Brettos By JDN

ARTISTS & INTELLECTUALS & DRINK & SCREEN

Both artists and intellectuals frequent the laid-back Nixon bar which also has a screening room.

HIPSTER FUNKY, TECHNO, & FULL OF SECONDHAND FURNITURE (for purchase!)

Bios Bar (Pireos 84, Gazi; 30-210-342-5335)

Hipster and the post-alternative crowd hangs out at Bios Bar (Pireos 84, Gazi; 30-210-342-5335) in a Bauhaus building. The crowd dances and grooves to everything from electronica to avant-garde “noise.”

Drink, socialize, and buy the furntiture right out from under the guests. Bios bar is a funky DJ bar and second-hand furniture shop that’s popular with techno fans, students from the nearby arts academy, and anyone on the market for home decor.

DJs turn with laptops and play eclectic beats, art exhibits and readings are regular attractions, andthe hi-tech laptop imagery is off-set by the furniture: cool, mis-matched sofas, lamps, and other collectibles.

Drinks include the standard whiskey, gin and beer, although pulling up a bar stool is not always easy and anyone can buy it out right from under you (maybe you should purchase it for yourself!).

R&B, POP, HIP HOP, OUTDOOR COURTYARD, GLAM & MOJITOS

Soul (Evripidou 65, Psyrri; 30-210-331-0907)

For R&B, pop, & hip hop, bounce over to Soul and treat yourself to a fantastic mojito.

Undoubtedly Soul’s biggest draw is the seductive, red-hued courtyard garden, with its dangling Chinese lanterns, but inside you can sink into one of many comfy sofas, and whisper discreetly in the low-lit hidden dining area. Upstairs sweat off the alcohol on the dance floor (which comes alive in the colder months). DJs play smooth R&B to a glam, young crowd.

If you must dance on a table to bouzouki music, skip the goat-throated howlers and go for sweet-voiced popsters like Michalis Hatziyiannis, the Greek pop John Mayer, who headlined at the club Vox (Iera Odos 16; 30-210-341-1000) last season.

Tickets start at about 25 euros for standing room, and tables start at about 100 euros, though prices vary with the performer.

COZY, CHARACTER, & TAPAS PORTIONS

This small-but-stylish venue in the Gazi District does indeed serve the tapas small plates too! Though diminutive in space, Tapas is character-rich and known for its decent cocktails and lively vibe.

Frequented by an attractive young Athenian crowd, drinks are served with free bites, but if your appetite grows and growls there’s a small adjacent restaurant to fill your belly and off-set the booze.

GOLDEN-LIT GARDEN & FAMOUS GREEK CUISINE

Balthazar (27 Tsocha St Ambelokipi)

Appropriately named for an all-conquering emperor, Balthazar rests in a much-lauded neoclassical building in ancient Ambelokipi, boasts a magnificent interior and a golden-lit garden courtyard, but getting table service won’t be easy (this may well be the hippest bar in town).

Bar-goers have their choice of drinks in two exquisite spaces, or be served some of famed chef Chris Peskias’s inventive cuisine (double-cooked lamb, grouper with risotto, and octopus scented with truffle oil).

SEA-SIDE, POOL-SIDE, A PARTY FOR THE BEAUTIFUL

Often called “Hellenic Hamptons” Balux’s sea-front Athens scene in the fashion-conscious suburb of Glyfada is like a beach party for beautiful people. The resort space flaunts a gorgeous decor, restaurant, health bar, steam baths, and yoga space.

The dance floor is by the main swimming pool area and the party starts around mid-day, heating up as the sun goes down. Beers and tall-glass cocktails are served by the water while big-name DJs spin the latest dance tunes, and by midnight the pool is foaming.

LAID-BACK, GAY, & COSY

Soft music plays in this laid back lounge bar with a Greek island theme. The crowd is loyal and largely gay. Chat on the comfortable couches and at cosy dark tables.

Owner Alekos is cheerful, warm, and welcoming, and if you ask him to mix you one of his favorite drinks before long you’ll be friends with him and everyone else in the house. This is a wonderful “pre-game” bar that can get you in the bar-hopping mood around other lively locales in Kolonaki.

MEDIA GLAMOUROUS

The trendy and somewhat glamorous media crowd floats across the open-plan and split-level De Lux restaurant-bar in Makrigiani.

Guests enter the space on the lively ground-floor bar where DJs spin funky beats to the label-conscious ad execs, PR and magazine crowd. Tilt glasses of martinis, summery white wines, or other simple classy drinks. Ascend to the dining space on the upper-level and the volume noticeably drops down and crowd dines on exquisitely-prepared dishes like grilled goat’s cheese salad and octopus with black-eyed peas.

BOUTIQUE HOTEL

Orange Bar & Air Lounge, Athens Fresh Hotel (26 Sofokleous Street)

Wondering about the name “Orange Bar”? Inverted conical lights cast lemony beams on a stunning orange corian bar, while rectangular lights glow like orange popsicles held up & melting in the Athenian sun. The nouveau Greek menu features light bites to accompany your tasty drink.

Air Lounge is perched atop the hotel and boasts spectacular views of the Acropolis. Rest a bit from the rough and tumble of the Athenian streets, and sink into one of the rectilinear chairs, in the shade of olive trees, a flute of champagne fizzing at your side.

PART CAFE, BAR, & GALLERY

Located in the Thisson neighborhood, an area known for converted loft apartments inhabited by tattooed hipsters and artists alike, Stavlos is part café, part bar, part gallery.

The frequent live music, lively vibe, and comfortable co-mingling makes travelers feel at home and it’s a wonder that the locals of the area ever bother going anywhere else.

Drinks are basic: wine, beer and standard cocktails and the food served is a good compliment.

SWANKY, GLOSSY, & VIP

A co-creation of Greek club mogul and DJ, Vassili Tsilichristos, Villa Mercedes is as swank as they come. Glamorous and aggressively upmarket, it’s the destination VIPs head for a delicious meal out under the setting sun on the stunning terrace.

A scene that could be taken out of a Bacardi commercial, a gorgeous crowd dances the night away to the city’s most popular DJs, an elevated dance area is available to club’s most pampered and exclusive guests. Décor is decadent, the ceiling dripping with chandeliers and the walls draped in fabric; one side is open to the cool evening sky, which keeps things tempered.

Related Articles

• September 14, 2009 -- Neighborhood Navigator: The Gazi District of Athens Greece (1)
• August 17, 2009 -- Athens Neighborhoods: Kolonaki a Hip “Little Column” (3)