Athens Market Taverna

I love this place. The staff was so quick and on point! Demi was our server and she was flawless. The food was excellent and drinks were refilled often. I would love to come back here!

I am a huge fan of this restaurant, and am so blessed to live two blocks away from it. I order food to-​go quite regularly, and am hoping to test out their happy hour soon. The Grilled baby octopus dish is amazing, even better than some I had in Greece. I am addicted. The owners and staff are very friendly, and are eager to make personal recommendations. I cannot wait to explore their menu selections further.

I am so glad I got to know this place soon as I moved in SD, this restaurant is definitely a keeper and will visit there regularly for sure.
Food was amazing, I mean every dishes we had were absolutely perfect. Grilled octopus, chicken pasta, kebobs… And great Greek wine menu as well!
FYI, This place is not super hipster downtown style but more likely old fashioned family restaurant which I prefer…

The atmosphere was nice and the service was good, but the food quality was poor, and it was overpriced. My greek salad was bad. The meatballs were good, but the pasta that came with them was bad.

Good tasting food and friendly quick service… but inattentive to details. Food wasn’t hot and was served on a cold plate.

The service here is awesome. Everyone was very attentive even though I was only there for happy hour. The prices are excellent so I’ll likely be back, though I won’t get the dolmas. They were chalk full of meat, so the dolmas felt dry and really needed the too rich for me sauce. Spanikopita was good according to my friend. I got a chilled red wine too. Would have been better a little warmer, but for $ 6 for a glass of decent red, that’s fine. And the bread just kept coming! Plus the tzatziki was delicious! I’ll definitely write more one I’ve gone a couple more times, but wanted to let people know just how good the service was. This is a rare treat for downtown.

Delicious. Stopped here during a visit to SD. From the moment my friend and I walked in, it was a great experience. The waitress was so helpful with every question we had about the menu. I had the grilled octopus, and it was done true Mediterranean style – dripped in oil and oregano, and was yum right down to the crispy tentacles. My friend had a greek salad with shrimp, also excellent. We were craving good seafood after overdoing it in the gaslamp district, and it was our best meal of the trip! The owner came over, and she was so sweet, chatting us up about Greece and the business. Highly recommend.

Oldie but a goodie. I’ve known this place since it opened back in the eighties. The quality of food is superb. After all these years, mainintaining that same level of good food is commendable. The owner, Maria Pappas, takes pride in this little gem, and should. Athens Market has the best lentil soup (Fakes) of any other place. The baked chicken (Kotopoulo) is so tender and juicy. Even the green beans served with the chicken are tasty. Do not miss this place, if you’re ever in this area.

Food is good
service is poor, YOU have to ask waiters for everything and get their attention
nice place, and location,

Such friendly waiter, yummy chicken soup and trio dip platter with pita bread. Love the ambience of thr decorations. Will retutn with friends when im downtown next time

Keepin’it super healthy after workout. Greek salad with chicken skewers. Mary always takes care of her guest.

This place is a classic! I come here for happy hour quite frequently when I have friends in town.
Their happy hour menu is great. It’s also a great people watching place and a historic monument in San Diego.
Most recently they have added chicken wings onto their menu! They’re so good! Skip the meat balls though and you’ll have a great happy hour!

Got the Gyro sandwich with a Greek salad. Would not go back for it.
~Greek salad= wilted and flavorless. The dressing was either absent or lacked flavor. I had to use my own Olive Garden dressing.
~Gyros sandwich= not the lamb gyro you crave. Tasted and looked like grilled target «steak» meat.

We are so happy we found this place on Open Table. It is off the main street — offering a little quiet — but the food and service were fantastic! A very pleasant atmosphere and a place we recommend and plan to return — oh and do not pass up the Octopus appetizer — it was incredible!

Exquisite! No other way to put it. Athens Market Taverna was recommended by a local couple and I quickly understood why.
Rosie (our server) and Mary (the owner) treated my family of 4 with 2 children to the most memorable dining experience we’ve ever had. I don’t say this lightly as I’ve been in the restaurant industry for 15 years. This was the definition of hospitality. PERIOD
Both children we’re catered to by the chef with «special order» items that were not on the menu, and both kids cleaned their plates! My wife and I shared sakanagi (imported Greek cheese melted on fresh baked bread) prepared table side, as well as the grilled baby octopus. This octopus was divine! Incredibly fresh product perfectly grilled with high quality olive oil, roasted garlic, and olives, with a hint of lemon! I had the lamb shank for dinner and this piece of meat was beyond fork tender. It was spoon tender. Again perfectly seasoned with an amazing depth of flavor. The pasta with seafood and a cream sauce was to die for. A simple dish transformed. The dessert blew me away as well. REAL Greek yogurt… And I mean Real… Served with fresh berries, cinnamon, and honey. Simple and beautiful! The benchmark in food and service!

I came here for lunch while working in the Gaslamp District. It was super close in proximity and we felt like mixing it up. It’s a lovely space in the lower level of an old building. It’s also probably the nicest Greek place I’ve ever been. I had the moussaka and my partner had the gyro plate. It wasn’t bad food but I’ve definitely had better for a quite a bit less. The portions seems smaller for the price as well. Regardless, the food seemed somewhat pedestrian for the prices paid. Not a terrible choice if you’re in the area and possible that I missed the better options.

As a Greek-​American, I have to say that we delighted by Athens Market Taverna. We received a wonderfully warm reception and the food was absolutely marvelous. The grilled octopus was better this any we’ve had in the US or Greece. In fact everything was superb. We give it our highest recommendation.
Eleutherios Grimm

Popped in for lunch /​/​wifey had lentil soup and a Greek salad /​/​I had a gyro, with a side Greek salad… It was ok — no more, no less /​/​it was our first go today and we’ll need to try it with more time at hand and more of the menu vs. today’s old regular standard Greek lunch fare… The dining room is ok too, but no more /​no less.
One thing worthy of mention: it is close to the Courthouse and I think many legal eagles go there… the obnoxious & loudmouth NY client/​atty pair sitting next to us had to ‘megaphone’ their conversation all throughout our lunch /​/​thank God local San Diego people are not like this clown /​/​
All in, will return and ‘hope’ for a 4 star experience //

Awesome restaurant — found this place completely randomly after the place we’d planned to go for dinner didn’t work out.
The staff really sold this place — super friendly and accommodating. Their standard answer when trying to decide between two dishes or two wines was «just have both!»
Food was top notch, everything was enjoyable. Would absolutely revisit when in town.

This is a great off the beaten path option to get away from the craziness of Comic Con. It’s not a long walk, but it’s far enough that we’ve never had to wait for a table.
The staff are absolutely fantastic! They are always so friendly and engaging, and the service is swift and attentive, but never over-​bearing. The owner is often on site and will come chat with you, and she is a delight.
I like the food, but it’s nothing mind-​blowing to me. The lentil soup is good, though I don’t go into an orgasmic state about it like some of my friends do. I think I’m just a spoiled SF jerk foodie – I never thought I’d hit that point in my life, but apparently it has happened.
I come here for the ease of getting seated and the pleasure of interacting with the staff; the food is good but nothing terribly stimulating. Regardless, I will always continue to come back here because it is such a wonderful place, and I want to support it! You are guaranteed to have a really enjoyable meal.