The 4 Best Desserts in Athens Greece

Greek desserts are enjoying a renaissance in the international foodie landscape, standing toe to toe with other popular European treats like Italian gelato, Basque cheesecake, and French crème brûlée.

Of course, no Athens food tour is complete without sampling a few great desserts and tasty treats along the way. To help keep you from missing a great bite, I decided to look at some of the best desserts in Athens Greece, and my favorite places to find them.

Baklava

Baklava is sort of the Greek gateway dessert that will get you wanting to take a deeper dive into the sweet and sumptuous bounty of Athens. It’s painstakingly made with layers of delicate phyllo dough painted with seasoned butter. Every few layers get a scattering of nuts and honey.

Then the whole thing is baked crisp. Moments after it comes out, the pan is lightly bathed in a sweet syrup mixture that infuses into the layers. Then it’s often cut into squares or wedges.

The thing I love most about Baklava is that you can eat it on its own and be completely satisfied that you’ve had a delicious sweet treat. Yet it also pairs well with so many other things like jams, fresh fruit, marmalade, cold Greek yogurt, creative sauces, and even ice cream.

Athenian chefs and pastry shops then use this versatility to come up with their own creative twists. Meaning there are unique baklava experiences around every corner in Athens.

My favorite place to explore baklava’s potential is Ta Serbetia stou Psyrri. It’s not far from attractions like Hadrian’s Library, and the Acropolis is only a 15-minute walk away.

Ta Serbetia stou Psyrri offers several different takes on baklava. Including using different nuts like pistachios, walnuts, and even almonds in the layers. However, my favorite is the less traditional chocolate baklava, which is infused with the richness and light tang of authentic cacao.

Ta Serbetia stou Psyrri (€€) – 105 54, Eschilou 3, Athina 105 54, Greece – Open every day from 10:00 AM to 12:30 AM.   

Loukoumades

Loukoumades are a traditional Greek dessert made by deep-frying flavorful dough balls. Once they are golden brown and crispy the fried balls are lightly soaked or drizzled with honey syrup and then sprinkled with cinnamon. If you like American-style doughnut holes, you’ll love loukoumades.

Of course, they too can be a little bit of a blank dessert canvas, inviting creative twists and toppings. Some of the newest versions I’ve seen around Athens include chocolate, and pistachios, or even serving them with ice cream or gelato.

My favorite place to get loukoumades in Athens is Krinos. It’s a historic pastry shop near Monastiraki Square and other popular tourist attractions like the Ancient Agora and Hadrian’s Library.

Krinos makes very traditional loukoumades with honey syrup and a dusting of cinnamon, for an authentic experience. The way they get them perfectly crispy on the outside with just the right touch of sweetness gets your palate off on the right foot.

You can then feel free to try other creative versions with toppings like walnuts, sesame seeds, and powdered sugar. Knowing that you have an authentic baseline to compare them to.

Krinos (€) – Aiolou 87, Athina 105 51, Greece – Open Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM. Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM. Closed on Sunday.

Bougatsa

Bougatsa is a traditional Greek pastry, that has a lot in common with baklava in that it’s made with layers of thin, crispy phyllo dough. However, it diverges in that the layers of phyllo encase a semolina-based custard that can be either a sweet or savory filling.

The sweet custard version of bougatsa is the most common you’ll find in Athens. Even if you can’t read the Greek signage, you can spot sweet-filled bougatsa because it’s dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Bougatsa with a savory filling of cheese or minced meat usually isn’t dusted with anything or might be given a light sprinkling of chopped herbs. Both are good, but the savory version is less of a dessert and more of a snack.  

My favorite place for bougatsa in Athens is Ariston, in Syntagma Square. They offer both sweet and savory options with authentic versions of each, as well as some creative spins on what bougatsa can be.

I think they have the perfect phyllo-to-filling ratio to let both components of the bougatsa shine. Their phyllo is also exceptionally crispy, while the semolina-based filling is especially creamy. It reminds you that with desserts, texture can be just as important as taste.  

Ariston (€€) – Voulis 10, Athina 105 62, Greece – Open Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM. Closed on Sunday.

Galaktoboureko

Galaktoboureko is a traditional Greek dessert tart made from layers of crispy phyllo dough filled with a semolina-based custard. However, the custard layer is much thicker than you get with the multiple layers of a bougatsa, making it feel a little bit more like a custard pie.

The galaktoboureko is baked before the top layers are soaked in a sweet simple syrup.  Many pastry shops, bakeries, and restaurants will infuse the custard and the simple syrup with a citrus component like lemon or orange. Especially when citrus is in season.

The contrast between the flaky pastry and the creamy filling, combined with the syrup’s sweetness, makes it a much-loved Greek treat. It’s often enjoyed both warm and cold.

I prefer galaktoboureko cold on a hot day, which is one of the top options at the Kosmikon restaurant near the Acropolis. I find their custard to be especially light and creamy, without the graininess you sometimes get with a semolina custard. I also think they perfectly balance the sweetness and citrus, which I really appreciate in a chilled tart on a warm day.

Kosmikon (€€) – Adrianou 119, Athina 105 58, Greece – Open every day from 8:00 AM to 11:30 PM.

Conclusion

Great Greek desserts like baklava are an essential part of an Athens food tour the same way that gelato is to an Italian vacation or crème brulée is to a French gastronomic tour. Of course, it goes deeper than that.

Once you’ve tasted the baklava at Serbetia stou and the loukoumades at Krinos, your palate will be primed for more. You can then move on to exploring the different fillings of bougatsa, or the citrus infusions of galaktoboureko at Kosmikon.