Athens at (Greek) Easter is worth staying in for. The bitter orange trees are in bloom (mmm…), the streets are quieter than usual, and the city has a ceremonial charge that it doesn’t quite have at any other time of year. You can feel it in the way people move: slower, more deliberate, with somewhere to be at midnight.
The food is the other reason. Tavernas that have been grilling over coals for decades come into their element this weekend – the lamb, the kokoretsi, the patiently made mag(e)iritsa. Hotel restaurants offer their own version of the same traditions, more polished and with better views. And for those who’d rather eat at home without the cooking, most of the places listed here will take advance orders for pickup too.
One thing applies across all of them: book ahead and check ahead. Athens locals are loyal to their Easter tables, and the good ones fill up well before the weekend.
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Central Athens
Ιn the international neighborhood of Koukaki, Balcony prepares magiritsa on Saturday night and roasts lamb, kokoretsi, and kontosouvli on Easter Sunday. Agora Select located behind the Hilton, offers magiritsa on Saturday evening and a full Easter feast on Sunday noon including oven-roasted lamb with potatoes, gardoubakia, kokoretsi, and kontosouvli. In the debonair Kolonaki district, the beloved old taverna Stou Filippou offers home-style cooking. You can order your magiritsa ahead of time and pick it up by 5 pm on Saturday (Sunday and Monday closed).
Kouvelos also in Koukaki is a hidden gem with a flower-filled courtyard and a whitewashed wall. They serve magiritsa on Holy Saturday and offer oven-roasted lamb, goat, and kokoretsi on Easter Sunday. Epirus, inside the Varvakeios market, begins serving magiritsa from early Saturday afternoon but is closed on Easter Sunday. The centrally located Telemachos, on Panepistimiou Street, puts on a full Easter spread in its grand dining room, with lamb on the spit, kokoretsi, kontosouvli, lamb chops, ribeye steaks, and burgers, just like its sister location in Kifisia.
At Koutsou & Co, near Syntagma, you can pre-order magiritsa for pickup by Holy Wednesday (Saturday open until 7pm, Sunday/Monday closed). Vlassis, a historic restaurant in Ilisia, offers magiritsa via delivery on Good Friday. Over in Pagrati the Cretan taverna Aoritis serves a full Easter lunch with traditional spit-roasted lamb, kokoretsi, kontosouvli, fried liver, and their signature savory pies.
For sweeping views over Athens, head to Orizontes Lycabettus in Kolonaki, where the chef prepares a holiday menu with slow-roasted lamb on both Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
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Luxury Hotels
Luxury hotels across Athens are also putting on a show. At the iconic Hotel Grande Bretagne, the GB Roof Garden offers a Holy Saturday menu with magiritsa, lamb chops with lemon and oregano, grilled sheftalia, and a dessert of orange pie with curry cream and vanilla sorbet. Easter Sunday begins with ouzo, appetizers, and red eggs by the spit, followed by a rich buffet featuring mageiritsa, traditional starters, and live carving stations with lamb and pork kontosouvli.
At Saint George Lycabettus hotel, the award-winning rooftop restaurant serves both traditional and vegan magiritsa, lemony goat stew with wild greens, antikristo lamb, and kokoretsi. Diners enjoy stunning views of the Saronic Gulf and the candlelit descent from the nearby church of Saint George. An Easter buffet is also served on Sunday afternoon.
At NJV Athens Plaza, right in Syntagma Square, Holy Saturday dinner is served and a festive Easter meal is hosted at the Parliament restaurant. Guests can also order the hotel’s Easter specialties to enjoy at home.
Finally, at The Margi in Vouliagmeni at the Riviera, the stylish GiO restaurant serves Easter delicacies on Holy Saturday.
→ Discover the Athens hotels getting Easter feasting right.
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Northern Suburbs
In the premium northern suburbs, the Kifisia branch of Telemachos cooks up spit-roasted lamb, kokoretsi, kontosouvli, grilled lamb chops, steaks, and burgers on Easter Sunday. Vrasto in verdant Chalandri offers a relaxed garden setting next to the Rematia stream. They serve magiritsa and oven-baked lamb on Saturday evening (Easter Sunday closed).
At Koromilas in Agia Paraskevi, the charming courtyard is perfect for a long Easter lunch of spit-roasted lamb, kontosouvli, kokoretsi, famous lamb chops, fried liver, burgers, and handmade sausages. Bebeka in Chalandri offers magiritsa and a full Holy Saturday dinner (closed Easter Sunday). Wood in Kifisia serves magiritsa on Saturday and follows it up on Sunday with spit-roasted lamb, traditional Cretan-style antikristo, kokoretsi, gardoubes, and lamb chops.
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Southern Suburbs
In the southern suburbs, Roumeliotis in Ano Glyfada is open on Saturday and offers a special Easter menu centered on spit-roasted lamb on Sunday. Tzitziras & Mitziras in Palio Faliro has a lovely courtyard and serves magiritsa, kokoretsi, and gardoubakia on Saturday, followed by oven-roasted lamb on Sunday. The fun and casual Trelos Gaidaros in both Dafni and Glyfada roasts lamb on the spit and serves kokoretsi and kontosouvli on Easter Sunday.
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Villages of rest of Attica
In the countryside around Athens (max 1 hour away), Regkoukos Farm in Amygdaleza provides a peaceful, natural setting and cooks up spit-roasted lamb and kokoretsi using ingredients from their own land on Sunday. If it’s chilly, there’s a fireplace waiting.
O Christoforos in Kalyvia is a famous village grill house, serving everything from lamb and goat on the spit to kokoretsi, kontosouvli, stuffed burgers, liver stew, and their renowned lamb chops. Agios Merkourios in Varibobi is famous for its meats and panoramic city views, and they’ll be roasting lamb and kokoretsi on Easter Sunday and Monday. Pipinios in Stamata is known for its enormous roasting pans and classic spit-roasted Easter dishes. Ta Vlachika in Vari, a regional meat-lover’s destination, offers spit-roasted lamb and rustic fare all year round.
It’s a stretch worth making: A mini road trip to the meat-centric Dervenochoria of Boeotía leads you to the family-run Stelios Kollias in the village of Pigi (about 1h away from Athens). On Easter Sunday and Monday, the table is laid with house-marinated kokoretsi, kontosouvli, spit-roasted baby lamb, lamb and goat chops, grilled mutton, beef sausages, and their signature salad, with vegetables, pomegranate, and walnuts.
Two last tips: we did our best to verify availability but programs change so double-check details with your chosen venue, and remember that many tavernas don’t serve red eggs – so if you plan to crack them with friends, bring your own.
