then there’s the piccante, which features spicy salami and chili honey—a spicy-sweet condiment that just may become your new favourite pizza topping. But of course, you can’t go wrong with the classic marinara or margherita, because the sauce really is that good.
Crust
If I’m craving a quick slice, Crust is my go-to, no matter what time of day—or night—it is. Located on bar-heavy Protogenous Street in Psirri, it’s an obvious choice if you’re looking for a booze sponge. It’s open until 2 am Mondays through Thursdays and 5 am on Fridays and Saturdays. But unlike most late-night slice spots, the pizza here is actually good. It’s thin, saucy, and gooey. Toppings range from classic mozzarella and pepperoni to truffles and Italian smoked dry sausage. Even better, you’ll pay just €3 or less for a slice, or around €12 for a whole pie. Make sure you go here before, after, or even during a DJ set at the club downstairs.
Grab a slice and keep exploring.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
Margherita
If you’re staying in Kifissia, Margherita is the place to go. Their menu is straightforward, with just pizzas, pastas, a few antipasti, and salads, but most of them feature locally-sourced ingredients from small Greek producers. This makes for some excellent sauce, the perfect base for their mostly simple toppings. The Neapolitan-style pizza is all wood-fired and the crust is just the right amount of charred. You can even go for a sweet option if you like. Next time I go, I will be tasting the “fico,” made with fig jam, basil, cheese from Lemnos, and buffalo cream. This is a sit-down place and you can’t order by the slice, but you won’t regret making a meal of it.
Crispy and delicious.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
Pizza Dal Professore
Located conveniently in the Historic Centre, right next to Kaya, one of our favourite coffee bars, Dal Professore is a good choice if you’re hungry for more than a slice but less than an entire pie. It’s takeaway and delivery only, but if you don’t mind standing you can chow down at the bar that wraps around the stand. The pizzas are baked in a glitzy-tiled, wood-fired oven right there in a narrow, open kitchen, so you can watch them cook your pizza while you wait). There are 14 pizza choices, and they come in individual sizes as well as entire pies. You can even customize your pizza down to the dough—if you’re gluten intolerant, this is a good choice, as you can opt for brown rice or multigrain. Personally, I’d go for the pizza carbonara; this classic combination of toppings is just as good on dough as it is on pasta.
Mystic Pizza
Want pizza, but healthy? While Mystic has plenty of standard pizza options (topped with everything from ham and artichokes to soutzouki, a spicy meatball, and mustard sauce), they’ve also come up with a low-gluten pizza dough made with spelt, as well as their well-known hemp-based dough. You can substitute this for any of their regular pies for a small surcharge. There are three different veggie organic pizzas to choose from and an option using vegan cheese. The menu also indicates the carbs and calories in a few of the options for the diet-conscious. Besides pizza, they do very decent salads, pastas, and plenty of starters, so even the pickiest visitors will find something they’ll enjoy. They have locations in Exarchia and Pangrati; the Pangrati shop is located in a gorgeous house with a lovely rooftop patio.
Go green at Mystic.
Photo: Eleni Veziri
Tzaiant
Koukaki has everything you could want, from great Thai to cheap street food, but it was missing a pizza joint. Enter Tzaiant, a pizza shop right across the street from Bel Ray (and owned by the same people). The playful name is a Greek transliteration of the word “giant”—this place is tiny, with just three little tables inside and a few more out on the pedestrian street. It’s mostly takeaway, but if you’re stopping in for a quick bite you might find a seat. The crust is thin and crispy, and they use a lot of Greek ingredients, so you’ll find plenty of unusual toppings here, like beef cheeks and aubergines or four cheeses with fig. I always go for the anchovy and olive pizza, but I also love the broccoli and sausage combo, which is just the right side of spicy.
