Athens · Restaurant

Pharaoh

Name: Pharaoh
Price range: €€

Pharaoh puts an open fire kitchen, concrete surfaces and a balcony on Solomou Street in Exarchia. A DJ plays records after dark while Manolis Papoutsakis cooks older Greek dishes over wood and charcoal, from chestnut stew to lamb with pasta.

Our take

No gas. Just wood, charcoal and vinyl.

The menu runs à la carte with a serious natural-wine list rather than a staged tasting sequence. Book early, ask for wine prices before handing control to the sommelier, and note the table limit; recent diners praise the rabbit and beef cheek but repeatedly mention short sittings.

What visitors say

Michelin gives Pharaoh a Bib Gourmand; Tripadvisor awards Travelers’ Choice and records recurring praise for fire cooking and wine advice, with table duration the clearest complaint.

Platforms researched: Michelin Guide and Tripadvisor. Last reviewed: August 2026.

Good to know

Wood fired Greek cooking, Michelin Bib Gourmand, Natural wine list, and Timed tables

Compare restaurants in Athens

View all

Restaurant

Akra

Akra places diners beside the cooks in a small Pangrati room built around ovens and a wood-fired grill. A bakery occupies the front; heat, smoke and the day’s trays supply the decoration.

Restaurant

Aleria

Aleria fills a nineteenth-century Metaxourgeio residence with plaster mouldings, contemporary furniture and a walled courtyard. Gikas Xenakis uses the domestic scale to frame modern Greek cooking, not to reproduce an old dining room.

Restaurant

Aneton

Aneton sits on a narrow Plaka street in a light room washed with cream and timber tones. Vasilis Zois starts with Greek family recipes, then tightens the sauces, plating and seasoning around produce from small local suppliers.

More to experience in Athens

Museum

Acropolis Museum

Bernard Tschumi’s archaeological museum places the Acropolis finds in visual dialogue with the monuments above, culminating in the glass-walled Parthenon Gallery.

Sight

Acropolis of Athens

Athens’ defining citadel and its great 5th-century BCE monuments, best visited early and understood as part of the living city below.

Hotel

Athens Capital Hotel – MGallery Collection

A polished central hotel with a serious Greek art collection, assured service and a compact rooftop pool, exceptionally well placed for both the historic centre and Kolonaki.

Activity

Athens Insiders Private Athens Tour

A licensed Athens operator that can assemble a private guide, driver and tailored route around art, architecture, food or contemporary city life instead of a fixed highlights circuit.

Bar

Baba au Rum

An influential central Athens cocktail bar with a deep rum collection, inventive drinks and the easy sociability that defines the city after dark.

Sight

First Cemetery of Athens

Athens’ historic central cemetery, where major Greek sculptors, political history and shaded avenues create a moving counterpoint to the archaeological circuit.

Guides to Athens

Central Athens spreading from the Acropolis towards the surrounding neighbourhoods and distant coast

City guide

Where to Stay in Athens and the Athenian Riviera

A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide to choosing an Athens base, from the ancient centre and late-night districts to Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and the quieter southern coast.

Aug 4, 2026 · 18 min read

Athens cityscape with the Acropolis rising above modern neighbourhoods

City guide

Athens in Layers, Not Checklists

Build an Athens stay around ancient ground, modern memory, market streets and a nightlife that belongs to the city rather than the visitor circuit.

Jul 25, 2026 · 12 min read

Itineraries featuring Athens

Athens and the Attica hills beneath clear Mediterranean light

6 days

Athens, the Riviera and Sounion in Six Days

A measured first Attica route with three serious days in Athens, a genuine Riviera change of pace and Cape Sounion treated as a coastal journey rather than a rushed sunset stop.

The Acropolis rising above Athens in warm evening light

8 days

The Ultimate Luxury Athens & Attica Itinerary

Eight unhurried days pairing private access to ancient Athens with serious dining, two exceptional hotels, the Athenian Riviera, a captain-led Saronic yacht day and Sounion at dusk.