How to open a restaurant in Greece: the 2026 guide for foreigners and investors

Every year we meet people who fell in love with Greek food, a neighbourhood in Athens or a harbour on an island, and decided to open a restaurant here. Some of them build great businesses. Others lose their savings in the first season, and almost never because of the food. They lose it because of premises that could not be licensed, budgets that ignored Greek taxes and contributions, or a lease signed before anyone checked the building.

This guide is written from inside the industry. We have spent more than 25 years in Greek restaurants, from the floor and the kitchen to management, financial direction and ownership, and we now help owners open and reorganise venues. Here is what the process really looks like in 2026.

What changed in 2025–2026

Many guides you will find online still describe the old system. These are the changes that matter if you open in 2026:

• OpenBusiness replaced NotifyBusiness on 3 February 2025. New food businesses file their notification there, and existing businesses must register their activity and documents on the new platform by 31 December 2026.
• New activity codes (ΚΑΔ 2025) apply from 1 March 2026. Restaurant codes moved from 56.10 to 56.11, so codes quoted in older guides are out of date.
• Minimum wage €920 gross per month from 1 April 2026, up from €880.
• Digital work card in food service since 2025: staff hours are recorded electronically and checked against ERGANI.
• Mandatory e-invoicing for invoices between businesses: large businesses since March 2026, all other businesses from 2 November 2026.

Can foreigners open a restaurant in Greece?

Yes. Greece has no restrictions on foreign ownership of a restaurant or a company. What matters is your citizenship:

• EU and EEA citizens can live in Greece and run a business on the same terms as Greeks. You register your residence and get started.
• Non-EU citizens (including UK citizens since Brexit) can own a Greek company from abroad. But to live in Greece and run the restaurant yourself, you need a residence permit that allows business activity. The usual routes are the permit for independent economic activity, which requires a business plan, proof of sufficient funds and a visa issued before you arrive, or an investment permit for larger investments. Requirements and amounts change, so speak with an immigration lawyer before you commit to premises.

Everyone, resident or not, needs a Greek tax number (ΑΦΜ, AFM). Non-residents usually also need a tax representative in Greece and a power of attorney for the person who will handle paperwork while they are abroad.

Choosing a business structure

The structure affects your liability, taxes, accounting costs and how easy it is to bring in partners. The common options:

For most foreign owners opening one venue, an IKE is the practical default. The decision depends on your expected profit, though: a sole proprietor is taxed on a progressive personal scale, while companies pay a flat 22% corporate tax on profit, plus tax on dividends. Run both scenarios with your accountant.

Step by step: from tax number to opening day

1. Get your AFM and access to the tax portal (TAXISnet / myAADE).
2. Check the premises before you sign anything. A civil engineer confirms that the building is legal and that extraction, drainage, power and fire exits are workable. Then ask the municipality for the land-use certificate (βεβαίωση χρήσης γης), which confirms that a food business is allowed at that address. The municipality must issue it within 15 days. More on this below.
3. Register the business. Companies are set up through the One-Stop Shop (e-ΥΜΣ) and registered in ΓΕΜΗ (GEMI), the general commercial registry. You get a company AFM, a VAT number and the right activity codes (ΚΑΔ) for food service: since March 2026, restaurant codes start with 56.11, and cafés and bars with 56.30. Companies must also declare their beneficial owners (UBO register).
4. Open a business bank account. Allow a few weeks, longer for non-residents.
5. Sign the lease, ideally with a rent-free period for the renovation. Commercial leases in Greece have a legal minimum term of 3 years, even if the contract says less.
6. Engineering studies and renovation: floor plan, fire safety, kitchen design, ventilation.
7. Municipal steps: pay the municipal fee (παράβολο), get a certificate that you owe nothing to the municipality, and apply for outdoor seating if you want tables outside.
8. File the notification (γνωστοποίηση) on the OpenBusiness platform with all documents. This is effectively your licence to operate.
9. Cash register, POS and myDATA set up and connected.
10. Hire and register staff on ΕΡΓΑΝΗ (ERGANI) before their first shift.
11. Soft opening, then the official launch.

A realistic timeline is 4 to 8 months. Company registration takes days. The premises, the studies and the renovation take months.

Licences and certificates

Greece moved away from the old operating licence (άδεια λειτουργίας). Restaurants, cafés, bars and other food businesses are «shops of sanitary interest» (ΚΥΕ) and now operate under a notification system: you file an electronic notification with the required documents, you can start operating, and the authorities inspect afterwards. Since February 2025 the notification is filed on OpenBusiness, which replaced the older NotifyBusiness platform.

Because inspections come after you open, every document must be correct from day one. Fines and even sealing of the premises are possible if something is missing. The documents you will usually need:

• Proof of the filed notification, kept at the premises with all the documents below, ready for any inspector.
• Floor plan with an engineer's certification that the premises meet building, fire safety and land-use rules for a food business, plus proof that the building itself is legal.
• Fire safety: a fire safety certificate where required by the size and capacity of the venue, otherwise the fire measures drawn on the plans and a logbook for the fire equipment.
• Food hygiene: premises that meet the food hygiene rules, a food safety system based on HACCP principles, and the records health inspectors will ask for, from temperature logs to supplier traceability. You do not need a separate registration with ΕΦΕΤ (EFET), the Hellenic Food Authority: for restaurants and cafés, the notification on OpenBusiness covers it.
• Municipal fee receipt and certificate of no municipal debts.
• Outdoor seating permit (χρήση κοινόχρηστου χώρου) if you use the pavement or a square. In tourist areas this often makes or breaks the business, so ask the municipality early how much space you can get.
• Music: you declare in the notification whether you play music inside, outside or both. Standard music hours end at 22:00 in winter and 23:00 in summer. Later hours need a separate municipal permit for extended music hours, renewed every year, and outdoor music needs an acoustic study. Separately, you pay licence fees to the music copyright organisations.
• Other permits where they apply: natural gas, archaeological approval in protected areas (common in central Athens and on many islands), signage.

Hiring staff

• Minimum wage: from 1 April 2026, the national minimum wage for full-time employees is €920 gross per month, paid 14 times a year (including Christmas, Easter and summer leave bonuses).
• Social security contributions: the employer pays 21.79% on top of the gross salary, and 13.37% is deducted from the employee's pay. A full-time employee on the minimum wage costs you about €1,120 a month, or about €15,700 a year with the 14 salaries.
• ERGANI: every employee must be declared on ERGANI before they start work, with their hours.
• Digital work card: since March 2025 it applies fully to food service. Staff clock in and out digitally, and hours that don't match ERGANI can lead to heavy fines.
• Health certificates (πιστοποιητικό υγείας): staff who work with food need a valid health certificate before their first shift. It is valid for 5 years and must be kept at the premises. The safe practice is to have one for every member of staff.

In tourist areas, finding staff is often harder than finding customers. On the islands, many owners have to offer accommodation. Budget for it from the start.

Taxes, VAT and myDATA

The split between food and drinks must be set up correctly in your POS from day one. It is one of the most common errors we see in new venues. Greek menu prices include VAT, so these rates directly affect your margins. Price every dish on the amount after VAT. Our guide to menu costing (in Greek) shows the method step by step.

Greece is also one of the most digitised tax systems in Europe for restaurants:

• Every sale is reported in real time to the tax authority's myDATA platform through a certified cash register or e-invoicing provider.
• You must accept card payments, and your POS terminal must be connected to the cash register, so every card payment is matched to a receipt.
• E-invoicing is mandatory for invoices to other businesses, for example catering for a company: for large businesses since March 2026, and for all other businesses from 2 November 2026, through a certified provider or the tax authority's free application.

A good local accountant is not optional. Expect to pay a monthly fee that depends on the business form and the number of staff.

How much does it cost?

There is no single number. Costs depend on the size, the area and above all on the condition of the premises. Be careful with the «cost to open» figures you find online: most of them are template numbers for opening a Greek restaurant in the United States, not a restaurant in Greece. Build your budget line by line instead:

Proportions stay more stable than totals. Renovation and installations usually take 30–40% of the budget, equipment 20–30%, deposits and advance rent 5–10%, studies, licensing and legal fees 3–6%, and initial stock and small items 4–7%. Then comes the line most first-time owners forget: working capital.

For a clearer view of where money goes once you are open, read our guides on food cost and daily financial control (both in Greek).

Buy an existing restaurant or start new?

Buying a running restaurant can save months: the premises are already set up for food service, and the new operator files a change of notification on OpenBusiness before taking over. The notification itself is not «sold» with the business. In Greece you will often be asked for key money (αέρας), a payment to the outgoing tenant for the location, fit-out and goodwill. Before you pay it, check:

• The legal status of the premises and whether the existing setup actually matches the plans on file.
• The lease: remaining term, rent increases, and whether the landlord accepts the transfer in writing.
• Debts to the tax office, social security, suppliers and the municipality.
• Whether the seller has registered the business and its documents on OpenBusiness. Existing businesses must do this by 31 December 2026, and a missing registration becomes your problem.
• The real turnover, from myDATA and bank statements, not from what the seller tells you.
• The condition of the equipment, especially refrigeration, extraction and the kitchen.

Starting new gives you full control of the concept and the layout, but takes longer and carries more licensing risk. Whatever you choose, the lease decides how long you have to recover your investment. Key money pays for the location and the remaining lease, not for a licence, so price it against the years left on the lease, not against the turnover the seller claims.

Athens or the islands?

Athens works all year, with locals, office workers and a tourist season that keeps getting longer. Rents in central areas are high and competition is intense, but a good venue can build a steady local clientele.

The islands can produce very strong summer turnover, but in most places the season is five to six months. That means a full year of rent earned in half a year, seasonal staff who need accommodation, supply chains that depend on ferries, and stricter rules in protected or archaeological areas. Run your numbers on the real length of the season in that specific location, not on August.

Grants and loans

Greece runs EU-funded programmes (ΕΣΠΑ, ESPA) for new businesses, but most calls open for a few weeks and close quickly. In 2026 the main options for food service have been:

• TEPIX III Loan Fund of the Hellenic Development Bank, where 40% of the loan is interest-free and the rest gets an interest subsidy for two years, through participating banks.
• Start-up grants such as «Ξεκινώ Επιχειρηματικά» for graduates. The 2026 call closed in June, but new cycles are usually announced.
• Regional ESPA calls for tourism and food service, which open at different times in each region.

Eligibility usually depends on your activity code (ΚΑΔ), so check it against the new 2026 codes before you apply.

7 costly mistakes foreign owners make

1. Signing the lease before the technical check

The landlord says «it was a restaurant before». Then the municipality says the use is not permitted, or the engineer finds illegal extensions or no way to install extraction. The rent runs for at least three years, and the restaurant doesn't open.

2. Budgeting with net salaries

Staff costs in Greece include employer contributions and 14 salaries a year. Budgets built on 12 net salaries are wrong by a large margin.

3. Treating the notification as a formality

You can open right after filing, which feels easy. But inspections come later, and a missing document can mean fines or a sealed door in the middle of the season.

4. Pricing like back home

Greek diners compare prices closely, and VAT is already inside the menu price. Prices copied from another country, without costing every dish, lead either to an empty room or to a full room with no profit.

5. Underestimating the season

On the islands, a strong July and August must pay for the whole year. Owners who plan on twelve months of turnover run out of money in the first winter.

6. No local team

Accountant, engineer, lawyer and suppliers are the people who keep a Greek restaurant running. Owners who try to manage everything themselves, through translation apps, lose months.

7. Opening without a soft launch

First reviews on Google and TripAdvisor stay for years, and tourists read them before they choose. Run several trial services with invited guests before you open to the public.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner open a restaurant in Greece?

Yes. EU and EEA citizens can open a restaurant on the same terms as Greek citizens. Non-EU citizens can own a Greek company, but to live in Greece and run the business themselves they need a residence permit that allows business activity. Check the current requirements with an immigration lawyer before you sign a lease.

How long does it take to open a restaurant in Greece?

Typically 4 to 8 months. Company registration takes days, but premises, studies, renovation and equipment take most of the time.

Do you need a licence to open a restaurant in Greece?

Not a classic operating licence. You file an electronic notification on OpenBusiness with the required documents, and you can start operating once it is filed. Authorities inspect afterwards.

How much does it cost to open a restaurant in Greece?

It depends mostly on the condition of the premises. Build the budget line by line: company and accountant, engineer and certificates, fire safety, renovation, equipment, POS, lease deposit and key money, outdoor seating, staff before opening, and 3 to 6 months of working capital.

What VAT do restaurants pay in Greece?

As of 2026: 13% on food served in the restaurant, 24% on coffee and soft drinks served at the table, 13% on takeaway coffee and soft drinks, and 24% on alcohol.

Do I need to register with EFET?

Not separately. For restaurants, cafés and bars, the notification on OpenBusiness covers the registration with ΕΦΕΤ, the Hellenic Food Authority. You still need a HACCP-based food safety system and hygiene records from day one.

What is the minimum wage for restaurant staff in Greece in 2026?

€920 gross per month for full-time employees from 1 April 2026, paid 14 times a year. With employer contributions of 21.79%, a minimum-wage employee costs about €1,120 a month.

Until what time can a restaurant play music in Greece?

Until 22:00 in winter and 23:00 in summer. Later hours need a separate municipal permit for extended music hours, and outdoor music needs an acoustic study.

Is it better to buy an existing restaurant or start a new one?

Buying can save months, but check the legal status, debts, lease and real turnover before paying any key money. Starting new gives you full control but takes longer.

Planning to open in Greece?

We plan and supervise restaurant openings from the business plan to the soft opening, and we work in English. We can help you check premises before you sign, build a realistic budget with Greek costs, design a costed menu, and train your staff. Once you are open, our own tools cover online table reservations and financial management. See our services or get in touch for a first conversation.

Aris Alampourinos

Restaurant consultant with more than 25 years in Greek hospitality, from the floor and the kitchen to management, financial direction and owning venues, from Athens to Alexandroupoli.