Celebrity Infinity B2B from Athens
February 18-26, 2026 -- Stuck in Athens
Now that we have 9 more days stuck in Athens, we tried to make good use of our time in this amazing city even though our minds were still unsettled. With the longer stay here, we took our time to explore the many touristy sites and enjoyed some of the delicious food we could find around us. I have to say that it was quite an experience, good or bad, an experience that we will remember for a long time!
On this page, I will share some dining experience we had during these days. Some we really enjoyed, certain ones that we definitely want to warn people not to waste their time and money on.
Dachafan Asia Food Tea Restaurant
This is a hidden gem in Athens! Son found this on the internet and what a wonderful find it was. In fact, we came back 3 times during our stay in Athens and enjoyed the food every time.
This is not your fancy restaurant serving pricey cuisine. It's a Hong Kong style cafe that took us back to our hometown. Honestly, some items on the menu were a little off, but most other dishes were satisfying and delicious! Best of all, the waiter was very friendly and patient.
Red bean with milk. Just wish they have more red beans in it.
menu with lots of choices
Great stir-fried rice noodle with beef!
Won Ton noodle soup can be skipped though. Not up to par.
Best item they have were their clay pot rice. Very authentic with crispy bottom. We literally came back for this. This one is with Chinese sausages.
Hot and sour soup, very nicely done!
Hsiao Long bao can be skipped also.
Interior. They only have a few tables, but a few more up on the attic.
"Hong Kong Style Cafe (Cha Chan Teng)"
Funny and interesting decorations.
During these few days, we basically walked around the city but occasionally we would hop on the metro which was easy access from our BnB. We just tapped our credit cards for the rides.
We were told by Steve, the driver who picked us up from the airport, that one place we should visit is the Central Market. I have also watched many videos of Athens eats, which some locals talked about the eateries at that market. We just had to check it out, and turned out that we were there several times during our stay. You can find a busy market filled with the freshest seafood you could find, and also many eateries that one should try. Absolutely amazing!
On this first visit, we strolled through the many stalls with fresh meats and seafood. Locals busy buying their ingredients for the day and tourists taking pictures of the action in there. We also found the little restaurant that was in a video about Athens Street Food Tour by Abroad and Hungry, who recommended this local favorite place for soups. My husband is a soup person, so we just had to try this out!
Oinomageireio Epirus
This tiny restaurant tucked at a corner in the market, with no obvious entrance. We had to walk around and figure out how to get in. We were early and the place is not busy yet. Food counter right at the entrance with all the cooked food ready to be served. Several huge pots of soup and other food selection. Husband ordered fish soup, I had the chicken soup as a safe choice. Brother was brave, and had the tripe soup. Son ordered some kind of stew and I believe Mary also had chicken soup. Other than the tripe soup which I did not try, everything was good. This restaurant was established in 1898, and it is still a locals favorite for hearty meals.
Food counter
Chicken soup
Fish soup
Tripe soup
stew
Items in the display case.
To Kati Allo
Son found this restaurant near the apartment and what made it famous was the Rick Steve recommendation. Certainly nothing could go wrong with that assurance, right?!
When we arrived, one thing that struck us was the prime spot in the restaurant, right in the middle, was occupied by a group of friends or family of the owner. That is quite unusual but it's their decision so be it. Food was fine (mostly microwaved food from the counter), nothing to write home about. The problem was when we were ready to pay the bill at the end of the meal, a woman yelled "88Euros" which we paid without realizing the mistake. Later on, when we added up the total, we found out that they over-charged us 20E. When we went to take picture of the sign outside the restaurant, we discovered that the "Recommended by Rick Steve" part had been erased and replaced by the words "Est. 1980". Well, I guess that says it all! Apparently, we do not recommend this place. Not because of the food, but the honesty of the owner.
Decent exterior.
The changed sign posted outside that used to say "Recommended by Rick Steve" part.
Attic Moon
This Asian restaurant is just right next to the DaChaFan at the top of this page. It is more formal than DaChaFan and a little more expensive. Very pretty decor inside and much bigger than their neighbor. Food was good but service was very slow. It took us two hours to finish our dinner that evening. There were enough wait staff but they seemed to be at lost of what they were suppose to be doing. We liked the food (I think it's Thai/Chinese) but we did not go back for more.
Nice atmosphere.
Hot and sour soup, just OK.
Sweet and sour pork
Excellent fried rice.
Interesting Peking duck. Not bad, just interesting.
Good Pad Thai.
garlic sprouts and broccoli beef
To Steki tou Maki
A viewer on our YouTube channel suggested that we try the To Steki tou Maki seafood inside Central Market. After a search we finally found it and realized that we went passed this before. It was the sign that threw us off. The photo that the viewer sent had the old sign but now this one is up.
This turned out to be one of our favorite restaurants in Athens. Very fresh seafood cooked by the friendly owner. We actually came back again for another round later in the week.
The new sign.
freshest sardines
mussels were OK
Wonderful prawns.
Squid
Reasonable prices and fresh seafood. What else can we ask for?
They only have a few tables right outside the kitchen. Need to get there early especially on weekends.
Owner in the middle.
Kitchen
Krinos Doughnuts
Not far from the market is an old establishment--Krinos where Greek donuts (loukoumades) is their specialties. This is not good for us who have diabetes but we just can't resist the temptation. Absolutely delicious and worth it.
I believe you can have them sprinkled with honey, nuts, or cinnamon.
Kalyvas Family Grill
About two blocks away from the apartment is a local restaurant called Kalyvas Family Grill. This seems to be a very busy place that serves local favorites like gyros. We came here a couple of nights to get our gyros to go and enjoyed them in the comfort of the apartment. Food was generously prepared and very flavorful. We were so happy to have Bread Factory and Kalyvas near us on our stay in Athens. Making life a little easier as we waited for the news of our cruise.
Huge gyros!
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will stay it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:4
