Dioskouroi Café – Taverna

Dioskouroi is a café I love going to when the weather is nice. Not only is the seating space inside very limited, but also the main reason to visit this place is to enjoy the amazing scenery. Besides ordering coffees, many people go there to enjoy a Greek spirit, like ouzo, along with a snack. It offers ‘varieties,’ or mixed plates that include grilled meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, tzatziki and other small portions of food.

Reason to go

The location is excellent: the Acropolis is located right above you and you are right next to the Ancient Market while enjoying a distant view of the National Observatory of Athens. When the weather is good, the place stays sunny until late and, if you stay long enough, you may also enjoy a dreamy sunset.

The tables are positioned in an amphitheatrical way, which gives you a nice overview and sense of community with the other customers. Keep in mind that there is another café called Dioskouroi, which is also close by, on Adrianou Street next to the railway in Monastiraki, so make sure you end up at the right place if you ask for directions. This place is called Upper Dioskouroi (Pano Dioskouroi), while the other is called Lower Dioskouroi (Kato Dioskouroi). By the way, Kato Dioskouroi has its charm too!

This café is one of the few places where the waiters work on commision (as far as I’ve heard), which is probably why they are usually fast when they serve you. They are professional waiters in the sense that they might be older than the average waiter in Greece and will probably lack some of the enthusiasm you usually encounter in employees of younger age. Nevertheless, they do their job very well.

Dioskouroi is not an expensive place but you may pay a bit more for what you get. The difference is less prominent when it comes to basic consumption (i.e. if you choose to have a beer while enjoying the sunset), and to be fair, the prices do make sense, when you consider the location!