Early cafés in Athens

Open at 05:00 and all night

Coffee Orange, at 3is Septemvriou 85 in Kypseli, and Bibelo Cafe Bistro, at Manolidi 20 in Pangrati, both open at 05:00 every day and close at 23:00. For an all-night counter, Pilot on Andrea Syngrou and Tekafe in Petralona are open 24 hours, as are Memo’s House and Δυναστεία in Exarchia, Alegio in Pangrati, and Kiosky’s and Yes on Patision.

The 06:00 openers

In Ampelokipoi, Coffee & Co. on Prousou, Coffee Art on Christou Vournazou, HUUS Kaffe on Megalou Spilaiou, iL Festino on Katechaki and Worship coffee on Veaki all open at 06:00, and Trois ’els on Soutsou and Hope coffee&snacks on Dimitsanas open at 06:00 even on Sundays. In Kallithea, Mr Dion Cafe on Aigaiou opens at 06:00 from Monday to Saturday.

Closer in, Los Primos on Acharnon in Kypseli opens at 06:00 from Monday to Saturday, Dive on Misaraliotou in Makrygianni at 06:00 daily, and MADAME in Neos Kosmos and Marianha’s in Ilisia at the same hour. Just after, George Cafe on Othonos and Coffee tree cafe on Massalias, both a block or two from Syntagma, start serving at 06:30 on weekdays.

Bougatsa and yogurt for breakfast

Bougatsa is a common Greek breakfast: phyllo baked around semolina custard, feta or mizithra cheese, or minced meat, cut into small pieces and served hot with icing sugar or cinnamon. The modern version comes from northern Greece, from Serres and Thessaloniki.² SANTE on Filellinon near Syntagma, Bougatsa Bay on Veikou and Μπουγατσοπωλείο Το Εργαστήρι on Kafkasou in Kypseli carry the pastry in their names.

For yogurt, Στάνη (Stáni), at Marikas Kotopouli 10 near Omonia, opens at 07:30. The Karagiorgos family founded it in Piraeus in 1931 and moved here in 1949; its sheep’s-milk yogurt comes fresh every day from a family farm, topped with walnuts and Peloponnese honey, and regulars get through more than 300 a day.³

Kafeneia and specialty hours

The early kafeneío trade is old. In the 1950s Καφενείο Μόκα, now on Kallidromiou in Exarchia, counted construction workers who started at 05:30 among its customers, and Η ωραία Ελλάς by Mitropoleos Square serves coffee cooked in hot embers, στη χόβολη (sti chóvoli), from 07:00, with a loukoumi and the morning paper. At Ζίτσα the coffee gives way to drinks and meze, often until the afternoon.¹

Specialty bars start later: Foyer Espresso Bar in Pangrati opens at 07:00 on weekdays, Picky in Psyrri at 07:30 and The Underdog in Thiseio at 08:00.