Kifisia Restaurants

One of the few spots in Kifissia untouched by time is the legendary Varsos pastry shop and cafe.

You can sit outside in the front and people watch, indoors in the rear, or outdoors in the shady back patio (recommended). You can have a coffee, tea, ice cream sundaes, or any pastry that has caught your fancy from the display cases inside the shop.

Before you sit down, take a look inside and browse the various counters brimming with fresh spongy 'tsoureki' (a sweet bread very similar to challah), Viennese style pastry, candied fruit (whole pears and lemons are a favorite), dried fruit, honey and jams, chocolates and candy, cookies and meringues, as well as baklava and other traditional Greek pastries (see below for details).

On the left side counter, fresh milk, butter, yogurt, cheese and butter is for sale. Don't forget to order some 'yiaourti sakkoulas' to take with you. It's the real 'Greek-style' yogurt, thickened by being drained in a cheesecloth sack.

Varsos is one of the few traditional pastry shops in this respect, offering its own dairy products as well as baked goods and specialty pastries. Here you can find old-time favorites not sold in the more contemporary pastry shops. One of the trademarks of the place is that the owner refuses to refurbish the shop's interior or the cafe lounge with more contemporary furnishings.

Favorite Dish: Order a 'Varsos special' sundae, made with kaymak ice cream (vanilla & mastic flavor, with a characteristic gummy texture), visino (sour cherry) syrup, all topped with whipped cream.

Choose from a selection of Viennese & French style pastries. I have a soft spot for the "Nougatina" pastry, made with almond-flavored spongecake, almond cream, and whipped cream on top. The eclairs are also popular.

Besides coffee and pastries, another favorite is the grilled cheese sandwich, known in Greek as a "toast" (with cheese and with or without ham).

For traditional Greek sweets, Varsos specializes in baklava, kataifi (angel hair baklava) , galaktoboureko (semolina & milk custard topped with baklava-style phyllo and syrup), and diples (crispy & flaky deepfried dough served with honey and chopped walnuts). These three are popular with Kifissiotes; before visiting friends & family a visit to Varsos for a box of pastries to present to the host is de riguer.

In Kifissia there are plenty of upscale and expensive places to eat. But 9 times out of 10, I end up at Souvlakia Kifissias.
Why? Because they have the largest variety of souvlaki (gyro). The souvlaki places in Monastiraki may be popular and better known to tourists, but Souvlakia Kifissia's reputation is known all over Athens.
Don't be surprised by the people standing outside the door waiting to be seated on weekend evenings. This place is really popular. Once you are seated, service is quick.

The interior is very informal, similar to a country pub or beer hall. Perfect for a quick meal, or an outing with children.

A big plus is that this eatery is one of the few places in Athens that has a truly NONsmoking section, separated by glass from the smokers.

Favorite Dish: You can select from the classic gyro (pork or chicken) with pita, the kalamaki (pork cubes grilled on a kalamaki, or skewer) with pita, as well as kontosouvli (shredded pork) with pita, or sausage with pita. And that's just the rolled pita selections!
The menu also includes an extensive variety of platters consisting of meat served on flat pita as well as more conventional grilled meat selections. There are also appetizers and salads - made on the premises, unlike the 'industrial' quality one finds downtown in the tourist-area restaurants. My favorite is the Roka salad, with rocket (arugula / rucola) greens, sundried tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese. The Triestina and the Sonia are also salads I recommend.
There's also a wine list but most diners prefer the draft beer selections, always served well chilled!
Dessert - well, they do serve dessert, but after all that souvlaki and beer, who has space for dessert? ;-)