Together with Tasos Chalkiopoulos – the voice behind Athensville, one of the city’s most insightful urban blogs – I set out to explore leafy pedestrian streets, sun-dappled courtyards and quiet squares, in search of the city’s coolest culinary refuges: the places where bougainvillea climbs above your head, the jacarandas bloom, and the mulberry trees are thick enough to ward off the strong sun.

“Get out there – Athens is blooming!” That was the blogger’s rallying cry on the Athensville Instagram feed, with a video so lush with trees and flowers you could practically smell the blossoms through the screen. From the bitter orange trees lining the city’s streets to unexpected pockets of bougainvillea, Bauhinia, bottlebrush, flowering plum, Judas trees, and sweet-scented needle bush, Tasos sees Athens not just as a city, but as a living, blooming organism – on the edge of overheating.

That video sparked an idea: why not invite him to take a walk with me and share his favorite places to eat under the trees? Because once the city is drenched in sunlight and heat, shade becomes more than a comfort – it becomes a way to survive. Chalkiopoulos happily agreed, with one small condition: every stop had to be one of his own haunts. These are laid-back, unpretentious places – some well-known, others hidden in plain sight, a few with decades of stories etched into their tabletops, others new and quietly confident. But all of them are rich in character – and dappled in green.

“It was in 2009 that I really started to notice the city,” my guide tells me as we begin our walk. “That was when blogs were thriving, and I wanted to create my own. I wanted to show a different side of Athens, not the one everyone knew: the rough, neglected side. Because even then, there was so much richness here: the architecture, the history, the beauty. Amid the decay, a city was emerging – one that deserved attention and care.” At first, Chalkiopoulos explored the streets with a focus on buildings, drawn to hidden details and small joys that most people overlook. But gradually, the city began to reveal something else: a softer, greener side that breathes through leaves and blossoms.

“It might sound odd, but Athens actually has a lot of trees,” he says. “We may not have vast parks or thick woodlands, but there are trees everywhere – lining sidewalks, filling squares, shading alleyways. The jacarandas were the first to catch my eye. Their color, their seasonality, the way they can completely transform a street. When they bloom – on Athinas, around Zappeion, along Vasilissis Sofias – the whole city feels different. They’re beautiful and low maintenance, but in 2019 they were pruned brutally. I posted about it, and it caused a stir. I never set out to be an environmentalist, exactly. But when something you spotlight leads to real change, that’s a powerful feeling,” he adds.

First Stop: Metaxourgeio & Beyond

On Odysseos Street, a quiet stretch that still carries the faded charm of the 1980s, we find Morgan All Jeans (16 Odysseos, Tel. (+30) 697.808.1309). Opened in 2018 by Spyros Kapodistrias, the space retains the original signage of the old denim shop that once occupied the site.

“It was a dream of mine,” Kapodistrias says. “I wanted something off the beaten path, but still close to the center – and I wanted it to be on a pedestrianized street.” Back then, the area was nearly abandoned, the plants dry and lifeless. Spyros revived it, tending to the flowers and preserving a striking palm tree that now towers above the tables, casting much-needed shade and character.

The food is unpretentious but full of soul: slow-cooked goat with pappardelle; chickpeas with eggplant; stuffed vine leaves; Cretan dakos; and homemade pastourma pie. They are meze that taste like Sunday lunch at home, as he puts it. Around us sit students, artists, tourists and locals, all gathered under the gentle watch of the marble fountain at Metaxourgeio Square.

Just a few steps away, tucked behind City Hall on Liosion Street, lies Traimper Square, a quiet, shaded refuge filled with blooming sweet acacia trees whose intense fragrance fills the air in spring. These trees, Chalkiopoulos says, help you slow down, sharpen your senses, and truly absorb the beauty around you. Hidden here is a tiny, nameless Bulgarian eatery – no sign, no fanfare. Just a humble spot serving home-style dishes to a steady stream of regulars. You’d likely walk right past it unless you knew to look. But it’s one of the blogger’s favorites – for the simplicity, the quietude, and the warm familiarity of its patrons.

A little further up, toward Aghios Pavlos Square near the Larissa train station, we pause – not for food, but for the aroma. The air is filled with the scent of angelica, a Mediterranean herb that infuses the neighborhood with a scent of citrusy sweetness. Hardy and resilient, it thrives even in the polluted city air. There’s no eatery here to add to the list, but Chalkiopoulos reminds me that, sometimes, all it takes to reset your day is taking the time to sit beneath a tree.

We continue toward Akadimia Platonos and arrive at Mouries (15 Keratsiniou, Metaxourgeio, Tel. (+30) 210.522.6805), a family-run taverna named after the mulberry trees that have shaded this corner for decades. “Even when it hits 40 degrees in Athens, there’s always a breeze under here,” says owner Giorgos. Originally a neighborhood café, the place has since evolved into a proper meze spot. In the kitchen, Stella and her daughter Eirini prepare crisp hand-cut fries; fried meatballs; fresh anchovies and whitebait from the fish market; and warm Sfakian pies with myzithra and honey. Groups of locals sip tsipouro at tables set out on the asphalt beneath a lush canopy of leaves.

“There’s something paradoxical about how Athenians treat mulberry trees,” Chalkiopoulos muses. “Some prune them heavily to avoid the mess from the fallen fruit – fruit that’s delicious, sweet and tangy, but is only good for a few moments after you pick it. But mulberry trees give the best kind of shade. In summer, they’re lifesavers.”

Beneath a soft canopy of Peruvian pepper trees on Avdi Square lies Seychelles (49 Kerameikou & Akadimou, Tel. (+30) 211.183.4789). One of the early pioneers of Athens’ gastrotaverna movement, this popular spot has built its reputation on top-quality ingredients, a relaxed energy, and a menu that always feels perfectly in tune with the season.

The beef confit used in the pappardelle is now prepared in-house, and the dishes change with the seasons: grilled liver with pickled cucumber, potato gnocchi with shiitake mushrooms, and natural wines from small producers. You’ll always find something worth coming back for.

Next Stop: Votanikos & Rouf

Our next stop takes us to Votanikos. Syntrimmi (53 Chalkidikis, Tel. (+30) 213.044.6962), a cooperative café, appears where you’d least expect it – in the open courtyard of a demolished building. Blooming plumbago (also known as blue jasmine or leadwort) and bougainvillea soften the rough edges of exposed concrete, adding beauty and shade. As the sun sets, the courtyard hums with life, filling almost to the point of overflow.

Just a few blocks away is Thessalos (2 Melenikou, Tel. (+30) 213.022.2335), a neighborhood favorite with a shaded courtyard under more flowering bougainvillea. The vibe here is relaxed and resolutely unpretentious, the kind of place people return to week after week for no-frills dishes that deliver on flavor. There’s nothing showy – just food done right, with heart.

In nearby Rouf, just behind the Benaki Museum Pireos 138, we stop at Palio Podilato (11 Andronikou, Tel. (+30) 213.030.6784). The setting is humble, and the story behind it speaks volumes about the resilience of the area. “Before the Petrou Ralli overpass was built, this area was full of life,” says owner Tasos Papadatos. “There were cinemas, fabric shops, and people everywhere. Then the overpass came, and the neighborhood emptied out. When I first opened, there was no one here. But in recent years, things have started to pick up again. Shops are opening, and people are rediscovering the area.”

There are only a handful of tables and a short, seasonal menu. The dishes are prepared by the owner. “The problem I always had eating out was that everything tasted the same. Frozen, prefab, soulless. I thought, if I can’t find the food I want to eat, I’ll make it myself.”

Crisply fried fish, golden hand-cut fries and seasonal meze, accompanied by over 15 Greek craft beers, are served under a tall chestnut tree and sweetly fragrant angelicas.

“What I love most about this place is the shade,” Papadatos says. “We’ve got plants, we’ve got greenery. That’s not something you can take for granted in the city center.”

On to Thiseio & Kypseli

In Thiseio, we make a stop at a longtime neighborhood classic, To Steki tou Ilia (5 Eptachalkou, Tel. (+30) 210.345.8052). Its spacious courtyard is shaded by a vigorous Virginia creeper (also known as five-leaved ivy), and rosemary and lavender perfume the air. Weekends are busy but come on a weekday evening and you’ll find a tranquil retreat just as the light begins to fade. The menu is simple and straightforward: perfectly grilled lamb chops, hand-cut fries, tender zucchini and wild greens.

From there we head toward Kypseli. The pedestrianized stretch of Aghias Zonis Street is dotted with trees and oleanders, their blooms spilling color all around. Here we find Arizona Dream (42 Aghias Zonis), Stella’s small, soulful mezedopoleio. The food, inspired by her roots in Apeiranthos on the island of Naxos, is humble, hearty, and full of island soul: meatballs with eggplant and tomato sauce, barley rusk with tomato and xynomyzithra cheese, and zucchini pastitsio.

In the uphill lanes of Ano Kypseli, we find Ypsala (1 Ostrovou, Tel. (+30) 210.881.3175), an oasis of calm on a wide, leafy street – a welcome contrast to the neighborhood’s typically tight, busy blocks. Founded by three friends, Ypsala makes the most of a tiny 3-square-meter kitchen by focusing on quality ingredients, most sourced directly from Crete.

Standout dishes include roast potatoes with PDO xygalo cheese from Sitia, Cretan mizithropita with xynomyzithra from Rethymno, and fried eggs topped with a rich béchamel made from stakovoutyro (clarified sheep butter), a dish that’s flavorsome and ideal for bread-dipping. Apaki and vinegar-cured sausages from Crete are available, too, as is a refreshing summer salad of bulgur with homemade peach dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh peach slices and pumpkin seeds.

To drink, there are craft beers, bottled tsipouro and a small list of Greek wines. For dessert lovers, there are preserves from a small, family-run workshop in Gytheio. It’s everything you need for a cool, quiet pause in one of the most relaxed corners of the city.

“Look at how beautiful the trees are here,” Chalkiopoulos says. “But how many people actually notice them?” He tells me about the time he was filming on Athinas Street and a woman came up and asked, “Why are you filming that? The flowers fall and make a mess.” He was stunned: a tree in bloom and she was upset about a few fallen petals.

The city is alive – full of roots and trunks and trees that need care in order to give back shade, scent and color. If the municipality won’t tend to them, maybe we can. And in doing so, we might begin to experience the city differently. “That’s why I say ‘Get out there – Athens is blooming,’” Chalkiopoulos tells me as we wrap up. And he’s right. You just have to know where to look – and who to walk with.

Instagram: @athensville