The Acropolis-foot village — upper Plaka for the tavernas that stayed honest
Plaka is the village inside the city — narrow lanes climbing the north-eastern slope of the Acropolis, neoclassical houses repainted in ochre and pale rose, bougainvillea over courtyard walls. The hood sits between two readings: the tourist-trap version downhill, where the laminated menus and the men with the photo albums pull busloads off the metro, and the upper Plaka above Kydathineon, where Athenian families still rent the same flats for a generation and a handful of tavernas have stayed honest for fifty years. The chapter uses Plaka for the upper-hill rooms (Klimataria, Geros tou Moria once known, the souvlaki at Kostas), and only for those.
3 Mekane
Upper-Plaka taverna since 1927 — courtyard, charcoal grill, the working-Athenian institution above the tourist belt.
Plaka souvlaki stall since 1946 — six stools, a charcoal grill, the canonical pita.
Nikis Street vegetarian-and-vegan day-room — the central-Athens brunch counter.
