Practical information : Take a break Ionian Islands
Timetable
They're not often advertised (or reliable), but it's not unusual for an establishment to open for breakfast and close late into the night... In tourist areas, bar and café owners have to cover the summer season in order to survive all year round: they are therefore open every day, from morning to night, and their opening hours depend on how busy they are. Some night bars only open from 6pm-7pm and stay open until the early hours. Some traditional kafeneio open early in the morning and again around 6pm, but close a few hours after lunch. But most of the time, these places are open continuously: in summer, waiters simply wait for the last customer to leave before closing. This flexibility can be extended out of season, especially at weekends, in establishments that remain open. In Greece, you'll never be pressured to leave an establishment, or recommended to leave, once you've finished your drink. Unless you ask for the bill, you'll be left to enjoy it, without necessarily clearing the table. But don't be fooled: if you see that you're the last to leave and the waiters are exhausted, it may be time to vacate your seat!
Budget & Tips
Drinking coffee is an institution in Greece: you can stay for hours with a freddo or a frappé for just a few euros, without having to reorder. But be warned: coffees aren't cheap. At €4 for a frappé, it's not hard to see why some customers linger...
Age restrictions
As far as the law is concerned, there is no legal age for consuming alcohol in private in Greece. To drink and consume alcohol in a café or public place, you have to be 18, but this law is not widely enforced, and no one will ask for ID when a young person orders a glass of alcohol.
What's very local
The traditional café, the kafeneio, is often the heart of local life on the islands. More precisely, it's often the heart of public life, and therefore of men's lives... Indeed, women still live largely within the home, while the men gather at the café to twiddle their thumbs and remake the world, firmly ensconced in their armchairs... The kafeneio opens early in the morning, where people come for their first coffee to see the village as it slowly wakes up. Sometimes it stays open for lunch, but usually closes between noon and 5pm for siesta time. It reopens at 6pm for a last cup of coffee or a game of tavli at the end of the day. Later, it transforms into an ouzerie, where people drink ouzo, beer and raki while sharing small dishes, mezzedes, against a backdrop of rebetiko, the popular Greek music par excellence.
Kids
Children are welcome everywhere, accompanied by their parents. As in restaurants, they are welcome. Children are kings in Greece, and their noise level is very well tolerated!
Smokers
Fine weather and outdoor cafés limit the problem in summer. Since the anti-smoking law in public spaces was enacted in 2008, some bad habits have slowly dissipated. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the new Conservative Prime Minister elected in July 2019, has promised that the law will be enforced from now on. Since his election, fines have been introduced to charge both establishments and customers who fail to comply with the law.
Tourist traps
Nothing to report, except that it's best to avoid establishments that need reelers. It's often a bad omen!