Vegan eats in Athens, Greece + tips for eating vegan in Greece (2024)

Heading to the city of Athens, Greece and searching for some delicious vegan eats? You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find an array of mouthwatering animal-free meals in this historical city! Check out my favorite places to grab some tasty vegan eats in Athens below.

The glorious city of Athens, Greece. An ancient capital filled with century old ruins, marvelous museums, hip rooftop bars, and delicious vegan eats. When many think of Greek food, meat-filled gyros and feta topped salads come to mind.

Although, veggies will be pleasantly surprised, finding themselves in a haven for vegan food, as traditional Greek dishes are also focused around fresh vegetables!

Last time I was in Athens, I spent six wonderful days there wandering around the ancient ruins, hanging out in cool bars, and eating my way around the city.

Throughout Athens, there are a multitude of places that offer vegan options — and all are delicious!

Where I Ate as a Vegan in Athens

P.S. Most of the restaurants I mention below are for both carnivores and vegans alike. I traveled with a couple girlfriends of mine to Athens (who are not vegan), so the following places to eat are perfect for both those who do not eat animals and for those who do.

Mama Roux

Located in the Monastiraki neighborhood of Athens, Mama Roux is a hip and relaxed cafe with delicious food options and tasty co*cktails.

This place has the best falafel I’ve eaten… ever. It’s unbelievable.

The perfectly fried chickpea patty, fresh tabouli, and creamy hummus was heaven. If you are looking for a delicious falafel in Athens, make sure you hit up Mama Roux.

On the menu, the falafel does come with tahini, which isn’t vegan. To make the dish vegan friendly, just make sure to order it without the sauce; load it up with some hummus instead!

Additionally, if you don’t want the falafel, they offer tons of other vegan options like the hummus platter, soum soum, bao buns, tostadas, as well as vegetarian options that can be modified.

Take a look at their Facebook page and menu here.

Centrale Cafe

Centrale is a cozy little cafe located across from the Metropolitan Athens Cathedral offering a wide variety of dishes including Mediterranean, Greek, and Italian. As well as offering good food, it’s in the perfect location to sit back, have a quick bite to eat, and people watch.

While there, I had the linguini with vegetables. Good flavored tomato sauce, perfectly cooked vegetables, and great service. Although, the best part is the bread they give you before you get your meal. It’s amazingggg.

Tip: This is a great restaurant for evenings! They bring out the heaters, which turns the outdoor seating area into a cozy and tasteful atmosphere. Perfect for a couple drinks and some delicious pasta!

Take a look at their Facebook page here.

Smile Family Restaurant

This is a simple, cute little family owned restaurant serving up home style meals. It’s really close to all the main attractions, like the Acropolis and Acropolis museum, so it’s great to stop in and have a bite to eat after walking around Athens.

Smile Family Restaurant offers a variety of vegetarian and vegan eats like salads, pasta, pizzas (order no cheese), and more.

While there, I tried the Napoli (Napolitan) pasta; it was delicious and came with a side of toasted bread with olive oil and fava, which is chunky puréed peas mixed with some herbs.

Avocado Cafe

Avocado is a dedicated cruelty-free vegetarian and vegan cafe offering a multitude of amazing vegan eats.

While I only tried the falafel (which was fabulous), they have other great-sounding dishes like guacamole and chips, a vegan spinach tart, a savory rosemary potato and mushroom panini, vibrant vegan pizza, and more.

Avocado is also a really great place to just chill out. The atmosphere is awesome; I could have eaten here for every meal!

Take a look at their website here.

Loving this post on vegan eats in Athens? Read up on 13 awesome things to do in Athens next.

List of Dedicated Vegan Restaurants in Athens, Greece

If you only want to eat at a restaurant which only serves up vegan options, here’s a helpful list of dedicated vegan places in Athens.

Although, as I do try to stay as transparent as possible, I’m inclined to tell you I haven’t had the chance to eat at all of the places listed. While I’d love to, no doubt, my stomach just isn’t that big!

Bamboo Vegan Mini Market and Cafe

• Coffee with plant milks.
• Smoothies.
• Small snacks.
• Desserts (like pie, cakes, and other sweet treats).
• Tons of vegan products to buy (cheese, yogurts, cosmetics, tea, prepackaged vegan meals, etc.).

Hummus Bar

• Falafels.
• Hummus plates.
• Salads.
• P.S. You can mention HappyCow for a 15% discount 🙂 (which I found out about here.)

Mama Tierra

• Traditional Greek dishes (moussaka,soutzoukakia).
• Curries.
• Burgers.
• Bean dips.
• Various veggie rolls.
• Soups.
• Guacamole.
• Andso much more!

Vegan Beat

• Burgers.
• Wraps.
• Salads.
• Fresh juices.
• Gyros.
• Desserts (like cheesecake!).

Once you’re done reading this, don’t forget to check out my other Athens post on wandering the ancient ruins of Athens!

Tips for Eating Vegan in Greece

And if you still are wanting to explore your options for eating vegan in Athens, here are some helpful food tips:

1. Most Greek gyros can be modified vegan.

This might be a little unbelievable to some but, yes! Gyros can be made vegan. While at one of the many restaurants in Monastiraki square, I ordered a vegan gyro.

The waiter looked at me a little funny but just order a grilled vegetable one without the sauce and lots of spices. It’s delish!

2. Lots of traditional Greek dishes are predominantly made with vegetables.

Dishes like gemista, dolmadhes, and briám are tasty dishes that can all be made vegan (or already are).

Gemista is either roasted tomatoes or bell peppers stuffed with a mixture of herbs and rice. Although, it occasionally contains meat, so make sure to ask!

Dolmadhes is stuffed vine leaves, usually filled with a mixture of rice and herbs – similar to gemista but it’s served cold.

Briám is an oven-baked dish of vegetables, usually potatoes and zucchini but can also include eggplant and tomatoes! It’s very similar to southern France’s ratatouille.

3. Most Greek dishes are made with vegetable oils – like olive oil – rather than butter.

It’s not hard to avoid butter in Greece, as most dishes are made with olive oil. In fact, Greeks are the world’s largest consumers of olive oil! How cool, right?

So, next time you’re at a Greek restaurant, you can confidently say “hold the buttah!” and they won’t look at you weird.

4. If all else fails, just ask.

If you’re still hesitant about what you’re eating, just make sure to ask! A Greek restaurant is bound to have one vegan dish, or a vegetarian dish that can be modified.

To be sure, ask if the dish you’re ordering is fasting food (food without animal byproducts) — which is “nistismo” in Greek.

So are you ready to indulge yourself in some delicous vegan eats in Athens? Make sure to bring some baggy pants so you can fit in that awesome food baby! 😝

Do you have any other suggestions for great vegan eats in Athens? Let me know in the comments!

Sophie xx

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