Athens is a city that wakes up hungry. If you want to eat it the way a baker does, follow the smell of wood smoke at dawn — and keep this little guide in your pocket.
The morning starts at seven
The first loaves come out of the ovens around 07:00, which is when the old town is at its best: shutters rising, cats stretching, the smell of fresh bread mixing with coffee. If you're staying anywhere near Plaka, Monastiraki or Psirri, plan your walk for the early morning — the light is golden and the queues are short.
What to order
Start with a tiropita, the cheese pie every Athenian grew up eating — crisp phyllo, warm feta. Then a butter croissant with a Greek coffee, slow-brewed in a briki and ordered "metrio" if you like it medium-sweet, "sketo" if you like it strong and bitter. If you have a sweet tooth, baklava before noon is a perfectly respectable breakfast. This is Athens; nobody will judge.
Where to walk
From Monastiraki Square, walk up Ermou toward the market and then lose yourself in the small streets of Plaka. The old neighbourhood is a bakery's home turf — stone lanes, tiny shops, and more good bread per square metre than anywhere else in the city. Our own corner is at 45 Ermou Street, where the street meets the market.
When the bread runs out
One honest warning: the best bakeries sell out by noon. That's not a marketing line — good bread really is gone by midday, because the city knows where to find it. Come early, eat slowly, and take a loaf for the walk home.