The Athenian

Name

The Athenian

Legal name

The Athenian Ltd

Website

https://theathenian.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quick-Service Greek Street Food Restaurant

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (7225), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias (THAFACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Restaurant Meal & Prepared Food Delivery (CRAFAFAB), Restaurant Meal Delivery Platforms & Aggregators (AFAIAMAA)

Keywords

• Greek street food
• Quick service restaurant
• Plant-based menu
• Food delivery chain
• Gyros souvlaki

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Direct sales of Greek street food (gyros, souvlaki, halloumi fries, plant-based options) through owned restaurant locations and delivery-only kitchens. Revenue generated from walk-in customers, click-and-collect orders, and delivery orders placed directly or through aggregators.
2. Franchise Revenue: The company offers franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs to open their own Athenian locations. Franchisees pay fees to use the Athenian brand, receive operational support, and follow established recipes and standards.
3. Third-Party Delivery Commissions: Revenue generated through partnerships with Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat. The company prepares and delivers orders placed through these platforms, earning revenue net of platform commissions.
4. Corporate/Office Orders: Bulk group orders for office teams placed through Just Eat for Business platform.
5. Cookbook Sales: The company publishes and sells 'The Athenian: Eat Like a Greek' cookbook featuring 60 Greek recipes, including restaurant favorites and traditional dishes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Athenian operates a multi-location Greek street food chain selling gyros, souvlaki, halloumi fries, and related Mediterranean dishes through owned physical restaurants and delivery-only dark kitchens across the UK. The company also runs a digital-only plant-based sub-brand (The Athenian Plant Based), offers click-and-collect and corporate office catering, sells a branded cookbook, and licenses franchise opportunities. Distribution is delivered via dine-in, company website ordering, and third-party delivery aggregators (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, Glovo).

Product overview

The Athenian is an award-winning Greek street food brand operating as a unified product portfolio centered on gyros, souvlaki, and Mediterranean Greek cuisine. The core offering consists of physical restaurant locations and delivery-only kitchens across the UK, supplemented by the digital-only vegan sub-brand 'The Athenian Plant Based.' The company offers ancillary services including Click & Collect, office catering, digital gift cards, a loyalty scheme, and franchise opportunities. The product lineup includes signature items like THE BEAST (a loaded gyros dish) and the Skepasti Greek Club Sandwich, as well as consumer products like The Athenian Cookbook. All offerings are distributed through company-owned locations, delivery-only kitchens, and third-party aggregators (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 76% less CO2 emissions from plant-based foods compared to meat production
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DeliveroocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2023Primary delivery partner for The Athenian's products. Enables delivery from all UK locations and delivery-only kitchens. The Athenian won Deliveroo Restaurant of the Year 2020 among 25,000+ restaurants.
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2023Major third-party delivery aggregator partner enabling delivery across UK locations.
• Just EatcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2023Third-party delivery partner including Just Eat for Business for corporate/office orders.
• Diversity Role ModelsminorOthers · 1 July 2023LGBTQI+ charity that received £6,000 worth of Greek food donations for their Summer Soiree fundraiser, helping raise £50K for anti-bullying workshops in 50 UK schools.
• GlovocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2022Delivery partner for the Madrid, Spain location, enabling delivery to customers in the Malasaña area.
• Crisis UKminorOthers · 1 February 2022Homelessness charity partnership. Donated 350 meals over Christmas 2021 and continued with £1 per Tomato Croquette sold donation to help end homelessness.
• WithUs StudiominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Design studio partner that created The Athenian's new visual identity and brand elements, winning Highly Commended at the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards 2022.
• Women for Refugee WomenminorOthers · 1 November 2021Refugee women charity partnership. Donated £1 per portion of Santorini Tomato Croquettes sold, with total donations of £3,327 supporting women seeking asylum.
• Greek Animal RescueminorOthers · 1 August 2021Volunteer-run animal charity in Greece. Donated £1 per portion of Santorini Tomato Croquettes sold, totaling £4,515 to help animals affected by Greek wildfires.
• City PantryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2020Delivery partner during the COVID-19 pandemic that enabled NHS staff discount deliveries.
• PeopleBankminorOthersRecruitment partner for job postings and vacancies at The Athenian. Candidates can explore opportunities through the PeopleBank platform.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dishoom: UK premium casual Indian street food-inspired restaurant group. Comparable in taking an ethnic cuisine and elevating it through a London-led casual dining format with strong brand and PR-driven customer acquisition.
• Leon Restaurants: UK-founded Mediterranean-inspired fast-casual chain serving naturally fast food across multiple locations. Closely comparable in mission (healthy, culturally-rooted fast food), multi-channel distribution, and UK street-food positioning.
• Tortilla: UK fast-casual Mexican burrito chain with dine-in, delivery, and dark kitchen operations. Highly comparable in QSR format, dark kitchen scale-up strategy, and multi-channel delivery-led growth model in the UK.
• The Real Greek: UK-based Greek restaurant chain offering souvlaki, gyros, and meze across multiple locations. Directly competes with The Athenian in the Greek street food category in London and other UK cities, with similar dine-in and delivery models.

Broad incumbents

• Franco Manca: UK sourdough pizzeria chain with dine-in and delivery. Comparable as a UK casual ethnic-cuisine chain with neighborhood restaurant formats and delivery-led growth, though specializing in pizza rather than Greek street food.
• Nando's: Large UK casual dining chain specializing in Portuguese-Mozambican peri-peri chicken. Comparable in being a UK-based ethnic-cuisine casual chain with broad physical footprint and delivery integration, though at much greater scale.
• Five Guys: US-origin fast-casual burger chain with strong UK presence. Comparable as a fast-casual international chain emphasizing quality ingredients, premium positioning, and dine-in experience over delivery — competing for similar occasion share.
• Pret a Manger: UK-based fast-casual chain offering sandwiches, salads, and hot food with extensive plant-based menu. Comparable as a UK fast-casual incumbent with strong plant-based credentials and significant corporate catering presence.
• Wagamama: Pan-Asian casual dining chain operating across the UK and internationally. Comparable as a broader-ethnicity casual dining incumbent with dine-in, delivery, and dark kitchen operations competing for similar occasion-based occasions.

Emerging players

• Black Sheep Coffee: UK specialty coffee chain with international expansion and a strong digital/loyalty focus. Comparable as an independently scaled UK hospitality brand pursuing franchise and international expansion with a strong social media-driven growth strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theathenianuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/theathenianuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-athenian

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Athenian