“Our mission is to offer a unique experience of personal care to contemporary man”.
This sentence—part of the brief history published on Sir Barber’s website—neatly sums up the philosophy of the barbershop that has been operating in Athens since 2014.
Right in the heart of the city, to be precise: the shop is located in Bolani Arcade, on Voulís Street, between the Old Parliament and Syntagma Square. It’s impossible to walk through the arcade and miss it—partly because it occupies one of its corners, and partly because of its striking, wood-dominated interior. Indeed, from the counter to the frames of the mirrors, wood reigns supreme. The leather of the waiting chairs and the porcelain washbasins are virtually the only material departures from this wooden rule.
But to the point: how did the idea of a barbershop rooted in classic values come about in 21st-century Athens? According to owner and barber Angelos Antonopoulos, it was the result of a decade of meaningful preparation.
“I’ve been in the trade since 1993. I knew from junior high school that this was what I wanted to do—I started practicing the profession at 14, initially in hair salons. After 2012–13, I saw a new trend taking shape that made room again for barbershops. In 2014, when I found a space in the city center—which I love—I started Sir Barber, with the ambition of creating a men’s barbershop offering high-level services.”
His experience abroad also played a role. Angelos lived and worked in London for three years and brought back with him the professionalism of the British barbershop, where contemporary techniques are seamlessly combined with tradition.
“Tourism growth in the city center certainly helped, but our mindset explains why we’re doing well. We devote the same amount of time and attention to a regular client as we do to someone who has traveled from the other side of the world. Just take a look at Google and the reviews left by those who’ve visited us. It’s no coincidence that we’re thriving at a time of market saturation.”
Has the barbershop boom gone too far?
“There’s always the risk of fashion,” he says. “You see people with a small budget, a mirror and a couple of tools branding themselves as barbers—essentially a one-man show. But that’s the market in general. About 20% do very well, 30% get by, and 50% open and close. Only a few have the know-how, really understand what they’re doing, and know how to evolve.”
So what truly sets one barbershop apart from another? Why Sir Barber?
“A barbershop is an experience. Cutting hair with scissors and comb the way we do, shaving with a straight razor—these elements come together to form a story,” he explains. And what do we really mean today by the term barbershop? Or, more plainly, a barbería?
“In England, barbershops are clubs—spaces of holistic care, with a guaranteed level of quality in what you offer.”
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And it shows. The shaving foam here is handmade, and conversation with the barber goes well beyond small talk. In addition to Angelos, four other barbers are on hand, each with their own schedule and personal approach. At the start of your appointment, you’re offered coffee; at the end, a piece of loukoumi. Appointments are recorded in a paper ledger. Within the shop’s square footage, there is a clear sense of consistency, cohesion and order, as the old-timers would say.
Above all, there is a shared belief that grooming is not a rushed transaction—“in and out as fast as possible”—but an act of mutual respect.
