Cafeography
Athens · Exarchia

Cafés in Exarchia

Benaki Street roasters, the Saturday laikí on Kallidromiou and century-old kafeneia.

Photo: Thanos Skoufitsas, Pexels License

Exarchia (Εξάρχεια) sits inside Patision Street, Panepistimiou Street and Alexandras Avenue, with Kolonaki to the east. It was laid out on the edge of the city between 1870 and 1880 and named after Exarchos, a 19th-century businessman who opened a large general store here.1 The National Archaeological Museum, the Polytechnic and Strefi Hill are all inside its limits.1

The military raid on the Polytechnic student occupation on 17 November 1973 killed 40 civilians, and the date still shapes the neighborhood.1 Time Out ranked Exarcheia 31st among the world’s coolest neighborhoods in 2023, saying its character of resistance was not yet lost.2 Ippokratous has more cafés than any other street here, ahead of Themistokleous, Solonos and Emmanouil Benaki.

Local tip: On a Saturday, walk the Kallidromiou market before noon, then sit down at Η Μουριά on the corner of Charilaou Trikoupi, where market-goers have long stopped to rest.5

At a glance

172Cafés listed
7With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
02:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: NuffSaid.Athens, from 08:00 (Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–20:00).
  • Closes latest: Warehouse, until 02:30 (Daily 09:00–02:30).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (13%), partial wheelchair access (6%), wi-fi (5%).

Ο καπετάν Μιχάλης

  • Φειδίου 3
  • Mon–Fri 12:00–00:00 · Sat 12:00–18:30
  • +30 21 03820073
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Coffee chains in Exarchia

Getting around Exarchia

Line 4 of the metro will add an Exarcheia station under the central square and an Akadimia station, an interchange with Line 2 at Panepistimio. Work on the square began in August 2022, and service is now expected around 2032.3 The streets climb toward Strefi Hill and Lycabettus: Kallidromiou, under 750 m long, rises and falls from Spyridonos Trikoupi to the western side of Lycabettus.4

Kallidromiou and the Saturday market

Every Saturday morning a laikí (λαϊκή, open-air produce market) spreads its orange umbrellas along Kallidromiou. Three bars stand side by side halfway up the street, among them Παρασκήνιο (Paraskínio) and Bourbon, which share no. 68.4

At the corner with Charilaou Trikoupi, Η Μουριά (I Mouriá, the mulberry tree) has served coffee without a break since 1915, and Saturday’s market crowd stops there to rest.45 Higher up, Καφενείο Μόκα (Móka) at Kallidromiou 96 dates from the 1950s; it began on Alexandras, near the theaters, and later counted builders starting work at 05:30 among its regulars.5

Kafeneia off the square

Πανελλήνιον, at Mavromichali 16, began on Panepistimiou in 1885 and is now the place for chess, tavli (backgammon) and the card game dilosi, under walls of old photographs. Καφενείο Ναυαρίνου, at the corner of Navarinou and Zoodochou Pigis since the mid-1970s, opens at 08:00 and serves morning coffee to lawyers from nearby offices.5

Exarchia Square itself is ringed by cafés and bars, with the Vox, one of the oldest summer cinemas in Athens, and the interwar Blue Building on its edges.1

Benaki Street and the roasters

Emmanouil Benaki runs north from near Omonia, and Barista Magazine reports that locals call it the Coffee Street.6 Taf, at no. 7, is one of the city’s oldest specialty addresses, known for espresso and filter.7 Motiv, at no. 20, roasts all of its own coffee and serves freddo cappuccino with cookies and vegan cinnamon rolls.6

A few blocks west, Warehouse at Valtetsiou 21 is known for its flat white and cold brew and becomes a wine bar in the evening; it is open 09:00–02:30.7 On upper Ippokratous, in Neapoli, Kaldi opened in spring 2016 selling beans, herbs and coffee to go.8 Σέλας (Sélas) at Methonis 19 opens 09:00–14:00, and Time Out pairs it with breakfast at Raraou Cantina on Benaki.2

Sources

  1. Exarcheia, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Exarcheia among the coolest neighbourhoods on the planet, according to Time Out (18 October 2023), Greek City Times, accessed October 2026
  3. Line 4 (Athens Metro), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Οδός Καλλιδρομίου: Η ωραία των Εξαρχείων (Alkistis Koinaki, 18 November 2023), CNN Greece, accessed October 2026
  5. Το «καφενείον» ως ιδέα μέσα από 10 σύγχρονα αθηναϊκά καφενεία (29 October 2016), LiFO, accessed October 2026
  6. Tour Four of the Best Cafés in Athens, Greece (Michaela Tomchek, 28 May 2025), Barista Magazine, accessed October 2026
  7. Πώς ο καφές στην Αθήνα έγινε τελετουργία: Αυτές είναι οι τοπ διευθύνσεις (Vasilis Dimaras, 2 March 2026), Newmoney, accessed October 2026
  8. Athens: specialty coffee and herbs at Kaldi (Dimitris Kossyfas, October 2017), Travel Food People, accessed October 2026
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In Exarchia, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Open late Open by 6am Brunch

FAQ

Exarchia cafés: questions

When is the farmers’ market on Kallidromiou Street in Exarchia, Athens?

The laikí, an open-air produce market, takes over Kallidromiou Street in Exarchia every Saturday morning, under orange umbrellas. Η Μουριά, a café at the corner of Charilaou Trikoupi that has served coffee since 1915, is where market-goers stop to rest, and Παρασκήνιο and Bourbon share Kallidromiou 68 halfway up.

Why is Emmanouil Benaki called Coffee Street in Athens?

Locals call Emmanouil Benaki Street, which runs north from near Omonia into Exarchia, the Coffee Street. Taf at no. 7 is one of the city’s oldest specialty addresses, known for espresso and filter, and Motiv at no. 20 roasts all of its own coffee. Warehouse, a few blocks away on Valtetsiou, turns into a wine bar in the evening.

Which old kafeneia can you visit in Exarchia, Athens?

Η Μουριά on Kallidromiou has served coffee since 1915. Πανελλήνιον at Mavromichali 16, founded on Panepistimiou in 1885, is known for chess, tavli and the card game dilosi. Καφενείο Ναυαρίνου, at Navarinou and Zoodochou Pigis since the mid-1970s, opens at 08:00, and Μόκα on Kallidromiou dates from the 1950s.

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