At Kengo Kuma’s waterfront Riviera Galleria, Zuma’s first Athens restaurant will bring contemporary Japanese dining to one of Europe’s most ambitious new luxury destinations.
Athens is having a moment, but some of the city’s most consequential changes are unfolding not in the historic center, but along the coast. On the Athenian Riviera, The Ellinikon is transforming the former international airport into a new urban district of residences, hospitality, retail, culture and public space. At its waterfront edge, Riviera Galleria is emerging as one of the development’s most visible statements: a Kengo Kuma-designed destination where architecture, dining and luxury retail are intended to meet the sea.
When it opens in 2027, one of its most anticipated arrivals will be Zuma Athens. The contemporary Japanese restaurant will make its debut in the Greek capital at Riviera Galleria, bringing the brand’s signature combination of izakaya-style dining, robata grilling, sushi and high-energy hospitality to a new waterfront setting. It will be Zuma’s latest expansion in Greece, following its established presence in Mykonos and the wider Azumi Group’s ROKA locations in Mykonos and Santorini.
The significance of the opening goes beyond another name on a restaurant roster. Riviera Galleria is being conceived as a new kind of destination for Athens: part shopping district, part dining hub and part architectural landmark. Designed by Kengo Kuma, the building is shaped around fluid, organic forms that echo the movement of the sea, with natural light, texture and landscape treated as integral elements rather than decoration. The development will encompass approximately 19,000 square metres of retail space, with around 100 shops, cafés and restaurants.
For Zuma, that architectural context becomes part of the restaurant itself. The Athens concept has been developed specifically for the city, drawing on two seemingly distant cultural references: sakamori, the Japanese tradition of gathering around food, drink and music, and Aeolus, the Greek god of the winds. Together, those influences are intended to shape a setting defined by movement, light and natural materials rather than a simple transplantation of an existing Zuma formula.
That approach feels particularly suited to a project like The Ellinikon, where the broader ambition is not simply to build individual venues, but to establish an entirely new coastal lifestyle district. The official plans for Riviera Galleria position it as a year-round destination combining international and Greek fashion, restaurants and entertainment within a waterfront environment just 14 kilometres from central Athens. The project is also framed by The Ellinikon’s wider coastal strategy, which includes open public coastline, green space and what the developer describes as Europe’s largest coastal park.
For Sven Koch, Chief Executive Officer of Azumi Group, the Athens opening marks a natural progression for a brand that has spent more than two decades expanding into global luxury capitals and resort destinations. “Opening Zuma Athens marks another exciting chapter in Zuma’s global journey,” Koch said in the announcement, noting that Greece has become an increasingly important market for the group and describing the Athens Riviera as an ideal setting for the energy and guest experience that define the restaurant.
The timing is significant because Athens has steadily evolved beyond its long-established role as a gateway to the islands. Its hospitality scene, cultural institutions, and coastal neighborhoods have become increasingly central to the city’s luxury identity, while large-scale developments such as The Ellinikon are pushing that transformation further south along the Riviera. Riviera Galleria is positioned to become one of the most visible symbols of that shift.
Its architecture is deliberately restrained in the way Kuma’s work often is, with the building designed to settle into the waterfront rather than dominate it. Curving forms, filtered light, and natural materials create a dialogue with the coastline instead of producing a monumental object placed against it. That makes Zuma an intriguing tenant, because the restaurant has built its reputation around a tension of its own: polished interiors and high-energy rooms paired with a dining format that remains rooted in the social nature of the Japanese izakaya.
In Athens, the concept is expected to retain its robata grill, sushi counter, bar and late-night rhythm, while taking cues from the landscape and mythology of the place itself. Melina Paizi, Managing Director of LAMDA Malls, describes Riviera Galleria as a new proposition for Athens, where architecture, the sea and curated experiences come together to shape the character of the destination.
That may ultimately be the more interesting story. Luxury retail districts are no longer judged solely by the brands they attract; increasingly, the most successful ones operate as destinations in their own right, combining food, architecture, landscape and social life in a way that encourages people to stay rather than simply shop. Riviera Galleria appears to be aiming for exactly that, and Zuma’s arrival gives the project its first major hospitality signal.
By 2027, diners arriving at Zuma Athens will not simply be sitting down to contemporary Japanese cuisine. They will be stepping into a new waterfront district still in the process of defining what modern Athens luxury can look like, and that is what makes this opening worth watching.
