The croissant has made a strong comeback in the preferences of Athenians, and these are the places where you will eat the best croissants in Athens.
A croissant is a pastry made using a light, multi-leaved dough that is enriched with butter and yeast. Although it has been associated with French cuisine, tradition holds that its roots are in Austria. In order to gain entry into Vienna during the Turks’ second siege (1683), the assailants started to dig trenches at night. However, the early rising bakers heard them and alerted the army. They became heroes as a result, and to commemorate their achievement, they wanted to create a dessert that would represent their triumph. In order to mimic the crescent of the Turkish flag, they shaped the dough into a crescent.
It was known as “kipfel” (German for “crescent”) by the Austrians. Then, when Marie Antoinette of Austria instructed the cooks to prepare her favourite dessert, the “kipfel” made its way to France. The recipe was altered by the French, who also invented their own “kipfel” and called it “croissant” (french for “crescent”).
So let’s forget the standard croissants of our youth (and not only), which we buy from kiosks and super markets, and let’s take a tour of the city to discover the best places for freshly baked and delicious croissants in Athens.
Overoll
And somewhere here it all started. In 2020, in the midst of quarantine, three pastry chefs joined forces and brought French air to the city centre by opening the first Overoll Croissanterie. Overoll, it made Athenians love croissants again and try new original flavour combinations. Croissants are prepared in front of customers in the store’s open workshop, while the wide variety of sweet and savoury flavours is sure to satisfy every taste. Our favourite croissant at Overoll remains the almond croissant, sprinkled with fresh, toasted almonds. Today, Overoll is the ultimate success story, and new stores are constantly opening all over Athens.
Overoll – Praxitelous 27, Athens
Kora
What is it that makes Athenians line up every day outside the trendy Kora bakery in Kolonaki? The baker and pastry chef Ianthi Michalaki, who previously worked in Copenhagen, has opened here the first bakery with long-fermented sourdough in Athens. It is a place of exceptional aesthetics where a series of unique types of bread is produced every day. But apart from bread, among the other Viennese pastries, you will also try some unforgettable croissants. Among them we highlight Pain au Chocolat with their classic croissant dough filled with excellent quality Valrhona chocolate.
Kora – Anagnostopoulou 44, Kolonaki
Tromero Paidi (Τρομερό Παιδί)
Two friends opened a few years ago the bakery Tromero Paidi in Ilisia and brought France to the area. But its fame quickly spread throughout the city. Using exclusively French techniques, high-quality flour, and authentic French butter, they produce a range of exceptional products. Here you will try the best baguette in town, French puffs, refined sweets, but also awesome croissants. The butter croissant here is a light, complete delight, perfect in its simplicity.
Tromero Paidi – Papadiamantopoulou 30, Ilisia
Fika
Fika Coffee and Croissant is a beautiful cafe with a Scandinavian aesthetic in Koukaki that combines the Scandinavian tradition of fika with French flavours. And of course, first place among its products are the delicious croissants, made with organic flour, which are baked every morning in its oven. Here you will taste classic, sweet butter, almond, and chocolate croissants. But apart from these, you will find croissants with red fruit, white chocolate, apples, or pistachios. There are also savoury options, such as the unforgettable croissant with bechamel and egg.
Fika – Vourvachi 6, Koukaki
Flaked
A relatively new arrival, Flaked has already made a name for itself with its impressive croissants. In its two stores (Nea Smyrni and Moschato), you will find an impressive variety of flavours and combinations, both sweet and savoury. Flaked’s croissants impress with their neat appearance, but in the end they win you over with their taste and the quality of the ingredients. Among the dozens of flavours, we singled out the round croissant filled with Oreo cream, but also the satisfying savoury Carbonara (with mushrooms, bacon, sour cream, and a mixture of cheeses).
Flaked – 2as Maiou 10, N. Smyrni & Omirou 67, Moschato
Holy Llama
Holy Llama is the first exclusively vegan bakery in the city. Its workshop is located in Ymittos, but they also have a cafe near Syntagma Square. Its products are made exclusively with organic vegetable butter, organic almond, coconut, and, in some cases, soy. So among the very good brunch suggestions, sweets, and pastries, you will also find some of the most delicious croissants. Of these, we can distinguish the wheel-shaped croissant either with caramel, cream, and chocolate almond filling or with organic pistachio, cream, and dark chocolate filling.
Holy Llama – NIkis 23, Syntagma Square & Gr. Kydonion 8, Ymittos
oZé
A really interesting new store has opened up on Zografou’s always busy and buzzing Papagou Street. The oZé confectionery workshop has a fresh idea because tsoureki dough is used to make all of its products. Made with flour, milk, butter, eggs, and sugar, tsoureki is a delicious festival bread that is frequently seasoned with mastic resin, mahlab, or orange zest. At oZé, they employ a special recipe that they have to practice a lot to get right. Its delectable offerings include some really good croissants made with tsoureki. The croissant with pistachio cream filling is the most notable of these; it’s a delightful explosion of flavours and scents that you won’t soon forget.
oZé – Papagou 56, Zografou
Butterfly
The bakery, croissanterie Butterfly, is a good reason to visit Sepolia. Although it produces daily fresh quality bread and delicious pastries, the shop has become known for its very fluffy and always freshly baked croissants. Here you will taste rich sweet croissants, as well as croissants filled with savoury fresh ingredients (cheese, ham, chicken nuggets, and anything else you can imagine). But the ones that will catch your attention in the shop window are undoubtedly the XL croissants, filled with hazelnut or pistachio praline, which are a challenge to eat.
Butterfly – Vor. Ipeirou 159, Sepolia
Pâte et Crème
The lovely and hospitable Pâte et Crème is the pastry chef Constantinos Kapsalis’s patisserie and workshop. The only ingredients used here are natural raw materials, French butters, premium chocolates, and fresh fruits. Furthermore, most of the methods used in Pâte et Crème’s contemporary workshop are French. Methods infused with affection to get the perfect flavour. Aside from the other delicious treats, the pastry shop smells lovely every morning when it serves authentic French croissants (butter, chocolate, with raisins, etc.).
Pâte et Crème – Karterias 16, Kypseli
Coffee Lab
One of the most well-known and well-liked coffee chains in Athens is Coffee Lab. Among the items offered in its numerous locations, the strikingly colourful croissants are undoubtedly a standout. Twelve distinct kinds of sweet croissants are made every day in the Coffee Lab’s on-site pastry bakery. Among them are the croissant cube with lemon cream and Italian meringue, and the croissant with a tart and strawberry base.
Coffee Lab – coffeelab.gr
Two guilty pleasures
But in addition to the above suggestions for delicious, freshly baked, and technically perfect croissants, we would like to add two of our guilty pleasures.
The first is the now classic Ciao Italia, which, in addition to pizzas and pastas, offers a range of hearty-filled croissants. This is where the croissants may technically fall short, but with their size and rich filling, they have often satisfied the need for dessert in the middle of the night. The croissant filled with chocolate cream and Bueno praline with extra chocolate syrup on top is every chocolate lover’s dream.
The second guilty pleasure concerns coffee chain Everest and the classic special croissant with ham, cheese, and béchamel that has often accompanied the morning coffee and may not always be properly baked or may have a strong buttery taste. The turkey with Philadelphia croissant has been added to Everest’s new menu, and it is equally worth mentioning.
Kifel – The politiko croissant
A final addition to our article concerns the so-called “politiko croissant.” This is the kifel (name referring to the German “kipfel”). It got the nickname “politiko” because it is mainly prepared in the patisseries with origins from Instabul (“Konstanople” or just “Poli” in Greek) of Athens, as its origin is from the Middle East. The kifel resembles a bun and is filled with a mixture of walnut, cocoa, and cinnamon. It is not too sweet and usually accompanies coffee or tea. You will find excellent kifels at Lido (Chremonidou 35), the famous pastry shop of Pagrati.
We are sure that with this article we did not cover all the places where you can find a good croissant. Athens is a restless and constantly evolving culinary scene, with new shops arriving daily. But each of the above places is a guarantee for an unforgettable breakfast or quick meal with a croissant. After all, a good croissant is always delicious.
