Brettos — Restaurant in Athens

A summarized version of their story from their menu: “Brettos is the oldest distillery in Athens. It started operating for the first time back in 1909 at the ground level of an Athenian old mansion in the heart of Plaka. The founder, Mr. Michael Brettos, started producing ouzo, brandy and a few other liqueur flavors from old time classics like cherry and peppermint to the most distinct ones like citrus and masticha, using old family recipes from Smyrni (Izmir, Turkey).

When demand started rising more than expected, he had to relocate the distillery to Kallithea and operate the small shop on Kydathineon street only as a liquor shop and at the same time as a bar where tourists as well as locals could taste and buy any liqueur they wished for.

Since 1909, little has changed at Mr. Brettos' old-fashioned distillery. It still operates as a bar at this small, incredible, beautiful, charming and "out of time" spot. It is still serving visitors ouzo, 3, 5 and 7 star brandy, more than 35 different flavors of liqueur, none of them available in any other of the liquor or grocery store, traditional Greek spirits, wines and beers. Visited by many locals, it is also very inviting for the tourists. Anyone who is passing by can either sit down and try any liqueur he wishes for, or buy the whole bottle if in need of something to go or take home.

The inside of the small shop is still as it used to be. The first thing you notice is the beautiful décor of a wall full of coloured bottles lit from behind that fill the entire back wall floor to ceiling, providing a colour spectrum in contrast to the 200 year old building. On another wall are the old barrels full of spirits that are still used.

Around the shop there is a bar with about 15 stools where you can sample the famous homemade ouzo (very smooth) and brand name alcohol or liqueurs. Finally, next to the door there is the very first, hand-made, ouzo distiller that Mr Michael Brettos once used.

After all these decades Brettos distillery and bar is still the best place to have a few drinks after work, after a good meal, or just before you go to sleep. Without any lifestyle codes, with soft music coming from a small radio forgotten on one of the wooden shelves, Brettos is the perfect place is you wish to get away form everyday life and have a chat with...

Overrated

We have visited recently the bar since the advertising on the internet presented it as a special bar. From what we red, the bar indeed was famous in the past. Unfortunately, in the present, it’s just a tourist attraction / tourist bar with nothing special in it. Yes maybe the owner kept most of the original look of the bar. And the colored bottles on the wall are nice, but nothing else is. When we entered the bar, nobody welcomed us or helped us sit somewhere. It took some time for the staff to give a feedback. The menu was dirty and pages were falling apart. It seems that the girl and the boy behind the bar were having an argument most of the time. When asked the women what are the specials she just recommended 2 drinks just for the sake of it. After we pick the drinks and ordered, a third man came to the bar and start screaming at the women behind about some things that happened wrong. ( I guess it was the owner) The barman was drinking a beer while working and also served the women some alcohol as well. The general feeling was that the staff did not enjoy working there or serving customers.

In the end we paid cash and no receipt was provided- tax evasion - please always pay by card in order for the owner to be forced to cut the receipts.

The bar used to be something special. It’s not anymore but the owner tries to make money after its name, without knowing what to do or without willing to invest in good service and pleasing the customers.

I do not recommend having a drink here if you are looking for a good time with quality drinks and good service.

Take the photo with the nice colored bottles and just...

I reserved a table for me and my friends (10 people) for my birthday for 21:00-21:30 (on a Wednesday night) and the three of us arrived around 21:25. One of the people of the service or the owner, I don't know, was extremely rude to us. He brought us the catalogue, we decided what we wanted but he didn't came to take the order for almost 25min. When he came his behaviour was awful, as if we would stay there without ordering or pay anything. He even said that he declined other clients because if our reservation as if he was doing us a favor. Later on, as my friends started to come, he was rude to each and everyone of them, even when they brought me a birthday cake he didn't even had the courtesy of offering to put it in the freezer. The cocktails were tasty, but I wouldn't recommend it for the world. A place it is what it is by it's people and then by it's quality of drinks. If the environment is not hospitable, who can have a good time? Overall we made a check of 93,00€ he didn't thank us, he didn't even say goodnight. At least I hope he gave the tips to the guy who was serving us and was polite. I feel sorry that he has to work under these circumstances. I have no idea why this place is on Tripadvisor, nor why it's so popular. It only seems he sells the history of the brewery and trying to make as much money as he can from tourists that come and go and only visit once this place. It is really a shame because a place like this could have an amazing potential, but with this attitude it will not go...