Bakaliaraki, the fish tavern in Palaio Faliro that locals keep coming back to
Bakaliaraki in Palaio Faliro is the classic Greek fish tavern we all love. Fresh fish and seafood, tasty meze, friendly service and good prices are the reasons why, in just a few years, it has become a firm favourite with loyal regulars who wouldn’t swap it for anything.
- 09/01/2026 14:35
On a Thursday afternoon, I head to Bakaliaraki on Naiadon Street in Palaio Faliro to meet Vasilis Dimousios and his wife Eleni, the owners of the area’s most beloved fish tavern. The weather is good and the outdoor tables are full of people. Young couples, some elderly diners and a few families with babies in prams have come out to enjoy the sunshine and plates of seafood meze. Hardly surprising, as a local resident I often pass by Bakaliaraki and see the tables full at any time of day.
To be honest, that was also the reason I first sat down to eat there. I remembered my father, who used to say, “Where you see people eating, that’s where you should go—so many people can’t be wrong.” That’s how I discovered Bakaliaraki. I mention this to Mr Vasilis and he smiles. The truth is that the restaurant is particularly popular in Palaio Faliro and stays busy from lunchtime until evening. “Our clientele has been steady for years. Regulars who know how the place works come early to eat and leave early. We know most of them by their first name, we know what they’ll order and which table they want,” he says.
It all started with a walk along the Piraiki
I had always had the impression that Bakaliaraki was an “old place,” with decades of presence in the city’s food scene, that had somehow built its clientele over many years. Mr Vasilis proves me wrong, telling me that Bakaliaraki only opened in 2018. “We opened on Naiadon Street in 2018. A year earlier, we had opened Bakaliaraki on Agiou Alexandrou Street, a little further down. That was a very small place, with just a few tables. But from the start we had a lot of people, and we quickly started looking for a bigger space.” The new location was found a few months later in the same neighbourhood, after they had to rent and combine three small shops. The work required to create the restaurant came at a significant cost. “It was a major investment for us, but we took the risk because we understood the business’s momentum and the serious potential it had,” the owner says. The clientele followed and gradually grew. Bakaliaraki became known by word of mouth from satisfied regulars, without any advertising at all and without joining food delivery platforms.
I ask them how they decided to open Bakaliaraki. “Opening a fish tavern was an absolutely conscious decision. I knew the area very well—there was nothing like this here. At the time there were only two seafood restaurants, good restaurants, but more gourmet. We wanted to do something simpler, more everyday.”
The truth is that Bakaliaraki closely resembles the fish taverns we seek out when we go on holiday by the sea. “The idea came to me from a small place on the Piraiki, a simple little shop with a few tables and chairs, no frills. We sat down one afternoon to eat and liked it very much. It had anchovies, calamari, octopus—simple things. I saw people enjoying themselves and said to my wife, ‘That’s what we’ll open in Palaio Faliro: a simple place, with a few dishes and good flavours.’”
“At Bakaliaraki we have fresh fish, but not expensive fish, even though many customers ask for it. They’d like us to serve larger and more expensive fish. The truth is we could, but we don’t want to, because then we move into different territory. Expensive products require different service, different staff, different tables and tableware—the restaurant changes category, and we don’t want that. We want to remain the simple fish tavern that serves straightforward, tasty seafood at good prices. Our Bakaliaraki is a simple place and we take great care of it. We want the products we offer to be fresh, clean, good quality and reasonably priced. We’re not an expensive restaurant, but everything we serve is top quality. That’s why people have loved us and keep choosing us,” Mr Vasilis says with pride.
Fish and seafood in the pan and on the grill
If there is one thing that characterises the dishes at Bakaliaraki, it is the “light frying.” Here, in addition to their famous cod, you’ll find fried anchovies and picarel, red mullet, dogfish and calamari. Everything is crispy and light on the palate, without the unpleasant greasiness that fried food can sometimes leave behind—and which is the main reason many people avoid it. “The secret lies in the oil,” Mr Vasilis admits. “If you keep the same oil for too many batches, it burns and ruins the flavour. And not just the flavour—it upsets your stomach too. Frying in burnt oil is what makes fried food feel heavy,” Eleni explains.
“At Bakaliaraki we pay close attention to the oil we use. It was advice given to me by an old professional in the neighbourhood: ‘Vasilis, look after the oil—everyone loves fried food, no one wants heartburn afterwards.’ The truth is that during service we change the oil every two or three batches. We use more than 500 litres of sunflower oil a week. We fry the fish only in pans, not in deep fryers, for practical reasons. With a pan, you can easily pour out and change the oil you’ve used. With a professional fryer it’s a whole process—it takes time and it’s not easy when you have people to serve,” Mr Vasilis explains, and I find myself thinking how right he is: a pan is faster and cleaner than a fryer.
Another defining feature of Bakaliaraki’s kitchen is charcoal grilling, which gives the fish a unique flavour. The menu includes sardines, dogfish, sea bream, sea bass, calamari and prawns. The grill chefs here are very experienced, paying close attention to cooking times so everything arrives juicy and properly grilled. “The fish we serve our customers is always fresh, straight from the neighbourhood fishmonger,” Mr Vasilis says, clarifying that it is farmed fish. “I’m honest—of course it’s farmed. I couldn’t offer wild-caught fish at these prices. But it’s always fresh, and that’s non-negotiable. From our suppliers, we make sure we always get top-quality products, because that’s what we want for our place and our customers. We wouldn’t even consider lowering the quality we have.” When I ask about his suppliers, he tells me they source fish from “Psaropoula” in Palaio Faliro, because he wants to support local professionals. “We could find more fish at lower prices elsewhere, but we don’t want to. We love our neighbourhood, we support it and it supports us. The relationships are personal now,” he concludes.
Which dishes stand out at Bakaliaraki
Fish soup
At Bakaliaraki they serve hot fish soup every day, made with fresh fish and vegetables. It’s one of the dishes customers favour, especially at lunchtime. This is the simple fish soup our mothers and grandmothers used to make at home—a dish full of flavour and memories. If you ask, they’ll also serve a half portion, which is not small at all and is just right to start your meal.
Fried cod
The restaurant’s signature dish, served in many portions every day. Here the cod is flavourful, not overly salty, with the right crispy batter that creates a lovely golden crust. As for the garlic dip, it’s made with just three ingredients and is simply delicious.
Grilled prawns
“The grilled prawns are one of our specialties and one of the most popular dishes for both young and old,” Mr Vasilis admits. “Very rarely have I seen prawns left on the plate—usually they disappear.” When a neatly presented portion arrives at the table, I can confirm that it’s particularly tasty. Perfectly grilled and juicy, just as they should be. When I ask about the marinade, he almost bursts out laughing. “Everyone asks me about that marinade—even professional chefs. I tell them all the same thing: believe it or not, there’s nothing on the prawns, just olive oil, lemon and salt. All the flavour comes from the charcoal grill, nothing else.”
Grilled sardines
The sardines arrive filleted and stuffed with finely chopped vegetables (tomato, onion, garlic, parsley). “It’s a very popular meze that’s rarely missing from an order.” As I have a particular weakness for this humble little fish, I try them and confirm that these grilled sardines are among the tastiest I’ve ever had—and definitely a dish I would happily order a second portion of.
Fried potatoes
“You can recognise a good place by its potatoes. If the fried potatoes are good, the overall quality of the food is good,” Mr Vasilis insists. The potatoes at Bakaliaraki are exactly as they should be—freshly cut and freshly fried in clean oil, simply irresistible. I think that these potatoes are one of the restaurant’s strong points. They are Cypriot potatoes, fresh, peeled on site, cut on a special machine and fried when the customer orders them. “We don’t use pre-peeled potatoes in sacks with preservatives that quickly ruin their taste and quality. Potatoes are very important in a tavern—everyone loves fried potatoes. It’s a dish that rarely misses a table, so if the potatoes that arrive at the start aren’t very good, the whole mood is spoiled,” he adds. I think how right he is. From the humblest taverna to the most expensive hotel, quality is judged by the simplest dishes and preparations. If you don’t get it right there, you won’t get it right anywhere.
Why do you come to Bakaliaraki?
Out of curiosity, and seeing the tables full on a weekday afternoon, I stepped outside to chat with customers and ask why they choose Bakaliaraki. Aris and Sia are very regular customers, visiting at least once a week. Sia says the main reason they come is the good food, because “no matter how nice a place is, no matter how good the staff is, if the food isn’t good, you won’t go back.” Aris talks about Mr Vasilis and Eleni, who are warm and welcoming people, as well as the care shown by the front-of-house staff. “We have a good time here, we feel looked after and that they want us to enjoy ourselves,” he adds. “We like that it’s the warm neighbourhood place where we know the people and they know us too. We’ll have a quick chat and we know for sure the food will be good and we’ll be well taken care of,” Sia adds.
Discreetly, I approach another table where an older couple is eating. “We’re long-time customers, and we’re happy to see that Bakaliaraki has maintained the quality of its food without changing its prices. That’s something we really appreciate, which is why we continue to support Vasilis. In many places, especially after the pandemic, changes were made—prices went up and quality went down. That didn’t happen at Bakaliaraki. It has kept its quality and its good prices. That’s why we continue to eat here once or twice a week. We avoid weekends, though, because it gets very busy,” admits Mr Dimitris, a retiree who comes here very often with his wife. “It has maintained its quality all these years; it hasn’t let its dishes deteriorate. Everything is getting more expensive, but losing quality. Vasilis and Eleni have kept the quality of the food without letting prices get out of hand. That’s very important for us to keep coming back,” says Mrs Sofia.
Just before I leave and let Eleni and Vasilis focus on the evening service, I think about everything the customers said earlier and conclude that there is a reason this place has such loyal fans. Bakaliaraki has a clear identity, and that’s where its success and the affection people have for it come from. It is the simple, classic fish tavern that offers its customers the basics of good dining: quality, cleanliness, good service and fair prices. And it also has very likeable owners—warm people who see their customers as friends, greet them by name and make sure to serve tasty, honest food at the table.
Note that if you plan to go for lunch on a Sunday or on a public holiday, you’ll need to make a reservation, otherwise you may be disappointed. Bakaliaraki fills up early, and without a reservation it’s hard to find a table.