Bairaktaris Central — Restaurant in Athens

This place is terrible. Do not eat here! I should’ve known it was gonna be really bad when they served us saran wrapped bread at the table that was stale and hard. My husband and I both ordered a dish. Mine was slightly burned and flavorless as you can see in the first picture, but it was still edible.

My husband ordered a regular kebab. We’ve had these about 20 times in Greece and assumed it was a safe dish. I’ve also included a picture so you can see what it looks like on the menu.

What he got was the nastiest kebab Drenched in a yellow mustard sauce. He took two bites to try to taste it and eat it and literally couldn’t so we asked to return the dish and get a refund explaining that it wasn’t edible and it didn’t look like what was presented on the menu and what were used to ordering.

Suddenly, it’s like they didn’t understand what we were saying in English. Mind you, ordering the dishes and requesting water and all of that was perfectly understood in English, but when we asked to refund us for one of the dishes, suddenly they didn’t understand what we were saying. Luckily Google translate helped with that.

They then claim they couldn’t refund us for the dish because my husband ate it. He literally took two bites. Then when we tried to leave, they wouldn’t let us pay until we said it was all ok.

DO NOT EAT HERE- The food is bad, but the customer service and the way they conduct their business...

I’ve been visiting Bairaktaris every year since 2021, and it’s become something of a personal tradition to have a meal here every time I’m in Athens. The location and the history of the place always drew me in, and for years it felt like a dependable spot for authentic Greek comfort food.

However, during my most recent visit, I noticed a decline that left me somewhat disappointed. I dined there on two consecutive days and tried the veal in tomato sauce, eggplant sald and the meatballs—both of which I’ve enjoyed in the past. Unfortunately, the quality of the food has noticeably degraded. The flavors felt flat and uninspired compared to previous years.

In terms of service, there’s been a shift as well. While I understand that tipping is customary, I found it uncomfortable when the waiter explicitly asked for an extra tip after handing me the bill. It came across as more of a demand than a suggestion, which felt out of step with the warm hospitality I used to associate with this place.

I can’t help but agree with some of the comments that say Bairaktaris has become more of a tourist trap. Last year, it was still holding on to its charm, but this year something felt off.

That said, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. Places change, and hopefully this is just a rough patch. Bairaktaris has been a favorite of mine for years, and I’d love to see it return to the standard that made...

I brough 4 american friends at this restaurant to try the legendary giaourtlou (Kebab with yogurt sauce) since this is such an old restaurant and they say that's one of their specialties!

I was hugely disappointed first time I'm being served giaourtlou that has a mayonnaise sauce instead of fresh greek yogurt!!!! And there was zero tomato sauce. The meet portion and pita was large enough but not tasty. Maybe is good enough for tourists who don't know how traditional giaourtlou should look like and how it tastes. That was not the traditional meal I was expecting and brought my american friends to experience.

Gyros was dry. The fried potatoes cold and very small portion. Only the saganaki was decent..

Finally the service was too slow, we had to ask 4 times for someone to come and take our order..

And while we were eating a random person came outside the restaurant and started screaming and the employees just let him be there for a good 15 minutes making very annoying and rude noises

As a local Greek I would not recommend this restaurant again. The place used to have a history but now the food and service is mediocre

Pro tip if you are looking for giaourtlou in the area: Thanasis, the restaurant right next door, has way tastier and more traditional giaourtlou with yogurt and spicy tomato sauce. I will never try Giaourtlou at...