The newly revamped all-day bar of the King George hotel on Syntagma Square redefines the classic hotel lobby as an open meeting point for both city dwellers and international travellers

There are hotels that are more than addresses – they are landmarks. On Syntagma Square, where King George has long stood side by side with the Hotel Grande Bretagne, shaping the Athenian version of the grand hotel, the refreshed George, The Lobby Bar adds a new chapter to the city’s narrative. It is the kind of bar you expect to find in a classic European hotel: open to the city yet protected by the umbrella of great hospitality, sophisticated without being stiff, a place where you can walk in with your laptop in the morning and leave late at night with a cocktail.

This new lounge bar is designed by the internationally acclaimed studio Goddard Littlefair, renowned for its ability to “listen” to a building’s history and translate it into contemporary, refined luxury. At King George, the studio worked with the lobby’s neoclassical heritage and made it warmer and more inviting: cream walls, decorative cornices, a blush-toned ceiling that bathes the room in soft light, a striking glass chandelier at the centre, and deep burgundy curved banquettes that wrap around the round tables, creating small islands of privacy. Brass accents, the bar’s metalwork, classic wall sconces and marble surfaces give the whole space the air of a lobby that could easily be in Vienna, Paris or London – only here it is washed in Greek light and looks out onto the heart of Athens.

The bar operates all day, with a tempo that shifts as the day goes on. In the morning, the scene belongs to coffee aromas and the highly Instagrammable viennoiserie trolley: croissants baked in the hotel’s own bakery, warm and buttery, tempting you before you even sit down. The menu, curated by Michelin-starred chefs Asterios Koustoudis and Nikos Livadias, moves between timeless international favourites and the gentler side of Greek food culture.

Here, “Bread, Butter & Honey” becomes almost a manifesto of comfort luxury: honey from the hotel’s adopted hives in Kerkini, sheep-and-goat butter from Deskati, naturally leavened bread baked in-house every day. The jams come from small producers in Thessaly, without added sugar, and the entire kitchen follows a zero food waste philosophy – a very contemporary reading of luxury, one that goes beyond appearance and reaches all the way to provenance. This makes the bar just as suitable for lunch meetings: handmade sandwiches, savoury tarts, brioche and light bites that match the urban pace right outside its doors.

Fine drinking, with ritual

When the lights go down, George, The Lobby Bar reveals its true personality. The eye is drawn to the statement bar, the glassware comes down from the racks, the music is turned up half a notch and the experience becomes pure fine drinking. The drinks list has a clear direction: premium gin and tequila, aligned with global trends, and signature cocktails inspired by the six senses, all developed with a zero-waste mindset. The tableside preparation on a mobile cart is a performance in itself: bartenders build the drink in front of you, you choose the aromatic bitter from a line of bespoke aromatic sprays, the cocktail is served at the exact right temperature – and suddenly you feel as if you’re in a grand European bar, only outside the window it’s Athenians passing by.

Playful, high-end bites complete the scene: lobster mac & cheese, beef tartare éclair, prawn tempura bao, oysters on ice – small, polished plates designed to stand next to a serious drink and support the bar’s nocturnal, cosmopolitan mood. The details seal it: Ecaille crème porcelain from France and staff uniforms designed by Greek fashion house Zeus + Dione, bringing a discreet couture touch into the hospitality setting.

Art as identity

Where George, The Lobby Bar truly defines itself is in its art selection. Long before art-in-hotels became an international trend, LAMPSA SA had decided that Greek landmark hotels should speak through Greek art. At the entrance you’re welcomed by the monumental “Composition” by Yannis Moralis (1961), on loan from Regency Casino Mont Parnes – a mural of weight and presence that sets the tone from the very first step. Close by, Spyros Vassiliou’s “Little Shop on Athinas Street” (1970) transports you to an older, gentler Athens, perfectly aligned with the historic character of King George. Further inside, a plaster work by Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika recalls the purity of Greek form, while a younger generation – Filippos Theodoridis, Tina Karageorgi, Peggy Kliafa, Heliodora Margellou, Sophia Petropoulou and photographer Zetta Antsakli – brings colour, Greek light, references to embroidery, to ancient mosaics, to seascapes, all articulated in a language that is fully contemporary yet unmistakably local. The collection is curated by art historian Maria Migadi, who elegantly unites heritage names with emerging voices. The result is not just chic – it is culturally convincing; the kind of space that makes you say, “this could only have been put together in Athens.”

And this, ultimately, is what makes George, The Lobby Bar interesting: it doesn’t try to imitate a generic luxury bar. It proposes its own version of Athenian, classic, open-handed hospitality. Hospitality that belongs to King George, is in dialogue with the Hotel Grande Bretagne right next door, and still speaks to today’s traveller and to today’s Athenian. It’s the new place where you say, “let’s meet in the lobby first,” and then you simply don’t want to leave.

GEORGE, THE LOBBY BAR
King George Hotel
3 Vasileos Georgiou A’ Street, Syntagma Square, Athens
Tel.: +30 210 333 0748