The pitch: an editor's read on Bel Ray
Bel Ray sits at Empedokleous 12 in Pagrati, Evangelismos metro. The room is a Pagrati cocktail bar run on a tight programme, and the Athens English-language press has covered the bar repeatedly across 2023 and 2024.
This is the bar for a drinker who wants Pagrati after dark without a Plaka tourist tax. Regulars on r/Athens consistently flag the room in nightlife threads, and the programme rewards a reservation on weekend nights and a walk-in on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The room: a closer read
The room runs corner-to-corner with a long bar facing the pavement and a small back terrace under awnings. The Athens English-language press has covered Bel Ray for years as the anchor of the Empedokleous strip. The interior is unfussy: tile floors, vintage poster art, jazz on the speakers at conversational volume.
The anchor of the city's most-recommended residential drinking strip.
What to order, and what to skip
The list is short and the bar runs it strictly. Order from the signatures.
Skip the food menu after 10pm. The kitchen winds down and the drink list becomes the focus.
The crowd: who shows up, and when
The crowd is Pagrati locals all day and a mixed Greek-foreign wave after 9pm. Athens regulars on r/Athens consistently flag the Empedokleous strip as the city's strongest residential drinking row, with Bel Ray as the anchor before guests move to CV Distiller two doors down.
What regulars say
- “Start at Bel Ray, end at CV Distiller. Pagrati gets it.” (r/Athens nightlife thread, 2024)
- “The Negroni is the right price. Don't get fancy.” (Google Maps review, May 2024)
- “Pavement tables are the move on a warm evening.” (Google Maps review, July 2025)
- “Daytime espresso tonic is as serious as the evening cocktails.” (Athens Insider reader comment)
Who it is for
- Travellers who want to see Athens beyond Plaka and Monastiraki.
- Pagrati visitors who need a starting bar before the Empedokleous crawl.
- Daytime drinkers and remote workers looking for a Greek wine pour at lunch.
- Avoid if a high-end cocktail programme is the goal. Alexander's at Grande Bretagne covers that brief.