Music with bouzaki in Athens
 

I'm going to Athens (first time in Greece) on Jan. 25 and will be there 5 nights. I'd like to hear some live music with a bouzaki while I'm there. Any recommendations where I could do that? tls

I know that some (many?) will disagree with me but, believe me, you don't want to get close to a restaurant with live bouzouki music: a) they're overpriced, b) music starts late, c) they're so loud that you can't even hear your own voice screaming, d) food is anything between mediocre and very bad. The only places you could go to would be some small "cafe/bar-like" place where a small company of young "amateurs" play old songs, and you usually find those out of the centre of Athens. Unfortunately I am not aware of one, perhaps your hotel concierge may be able to help you or a fellow FTer with knowledge of a ρεμπέτικη κομπανία?

I agree with KLouis. We were in Athens for a long-ish stay in November (the wife happens to be an Ancient Greece scholar, which is particularly useful, because she can read what is written on the pottery at the Archeological Museum but cannot order coffee in Kolonaki :)) and all the live music restaurants -at least in the downtown area- are just too touristic. One Friday night we just walked around town and found a very nice estiatório called Lithos, on Esopou 17. I can't say whether it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing or everyday business, but they had an amateur band which played "old" Greek songs (everyone seemed to know the lyrics) and they were actually pretty good with the instruments. Besides, in "local" places the band tends to play at a slower volume, which is nice: you get to enjoy the music while also being able to enjoy a conversation. The food at Lithos was also nice and the price was quite reasonable. We remember that evening as a particularly enjoyable one. If I were you, I'd pop in or call them to ask whether they still have the live music, and on which days.

Enjoy Athens!

Perhaps because there was no word for coffee in ancient Greek! :D.

The restaurant is in the Psyri neighborhood in the very centre of Athens (my home town). This is, next to Plaka, the oldest part of the city, although most buildings have been rebuilt in the 60s-70s and are rather ugly. Until ~20 years ago Psyri was full of small, cheap tavernas. Then, it was "discovered" by the athenian yuppies and within a couple of years it was packed with bars, etc. Yuppies now mostly moved to other areas (e.g. Gazi, Pangrati) and Psyri has become better again. I was told so by my sister who spends 3-4 months in Athens while I hardly spend any time there other than a few hours at ATH ;). At any rate, I think that Marambio's idea of Psyri is definitely good; go have dinner there and pick an eatery by the sound that comes out of it. Most will be affordable, if not cheap.