Restaurant in Athens, Greece
Reliable Greek all-day dining, OAD-ranked.
Cookoovaya is a confident Greek restaurant in Athens' Ilisia district with an OAD Casual Europe ranking two years running and a 4.4 from over 3,000 Google reviews. Open daily from 1pm to midnight, it works for lunch, dinner, or a long evening in one room. Booking is easy, the atmosphere draws locals, and it sits a tier below Athens' fine-dining splurge options on price.
Cookoovaya has been ranked on the Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe list two years running — #571 in 2025 and #570 in 2024 — which puts it in legitimate company for a city with a competitive Greek dining scene. With a Google rating of 4.4 across more than 3,000 reviews, the word-of-mouth case for booking is clear. The name translates from Greek as "owl," and the restaurant leans into that identity with a self-titled approach that feels more neighbourhood institution than tourist destination. If you want confident Greek cooking in a setting that draws locals as much as visitors, Cookoovaya is worth the reservation.
The address puts Cookoovaya in the Ilisia district of Athens, close enough to the city centre to be practical but removed enough that you are not eating surrounded by tour groups. The restaurant runs an all-day service from 1pm to midnight seven days a week, which is genuinely useful for anyone whose Athens schedule does not conform to traditional lunch or dinner windows. The energy here is leading described as warm without being loud: the kind of room where a long table conversation is comfortable and where groups can settle in without watching the clock. For food and travel enthusiasts who want context alongside their meal, the atmosphere does most of the work before the food arrives.
Chef Periklis Koskinas anchors the kitchen, and the cuisine is Greek , meaning the focus is on the kind of cooking that earns repeat visits rather than Instagram posts. The OAD ranking reflects consistency rather than novelty, which is the right signal for anyone choosing between a one-off splurge and a restaurant you would return to. If you have already explored broader Greek dining internationally through places like OMA in London or Mavrommatis in Paris, Cookoovaya offers a grounded Athens counterpoint to those diaspora interpretations.
The database does not confirm specific cocktail details, so specific claims about the bar menu would be speculation. What the all-day format and midnight closing time do confirm is that Cookoovaya functions as a drinks destination as much as a dining one. A restaurant that closes at midnight and draws locals to the 3,000-review threshold is not doing so on food alone. If you are in Athens primarily to explore the bar side of the city, our full Athens bars guide covers dedicated venues. But for a dinner-into-drinks evening in one room, Cookoovaya's hours make it a practical anchor for the night.
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 1pm to midnight. Reservations: Booking is rated Easy , call ahead or check the restaurant directly; no online booking link is confirmed in our data. Dress: Smart casual is consistent with comparable Athens venues at this level. Budget: Specific pricing is not confirmed in our data, but the OAD Casual designation and local positioning suggest a mid-range spend relative to Athens fine dining , likely more accessible than top-tier splurge venues like Spondi or Botrini's. Getting there: Chatzigianni Mexi 2a, Ilisia , accessible by taxi or metro from central Athens. For accommodation planning, see our Athens hotels guide.
See the comparison section below for how Cookoovaya stacks up against Athens peers including Aleria, Hytra, and others.
For explorers working through Athens' dining options, the broader picture helps. Cookoovaya sits in the same accessible-Greek tier as Aleria and Merceri rather than competing directly with the fine-dining tier of Hytra or Tudor Hall. If your Athens trip extends to other parts of Greece, the same food-forward approach can be found at Koukoumavlos in Fira or Aktaion in Firostefani for Santorini, and Almiriki in Mykonos for a comparable island experience. For full context on Athens dining beyond Cookoovaya, see our Athens restaurants guide, and check Akra, Linou Soumpasis k sia, and Pharaoh for alternatives in the city. The Athens wineries guide and experiences guide round out the city picture if you are building a full itinerary. For resort dining elsewhere in Greece, Avaton Luxury Beach Resort in Halkidiki, Etrusco in Kato Korakiana, and Myconian Ambassador in Platis Gialos are worth noting.
The database does not confirm specific dietary accommodation policies. Contact the restaurant directly before booking if dietary requirements are a factor , this is standard practice for any Athens Greek restaurant at this level, and given the cuisine type, vegetarian options are typically available within Greek menus, but specific protocols should be confirmed with the venue.
Bar seating is not confirmed in our data, but the all-day format and midnight closing time suggest a relaxed, flexible service model. Athens venues in this category generally accommodate walk-in drinkers and lighter eating at or near the bar. Contact the restaurant to confirm seating options if that format matters to you.
Dinner is the stronger choice if you want the full Athens evening experience , the room runs until midnight and draws locals later in the evening, which reflects well on the atmosphere. Lunch from 1pm is practical for those on tighter itineraries, and the same menu quality applies throughout. If you are combining dining with daytime Athens sightseeing, the 1pm opening makes it a usable lunch stop without adjusting your schedule significantly.
With over 3,000 Google reviews, Cookoovaya clearly handles volume , suggesting it can manage group bookings. Specific private dining or large-group policies are not confirmed in our data. Contact the restaurant directly for groups of six or more, and book ahead rather than walking in as a large party.
It works for a special occasion if your benchmark is a warm, locally regarded Greek restaurant rather than a formal fine-dining event. The OAD ranking and consistent 4.4 rating give it credibility. For higher ceremony , tasting menus, white tablecloth service, a grander room , Hytra or Spondi would be a better match. Cookoovaya is the right call for a celebratory dinner where the food and conversation matter more than the formality.
For comparable Greek cooking at a similar price tier, Aleria is the closest peer. For a step up in formality, Hytra (Modern Greek, €€€) offers a more composed tasting-menu experience. For maximum ambition and budget, Botrini's and Spondi operate at the €€€€ tier. See our full Athens restaurants guide for the complete picture.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. A few days in advance is generally sufficient for most nights, though weekend evenings in peak Athens travel months (May through September) warrant booking a week or more out given the 3,000-review following the restaurant has built. Walk-ins may be possible at lunch on quieter weekdays.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Cookoovaya | — | |
| Botrini's | €€€€ | — |
| Hytra | €€€ | — |
| Spondi | €€€€ | — |
| Tudor Hall | €€€€ | — |
| Aleria | €€€ | — |
How Cookoovaya stacks up against the competition.
Greek cuisine by nature accommodates vegetarians reasonably well, with legumes, vegetables, and seafood typically well represented. The chef is Periklis Koskinas, so it is worth calling ahead to confirm how the kitchen handles specific allergies or dietary requirements. No phone number is listed publicly, so your best route is contacting the restaurant directly at the Chatzigianni Mexi 2a address or via a reservation platform.
The venue operates as an all-day restaurant with a midnight closing time every day of the week, which suggests a format where bar seating is plausible. That said, the database does not confirm specific bar or counter seating arrangements, so call ahead if bar dining is a priority rather than assuming it on arrival.
Lunch from 1pm gives you the full service window without the later-evening crowd, which suits a more relaxed meal. Dinner into the midnight close works well if you want the full Athens pace of eating late. Given its two consecutive years on the Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe list, the kitchen appears consistent across service — this is not a place where the lunch menu is a stripped-back version of dinner.
The all-day format and seven-day-a-week service from 1pm to midnight suggest reasonable flexibility for groups, but specific private dining or large-table arrangements are not confirmed in the available data. For groups of six or more, check the venue's official channels before booking to confirm table availability and any group minimums.
It works for a celebratory meal if your priority is quality Greek cooking in a relaxed setting rather than a formal tasting-menu experience. Two consecutive OAD Casual Europe rankings give it credibility, but if you need full-service fine dining with a more ceremonial atmosphere, Hytra or Spondi will better fit a milestone dinner. Cookoovaya is the right call when you want the occasion to feel good without the formality.
For a step up in formality and ceremony, Spondi and Hytra are the reference points in Athens fine dining. Aleria sits in a closer tier to Cookoovaya — accessible Greek with a bit more polish. Botrini's is worth considering if you want a chef-driven format with stronger tasting-menu focus. Tudor Hall adds a rooftop setting that changes the occasion entirely. The choice depends on whether you want casual confidence or a more structured dining event.
Booking is rated Easy, so last-minute reservations are often possible — a few days out is typically sufficient outside peak summer months. That said, Athens fills up in July and August, and a venue with a 4.4 from over 3,000 Google reviews and back-to-back OAD rankings will attract demand. A week ahead is a safe buffer during high season.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
