Girafe Athens.

Girafe opened on Kallidromiou in September 2025 — the main market street of Exarchia, which has been central to the neighbourhood's social life for a century. The owners, by their own description, are people who love both wine and food in equal measure and built the bar from that simple position. The sommelier is Vasilis Papadopoulos, who has spent his career thinking about wine from the customer’s side of the glass rather than the producer’s. “The best decisions I’ve made as a sommelier were the ones I made while thinking like a customer,” he says. “Who doesn’t want the chance to try different wines?”

The list runs to 135 labels from 18 countries, almost all available by the glass through the Coravin system — a preservation tool that allows bottles to be poured without being opened, keeping the wine in the bottle exactly as it was. In practice this means you can order a glass from a label that, at most wine bars, would only be sold by the bottle. The policy is consistent with Papadopoulos’s philosophy: every wine on the list should be accessible to everyone at the table.

In the kitchen, chef Panagiotis Vasilatos brings Mediterranean flavours and street-food intelligence together — tacos, fish and chips, a standout hot dog, arancini, generous cheese and charcuterie boards sliced to order. The food is built with wine pairing in mind from the first decision, which keeps the menu from feeling like an afterthought to the drinks. The room has filled quickly since opening; regulars report that the service — specifically the floor staff who remember names and preferences — is the main reason they keep returning.