Psiri at night for the young and restless of Athens

Walking through the area known as Psiri in the daytime is deceiving. The streets are filled with working class people and the former leather craftsman district contains a variety of shops and businesses that might be described as practical or business oriented, from type-setters, to fixtures, and material goods for making clothing.

The only clues that the area is a hotbed of nightlife are the cafes and restaurants storefronts that look like they have been closed for years.

In fact if you did not look close enough to see the signs that advertise them as restaurants you might think they are abandoned or not even notice them. In fact with the exception of the wonderful cafe Rebecca, a traditional mezedes cafeneon with a few tables and some great ouzo snacks, the only food you will find in Psiri in the daytime is a souvlaki at Platia Iroon or something Eclectic at the Bee Cafe that would be more suited to Southern California then working class Athens.

But starting at around 6 p.m. Psiri undergoes the transformation from working class light industrial, to a mecca of cafes, bars, restaurants and ouzeries in a setting that reminds me of a scaled down version of New York's Soho district.

The streets are filled with tables and chairs and what were parking lots during the day become dramatically lighted dining areas for restaurants that look they have been built into a ruined city. Each restaurant has its own motif, from traditional Greek taverna to 60's style cafes that may remind you of a luncheonette. Most are decorated with old photos of Athens and some with relics of our modern society.

For those who find Plaka too touristy at night Psiri is a great alternative. The nearby Attalos Hotel on Athinas street is clean, very professionally run and very inexpensive and by staying here you have access to Psiri as well as nearby Monistiraki, the Plaka and all the archeological sites. Psiri is not cheap, but the money you save at the Attalos can be spent here, and there are places that are not overpriced.


My favorite is called Cafe Iroon on Platia Iroon. They have a very large selection of mezedes (ouzo snacks) and main dishes, many traditional and some explorations on traditional themes. The prices are very reasonable, in fact they are cheaper then what you will find in the Plaka. The service is efficient which is surprising because the tables fill half the Platia. The waiters use small hand-held computers which send your order to the kitchen as soon as you place it. If you have children there is an entire platia to play in and plenty of kids from other tables. There are few if any cars in Psiri at night.

The Rebecca cafeneon is small and if you don't get there early you won't get a seat. But it is one of the few places that existed before Psiri became fashionable and if you are looking for an unpretentious place to have an ouzo and a meze, you can come here at any time of the day or night. They grill octopus on the little charcoal barbecue right on the sidewalk.

The Rodakio, right next door to the Iroon, shares the Platia and is also quite good and just as popular. Further down the street there are more eating and drinking places including Embros, another ouzerie-mezedopoleon.

For those with deeper pockets, the Froyaraxio in a beautiful old house with a large courtyard, is owned by my old friend Lorenzo who had the finest Italian restaurant in Athens. It's way out of my price range but apparently not that of the politicians like Constantine Karamanlis, whose bodyguards sat by the door and scrutinized all who entered and never cracked a smile the night we were there. The maitre'd thought my daughter was a gypsy selling flowers and asked her to leave, then apologized when he realized his mistake and treated us all to grappa.

There are also traditional Greek tavernas, some new, some old, and a zacharoplastion where you can get pastries and ice-cream.

Be aware that when you enter Psiri, your first instinct will be to think "This can't be the place". The area seems dangerous and dark, but its not. It's patrolled by rent-a-cops who keep the Omonia Square riff-raff from making inroads into the area and as you follow the small streets towards the center it gets livelier and more well lit until suddenly you realize you are there.

The easiest way to enter Psiri is from one of the small roads between the Attalos Hotel and Monistiraki square on Athinas street

Besides these places there are numerous cafes and restaurants, and very few cars to bother you. There are also plans for the opening of many galleries and theaters in this district and the bordering former gasworks area, many of which have already opened their doors. This area is for the explorer. Those who have tired of endless T-shirt shops and Mousaka signs and being danced to by men in evzone costumes while you drink domestika and look at a room full of people as foreign as you, this is the place to go.

This area is for people who want to see what it is like to be young and hip and hang out in Athens.

Or even the not so young and hip.

Used with permission from Matt Barrett's Athens Survival Guide