Where to Eat in Athens on a Sunday

A vegetarian-and-vegan all-day counter on Nikis, a quiet street just off Syntagma, open 09:00-23:00 on Sundays. It's the right answer for the Sunday morning of a multi-day Athens trip, when your palate is asking for a reset. Light, plant-forward plates rather than the usual heavy brunch. The kind of place that wakes you up without weighing you down.

A four-floor, all-day food hall on Mitropoleos, in the heart of Syntagma, open 08:00-24:00 on Sundays. The brunch counter does a properly good strapatsada, and the coffee program is among the city's best. It functions as a contemporary-Greek showcase as much as a restaurant. Book a week ahead for Sunday mornings.

A five-chef partnership in Pangrati, open 13:00-18:00 on Sundays (no dinner service). This is the Bib Gourmand kitchen pulled into a Sunday-brunch register: wild-greens pies, foraged-herb omelettes, seasonal vegetable plates. Contemporary Greek done with real technique, in a relaxed afternoon setting. A strong choice if you want substance without ceremony.

Regional Greek cooking in Psyrri, open 12:00-18:00 on Sundays. A Bib Gourmand address that leans into the dishes of the islands and the mainland. Sunday brunch here can roll straight into Sunday lunch, built around regional savoury pies and omelettes. Honest, well-sourced food in a neighbourhood that's lively all afternoon.

A modern-Greek small-plate room on Drakou in Koukaki, two streets from the Acropolis Museum. It's closed on Sunday evenings, but it's open Saturday, which makes it the structural pick for the night before a Sunday morning at the museum. Sharp, contemporary plates meant for sharing. Time it as the dinner that sets up your Sunday.

The Athens Central Market is closed on Sundays, but a Saturday-afternoon visit does half the work of your Sunday anyway. The nineteenth-century covered hall, with its meat and fish aisles, is one of the city's great food experiences. Walk it Saturday, then carry the produce-and-protein thread into Sunday lunch. A structural way to bookend the weekend.

A one-Michelin modern-Greek rooftop on the seventh floor of the Onassis Stegi cultural centre. It's closed on Sundays, so this is one for the last evening of your trip rather than the Sunday brief itself. If you fly out Monday, book it for Saturday night. The view over the city and the coast is part of the meal.

A classic fish taverna set on the Vouliagmeni cliffs, open 13:00-24:00 on Sundays. It fills by 13:30, so reserve ten days ahead in July and August. The kitchen weighs the fish at your table, from the morning's catch. The setting, on the rocks above the water, is the reason to come early and stay long.

Nobu-Matsuhisa Japanese-Mediterranean cooking inside the Astir Palace resort in Vouliagmeni, open 19:30-24:00 on Sundays in season. It carries a polished resort-Riviera mood made for a Sunday evening. Don't book it the night before an early flight, though, getting back from this stretch via Piraeus is a slog. Save it for a Sunday with nothing to rush to afterward.

Lefteris Lazarou's one-Michelin marina seafood room on Mikrolimano in Piraeus, open 13:00-24:00 on Sundays. The 95 EUR tasting menu at lunch, taken at a table right on the marina rail, is the structural choice for a summer Sunday. Greek seafood at the top of its game, with the boats just beyond the glass. Book the rail and make an afternoon of it.