Cafeography
Athens · Kolonaki

Cafés in Kolonaki

Kolonaki Square, Skoufa and Solonos below Lycabettus, and the café credited with the first freddo.

Photo: Gergely Meszárcsek, Pexels License

Kolonaki (Κολωνάκι, little column) is named after a two-meter column on Kolonaki Square that marked the area before it was built up, and it climbs the southern slopes of Lycabettus.1 The Benaki Museum, in a neoclassical mansion, and the Museum of Cycladic Art are here, with the Byzantine and Christian Museum and the War Museum across Vasilissis Sofias Avenue.1

Solonos and Skoufa have the most cafés, with Tsakalof, which starts at the square, close behind. The coffee runs from a 1990 espresso bar on the square to a roaster that has been roasting since 1979.46

Local tip: Ride the funicular up Lycabettus from Aristippou Street, a three-minute trip, then walk down to Kolonaki Square for a coffee at Da Capo.3

At a glance

69Cafés listed
3With opening hours
09:00Earliest opening
01:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: L'ARRÊT du TEMPS, from 09:00 (Daily 09:00–01:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (6%), partial wheelchair access (6%), wi-fi (4%).

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Coffee chains in Kolonaki

Getting to Kolonaki

Evangelismos station on metro Line 3 serves the neighborhood.1 Line 4 will add a Kolonaki station between Akadimia and Evangelismos, with service now expected around 2032.2

The Lycabettus funicular leaves from Aristippou Street and runs 210 m, entirely in a tunnel, to the summit near the chapel of Agios Georgios in about three minutes. It opened on 18 April 1965 and runs every day, every 10 to 30 minutes.3

Da Capo and the first freddo

Da Capo opened on 20 September 1990 at Tsakalof 1, on Kolonaki Square, run by Stathis and Olga Christodoulopoulos. Athens Voice credits it with launching the idea of the espresso bar and the barista, introducing self-service, and serving the first freddo, its own invention, which went on to displace the frappé.4

Other accounts credit the freddo espresso to Yiannis Iosifides, founder of the distributor Kafea Terra, which brought illy to Greece in 1988; he is said to have created it to lift espresso sales in summer.5

Solonos, Skoufa and Samba

Samba Coffee Roasters has roasted since 1979 and opened its first café in 2020; its small Kolonaki shop is at Solonos 36, with a larger venue on Laskaridou in Ampelokipoi.67 The menu groups coffees as black, white, cold and competition, and the competition coffees cost two or three times the others.6

Along Skoufa, Φίλιον (Fílion) is at no. 34, Taresso at no. 33 and Franklin Coffee House at no. 56; on Solonos, Calibre is at no. 28 and Mr. Morning at no. 44.

Up to Dexameni

Above the square, Plateia Dexamenis takes its name from the reservoir of Hadrian’s aqueduct, built in the 2nd century AD to bring water about 20 km from the outskirts of Parnitha and Penteli. The buried reservoir was found under the square in 1870, rebuilt and used until 1940, and the square was a meeting place for writers including Papadiamantis and Sikelianos.8

The reservoir still opens once a year, on Epiphany, for the blessing of the waters, and the square has an open-air cinema.8 Η Δεξαμενή (I Dexamení, the reservoir), is a café that takes the square’s name.

Lower down, Café Merlin on Vasilissis Sofias opens 10:00–22:00, and L’Arrêt du Temps on Vasileos Alexandrou is open 09:00–01:00 daily. Peros, at Tsakalof 2, has Wi-Fi, and Redd Coffee on Kapsali and Cue on Spyrou Merkouri set tables outside.

Sources

  1. Kolonaki, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Line 4 (Athens Metro), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Lycabettus Funicular, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Το Da Capo γιορτάζει 30 χρόνια (Stavroula Panagiotaki, 23 September 2020), Athens Voice, accessed October 2026
  5. The Freddo Espresso: A Modern Greek Cultural Phenomenon (Angelos Gassenschmidt, 11 May 2026), To Vima, accessed October 2026
  6. 9 Great Coffee Shops in Athens (Daryl and Mindi Hirsch, updated 23 July 2026), 2foodtrippers, 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. Hadrian’s Reservoir – Dexameni Square, Region of Attica (athensattica.com), accessed October 2026
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In Kolonaki, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Open late Brunch

FAQ

Kolonaki cafés: questions

Which Kolonaki café in Athens served the first freddo?

Athens Voice credits Da Capo, which opened on 20 September 1990 at Tsakalof 1 on Kolonaki Square, with serving the first freddo, its own invention, as well as launching the espresso bar and introducing self-service. Other accounts credit Yiannis Iosifides, founder of the distributor Kafea Terra, with creating the freddo espresso to lift summer espresso sales.

How do you get up Lycabettus from Kolonaki in Athens?

The Lycabettus funicular leaves from Aristippou Street in Kolonaki and runs 210 m, entirely in a tunnel, to the summit near the chapel of Agios Georgios in about three minutes. It has operated since April 1965 and runs every day, every 10 to 30 minutes.

Where is Samba Coffee Roasters in Kolonaki, Athens?

Samba Coffee Roasters has a small shop at Solonos 36 in Kolonaki and a larger venue on Laskaridou in Ampelokipoi. It has roasted since 1979 and opened its first café in 2020. The menu groups coffees as black, white, cold and competition; the competition coffees cost two or three times the others.

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