This summer I was in Athens three days a week for graduate school so I decided to make the most of it. If you know me well, you know that Athens is not the place my yellow jacket loving self should be, but this charming town is known for its electric music and arts scene, hopping nightlife, and it’s amazing food. These are some of the best places you need to try on your next visit:
Breakfast:
This is an Athens classic and I swear it is worth the 45 minutes to an hour wait they might originally tell you. It’s a super local place and every single person who has come has left happy and full. I love that they are also open for lunch as well in case you aren’t in the breakfast mood. I am a huge biscuit fan so I always get one of their biscuit sandwiches but I know my mom loved the Georgia peach french toast which is one of their classics. But if you are just wanting to try it all, a classic dish to go with is the Mill Town Breakfast plate. Also as a cheese grits lover, there’s are pretty darn good, not my 100% favorite but still quality!
I remember hearing the words crepe and my ears automatically perked up because of my French foodie loving self. Originally I went at first for a dessert crepes with friends after a late night out, but I now have fallen in love with their savory crepes during breakfast time that reminds me of being back in Paris. Even though I want to spell it like “The Bulldog” this crepe is so amazing especially with that bitterness of arugula and a tiny bit of spice of the hot sauce vinaigrette. Even though they have set sweet crepes they are super accommodating if you want something different because I know I am a huge fan of banana and Nutella crepes.
Lunch:
My beautiful grad classmate recommended this place for us to get work done one day, and I want to come back again and again. They are open for all meals of the day, but I think lunch is quite amazing because it blends their two menus together. I got a simple cup the tomato soup and it was delicious and creamy and dreamy. I also paired that with a fried egg sandwich, which I was a little hesitant about, but that bread was dang delicious yall. It has a very homey atmosphere, and on nice days that have a huge outside porch area.
This was right next to where my class was held and I was wanting something non-traditional while visiting a sort of all-American city and Viva hit the spot. I’ve never actually had Argentinian food before so it was an experience for sure. I, of course, started with the empanadas because how can you not. I got the “cheesesteak empanada” with this delicious creamy dipping sauce. For the main dish, I got the Paps Fritas because I heard it was the best dish to get, but I am not a huge tomatoes fan and it was piled HIGH with tomatoes so I don’t feel like I enjoyed it as much if I got something else but, the fries, meat and cheese part were quite delicious.
Dinner:
This restaurant was also really close to where my class was as well and it had an outdoor place for individuals like myself dining alone to sit. It was a “chillier” night in Georgia so I gave it a shot. It was a little bit pricier than a normal dinner, but everything I ordered was amazing. I started off, of course, ordering a delicious drink called the “Mothership” and paired it with an oyster recommended by my server that was one of their daily ones but it came with an amazing sauce that you could put on top. It wasn’t as bitter as the cocktail sauce so it was perfect for someone like me. A lot of their entrees were more expensive so I ordered one of their snacks the crispy scallion pancake and it was huge and delicious piled high with crab meat. This would be a perfect date spot or a nice dinner when you have the family in town.
This is a complete locals place and I love it. I snagged a place at the bar on a Thursday night and it worked out great. I started off with Emma’s lemon drop drink and ordered the shrimp quesadillas as an appetizer, but sadly it was disappointing with only one tiny shrimp on each quesadilla. But the meals do come with free bread, and the rest of the meal was delicious. I continued with the Georgia Peach cocktail and ordered the classic salmon and grits. It was so delicious and creamy and I am a huge grits fan.
Drinks:
This old-time bar may look a little different on the outside compared to others, but it is so cool and quirky on the inside. It’s a little dark inside but it has a full-service bar with lots of specials and a super casual staff to talk too. The seating is super diverse and what I love best about is that they have an outside front patio you can drink at which most other places don’t. Their specialty that other bars don’t have is they serve a Pimms Cup!
This place was perfect for a girl like me who isn’t quite sure what I want every time I go to a bar! Their seating is abundant, but if you are in a large group there’s lots of room to stand as well. I loved the names of their drinks and my go too drinks were “The Georgia Peach” super sweet and delicious and the “Brazillian Breeze”. I loved that their cocktail prices were very affordable too only $6-$7 whereas normally other places charge way more! They even have a rooftop area to hang out which is great on beautiful days!
Coffee Shops:
I didn’t realize how obsessed I was with this coffee shop I was until after I left and I realized the name of it was French! As you know I am not a huge coffee drinker, but this place has BOOZY SLUSHIES. You read that correctly and it is amazing. The vibe is very modern with lots of concrete and silver furniture with wood accents but it has free wifi and even petanque on the outside. A little bit outside of downtown but totally a hidden gem.
Ironically this was the place I spent the most time at during my stay in Athens because we met here for our poetry class every night because of our readings. But it has a super cozy atmosphere and like the other coffee shop, they also serve booze. You can see a trend I am having with the “coffee” shops in Athens. They also have great little snacks as well, and the servers are super sweet and you can ask them to make anything. I told them I’m not a huge coffee fan and they whipped me up an awesome faux frappucino. Free wifi and events like live music on their stage are other great draws to this place!
