The Underdog

Coffee and brunch in a Thissio villa

The Underdog occupies a city villa in Thissio, just south of Monastiraki, so the room reads as a house with floors rather than a single espresso counter. Service stays casual while the kit does not: espresso runs on a La Marzocco Linea PB, and a Giesen roaster works away downstairs. The coffee poured at the bar is the coffee roasted below, and it is sold by the bag upstairs, which ties the café directly to the roastery. Front row seats face the baristas, for anyone who would rather watch the extraction than the street.

What to order

Start with a flat white if milk drinks are your benchmark, because that is the cup this bar is best known for. The roastery range is unusually long for a café, running through Brazil Jaguara PB, Ethiopia Yria, Kenya Kamwangi AA, Ecuador Finca Soledad, El Salvador Miramar, Colombia Jairo Arcila Peach, Brazil Sertao, Guatemala Pastoral, Costa Rica La Pastora, Ethiopia Koke Honey, Indonesia Sarapan and Uganda Zinule. The detail goes past country names. Ethiopia Yria is heirloom variety, natural process, with strawberry and jasmine; Kenya Kamwangi AA is SL28, SL34 and K7, washed, with black currant, black grape, blackberry and cherry; Ecuador Finca Soledad is Sidra, natural; El Salvador Miramar is Bourbon, anaerobic washed. For food, the brunch anchors are eggs Benedict and pancakes.

Where to sit, and how long to stay

Plates travel upstairs, downstairs and out to the covered patio, so a table can hold a ten minute espresso or a long brunch. The patio is the warmest and liveliest part of the venue, and the bar keeps a buzz through the middle of the day. Local craft beer and cocktails sit on the same list, which stretches the visit past coffee hours. A working roastery, a flagship room and a place in the European Coffee Trip Awards in 2025 make this a substantial Athens coffee stop rather than a neighbourhood espresso bar.