Food in Greece: Your Complete Guide

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Everything you need to know about ordering food in Greece

Welcome to the ultimate guide on ordering food in Greece! This article comes from me, a native Greek, brought up with spanakopita in my lunchbox. I have passed out on pushed-together taverna chairs with a potato in my hand while the grown-ups were munching on lamb chops. I have had to jump over large sheets of pasta drying on the floor so I could go to my room. And, not to mention, I have probably tried hundreds of different food places as a student.

In this comprehensive guide about food in Greece, we’ll explore all the diverse eating experiences Greece has to offer. But wait a second.

Erm, why did you go to so many restaurants as a student?

Going out for food with friends is a huge part of Greek culture. Younger Greeks especially, love gathering informally and spontaneously. This means they will not plan and book a meal weeks beforehand. And most importantly, an expensive restaurant is not the only place to get food in Greece, as we’ll see later.

An example situation would go like this: Two friends will get peckish and stop for a bite. Shortly after, their phones will buzz with messages from more friends, enquiring if there’s anything interesting going on. Consequently, more and more people will join in. More tables will be pushed together, more glasses will be brought to the table, until the scene looks like the last supper.

Hours and hours later, the night will be over and the bill of 4 gazillion euros will be split by a gazillion people, paying 4 euros each. (I am obviously both generalising and simplifying here, but you get the idea.)

Food in Greece: A Very Greek Breakfast

Let’s start our exploration of food in Greece with some breakfast. Perhaps you have read a joke or seen a meme about Greek breakfast being a coffee and a cigarette, so let me address that. The root of this rumour is that yes, sadly, Greeks still smoke quite a bit. Also there is not one famous breakfast tradition in Greece, something iconic like a bowl of porridge or a full English.

Each family and individual have their own habits. It could be a banana, or bread and butter, or bran flakes or it could indeed be coffee and a cigarette 😳.

I am visiting Greece, what should I have for breakfast?

So what about you, visiting Greece and needing the best start of the day? If you’re staying at a hotel you will find everything. At a BnB you will likely find seasonal fresh fruit, pies and Greek yogurt with honey along with the obligatory eggs. But if you’re at an AirBnb or self-catering accommodation, head out to discover your local bakery.

There are 14.400 bakeries in Greece as of 2022. You will find a small independent bakery in every single neighbourhood, offering flaky, shortcrust, puff and phyllo pastries with different savoury and sweet fillings, cookies and fresh sandwiches. Of late, they’ve even hopped on the trend of serving coffee to go, making them a convenient stop for a quick morning pick-me-up.

These days there are delivery apps for pretty much any type of food in Greece and that includes bakery products. However you’ll agree there’s a certain charm in discovering your local bakery, actually smelling the freshly baked bread and picking something to eat yourself.

My personal Greek bakery favourites:

• Tyropita kourou: A cheese – stuffed pastry made of kourou dough (a shortcrust pastry, containing Greek strained yogurt). I love the wholemeal version of this, stuffed with cream cheese and turkey.
• Bougatsa: A traditional mid-morning snack with lots of flaky layers of phyllo. The filling could be custard, cheese or even meat.
• Tyrokoulouro: A traditional bagel-shaped bread roll, covered in crunchy sesame seeds and stuffed with feta cheese.

Greek Eateries: Restaurant VS Taverna VS Souvlaki Grillhouse VS Cookhouse VS Meze Joint VS Tsipouro tavern VS Café

OK, now that we’ve had our breakfast and we’re happy and full of carbs, let’s have a look at all the different places you can sit down to have some food in Greece.

Restaurant (Estiatorio)

Known as “estiatorio” in Greek, a restaurant is exactly what you think it is. How formal the setting is can actually vary a lot, but as a rule they all offer a full-service dining experience. They have a menu put together by a chef, they have a wine list and stemmed glasses and it’s probably a good idea to book a table beforehand.

Taverna

A quintessential part of Greek eating culture, tavernas are very casual eateries where you can try authentic Greek cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. You will find tavernas specialising in meat, or fish tavernas. Tavernas in highly touristic areas tend to serve pretty much everything. Their menus are pages upon pages in an effort to anticipate a tourist’s every need. Smaller and out of the way tavernas have a more limited menu, with only a few staples and a few specials each day. In any case, in a taverna you’ll find lots of appetisers, spreads and sides, Greek menu favourites like moussaka, grilled meat and fish platters, and seasonal salads.

Even though there’s a section of ‘main dishes’ in the menu, it’s very common and actually a good idea to share everything. Order a couple of things each, put them in the middle and enjoy! The glasses here, and in most informal Greek eateries, are stemless to avoid accidents while reaching for the plate across you.

Despite the informal setting, if the taverna is very popular it might be a good idea to reserve a table, especially if it’s a weekend or there’s a live music gig on.

Peak times for locals are 14:00 for lunch and 21:00 for dinner.

Related: The time of the day that only exists in Greece

My Taverna tip: IF there’s live music on, make sure you’re OK with that. I love Greek music when it’s unplugged and it allows for a conversation. I don’t particularly enjoy sitting next to an amp and having to scream “pass the tzatziki”.

Souvlaki Grillhouse

The perfect place for a pit stop in between sightseeing or shopping and the most cost effective way to feed a whole family. Grill houses sell pork or chicken souvlaki skewers, gyros and lamb mince kebabs, served with pita bread (wholemeal is also available sometimes), tzatziki, and a variety of toppings. Some grill houses have more extensive menus, to include a falafel version of the classic wrap or whole spatchcocked chickens.

My Souvlaki place tip: You can actually ask them to hold the oil on your pita wrap. It makes for a lighter meal and between the pork fat and the fried potatoes you are not likely to notice anything’s missing anyway.

Cookhouse (Oinomageireio)

‘Oinomageireia’ are traditional Greek cookhouses where you can enjoy home-style cooking. They are cosy and simple places. Their traditional, unpretentious menus draw inspiration by real Greek family cooking, reminiscent of Greek grandmothers’ recipes. They normally offer both sit in and take-out meals and they are popular with students and one-person households. The hero dishes here are legume soups, vegetable casseroles and stews.

Meze Joint (Mezedopoleio)

If you’re looking for a taste of Greek meze culture, head to a mezedopoleio. They’re lively places offering an array of small plates and sides, to be shared over drinks.

Tsipouro / Raki / Ouzo Tavern (Tsipouradiko / Rakadiko / Ouzeri)

“Tsipouro”, referred to as “Raki” or “Tsikoudia” on the island of Crete, is a very strong grape distillate. Ouzo is an anise-flavoured liquor produced from grape must. With this kind of establishments, the focus is on the drinks. These taverns are very popular hangouts where people go to drink and socialise, and the dishes are meant to accompany the beverages. The menus here can be as limited as a handful of different plates, purely so you can hold your alcohol, or more extensive, similar to a Mezedopoleio mentioned above.

My favourite place as a student did not even take specific food orders. You ordered your drink, and you asked for an unspecified small dish to go with it. The purpose of the food was to keep you upright while drinking raki through the night. Most tsipouro taverns will have an actual food menu though.

Talking about tsipouro taverns, we need to make a very special mention to the city of Volos. Volos is a quaint coast port city on the mainland, mainly known for two things. Firstly, it is the place where the Argonauts set off from and secondly, it is the tsipouro capital of Greece, with over 600 tsipouro taverns. If you’re at a tsipourádiko in Volos you are certainly guaranteed to leave well fed, with the most delicious and fresh seafood platters.

Café

Cafés are quite varied in style and menu. Some would only offer a little chocolate with your espresso while others would have some sandwiches or cakes, ice-cream, or even a full-on brunch. If you fancy a little snack with your coffee, make sure you check the menu before you sit down. You can find coffee pretty much anywhere in Greece, so a lot of cafés are actually hybrids: café-restaurant, café-bistrot, café-bar, café-meze place, even café-bookstore.

Beware the ‘toast’: the most common mistranslation at cafés

I will leave this here because I’ve encountered it so many times. Cafés that serve snacky-type things will most probably have ‘toast’ on the menu. However, this is not actually toast, it is a grilled cheese sandwich (which in Greek we called toast). It is such a shame the translation is often off, because a cheese toastie is such a convenient and familiar thing to order, especially for little kids, while exploring a new place. To give you an idea, I once ordered a ‘toast’, and I got lean turkey and mild cheddar inside 2 toasted milk loaf slices, with a little side salad and a small bowl of crips as a side. You would never guess that by the (lack of) description.

My ‘toast’ tip: Food trucks and ferry boat bars always have that on the menu, and the price is often regulated. Look for it!

Settling at your table for a Greek mini-feast

So let’s carry on with a few tips and observations to keep in mind once you’ve sat at your table.

Water

No matter if you’re sitting somewhere for food, drinks or coffee, the very first interaction with your waiter or waitress will be them bringing you water for the table. If in Athens, keep in mind you can request a carafe of tap water instead of bottled water – I always do. Tap water in Athens is perfectly potable, safe and free too. Sometimes tavernas will try to push bottled water instead and charge as a soft drink. However, note that in some regions of Greece bottled water is, in fact, the only option.

What if you prefer sparkling water?

The most common options for sparkling water in Greece are:

• Xino Nero: (Literally translates as sour water.) A natural mineral water, bottled in Florina, Northern Greece.
• Souroti: Sourced from the historical spring that bears its name, close to the city of Thessaloniki. Souroti water is famous as one of the richest in calcium and magnesium in the world.
• Depending where you are, there are places that will also serve Perrier / San Pellegrino.

Bread

Once you’ve sat at your taverna, a flying saucer full of bread will land on your table. If you’re a big party this could be as much as an entire loaf. Don’t be alarmed! Don’t take this as a con into charging you more. Evidently, consuming bread with food very common in Greece. It is a given that bread has to be provided and it is already included in the small cover charge per person anyway.

Chances are you will find it handy for mopping up your platters and salads. If you’re not a fan of filling up on bread you can tell them straight away so it doesn’t go to waste.

Salads

Common salad bases served in Greek tavernas and when they’re at their best:

Winter & Spring

• Greek coleslaw: shredded white cabbage and carrot, with an olive oil and lemon dressing.
• Green salad with roman or curly lettuce, spring onions, and an olive oil and dill dressing.
• Green salad with rocket and mushrooms.

Summer / Autumn

• THE Greek salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, peppers, olives & feta cheese served with plenty of olive oil. In some regions it comes with capers or caper leaves.
• Cucumber & tomato salad, a stripped version of the above.
• Green salad with cherry tomatoes.
• Boiled greens.
• Beetroot salad.

Pretty much all year round

• Green salad with fresh spinach, lettuce, radicchio, mushrooms, soft cheese and barley rusk croutons, with a balsamic dressing.

Food in Greece: For vegeterians

If you are a vegetarian visiting Greece you will not struggle at all, provided you actually eat vegetables, not meat-substitutes (those are not widely available in Greece yet).

My personal top veggie dish picks to look out for:

• Fava: A smooth yellow split lentil purée, served with chopped red onion, capers, olive oil and lemon.
• Gigantes: Literally meaning ‘giants’. Oven baked butter beans (lima beans) in a rich tomato, carrot and celery sauce.
• Fasolakia: Velvety green beans with potatoes stewed in tomato, herbs and olive oil.
• Strapatsada: Scrambled eggs with tomato and feta cheese
• Yemista: Large tomatoes and bell peppers, stuffed with rice and herbs and baked with potatoes as a side. Be mindful there is a version of this recipe with meat. It is less common but worth double-checking.
• Dolmades: Rolled vine leaves, stuffed with rice and herbs.
• Courgette (zucchini) blossoms: stuffed with rice and herbs.
• Dakos: A large round barley rusk topped with diced tomatoes and feta or mizithra cheese.
• Things ending in -opita. They’re flat pies with crusty phyllo on the top and bottom. The fillings vary a lot: cheese (tyropita), mushrooms (manitaropita), courgette (kolokythopita), macaroni (macaronopita). There are versions with meat so double check the description.

Food in Greece: For meat lovers

You know you can find souvlaki joints in every corner, but is that all for the meat lover? Actually, there are a lot of Greek eateries specialising in grilled meats that go beyond your standard souvlaki and gyro. This is a list of most common menu items in grilled meat tavernas.

LAMB (also GOAT & MUTTON)

• Braised lamb
• Exohiko (slowly cooked with potatoes, peppers and rosemary inside a pouch of grease-proof parchment)
• Lamb chops
• On the spit
• Kokoretsi (a large skewer of lamb – offal, wrapped with the animal’s intestines and cooked on the griddle. Not for the faint-hearted and would actually be illegal in the UK.)

PORK

• Pork steaks
• Pork pancetta
• Pork ribs
• Kontosouvli (Large chunks of marinaded meat, skewered and then slowly roasted on the spit. There is also a lamb version of this.)
• Whole hog roast
• Spicy handmade sausage

BEEF

• Biftekia (Meat patties with herbs, similar to a burger)
• Beef steaks

Food in Greece: For fish lovers

In Greek tavernas and restaurants, you’ll find a variety of delicious fish dishes, often showcasing the fresh catch of the day from the Mediterranean Sea.

You will notice a common denominator in all these different catches: They are all simply grilled or fried. That’s it. No elaborate recipes of any sort, just the taste of freshly caught fish with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of herbs.

Most famous fish and seafood dishes include:

• Sea Bream (Tsipoura) and its posh cousin Fagri: Tsipoura is the most famous fish in Greek cuisine, with tender flesh and a delicate flavour. Similarly, fagri is a prized catch and a little upgrade on the Tsipoura.
• Atherina and Marida (Mediterranean Sand Smelt and other small fry): Eaten fried and whole, like whitebait fries.
• Lavraki (Mediterranean Sea Bass): Lavraki is a very popular choice in Greek seafood restaurants.
• Sardines: Fresh sardines are a staple in Greek tavernas, especially during the summer months when they’re plentiful.
• Barbouni (Red Mullet) and its cousin Koutsomoura: These small, flavourful fish are a favourite among seafood lovers in Greece. They are typically fried until crispy and golden brown. On the expensive side.
• Octopus: While not a fish, we have to mention octopus as a quintessential Greek meze and the perfect side for a shot of cold ouzo.
• Calamari: Squid is a very popular choice seafood starter in Greek tavernas. Typically battered and fried until crispy but you can also get them grilled and / or stuffed with rice, herbs and their own chopped up tentacles.
• Gavros (Anchovies): Often served marinated in vinegar and olive oil, paired with onions, parsley, and lemon for a refreshing appetiser.
• Gámpari: Mediterranean sea prawn, big and juicy
• Cuttlefish: Quite common in Greek cuisine, especially during Lent, cuttlefish has a white soft flesh, less chewy than that of a squid, and it’s often cooked in spinach and wine.

Things to be aware of regarding fish

• An asterisk * on the menu means the item is frozen.
• Fish in Greece have bones! And heads! I have never encountered a fish bone anywhere in the UK. I am obviously picturing neat little pieces of fillet swimming in the North Sea.

Food in Greece: For the kids

What about families with little children visiting Greece?

If you’re at a taverna with little ones, not teenagers, then my personal recommendation is to embrace the habit of sharing and put together a little platter for them.

So an example would be: A few bites of meat, a few (tentacle-free) rings of squid, a meatball in red sauce or two, some slices of cucumber, golden hand-cut chips and a little cheese and bread.

Picky Eaters

This is a common struggle for traveling families, so let me reassure you. For little picky eaters in Greece, you should almost always be able to request:

• No sauce, fried meatballs
• grilled bifteki (beef patty),
• Chips (french fries)
• Cheese croquettes
• Cheese dip (tyrosalata)
• Spag bol
• Pastitsio: A childhood favourite. It is a Greek version of lasagne, with bucatini (large thick spaghetti with a hole running in the middle) instead of lasagne sheets.
• Plain pasta or rice
• And of course, a chicken breast pita wrap (with mayo instead of tzatziki).

Desserts

Unless at a proper restaurant, you will notice your menu doesn’t have a dessert section. This is because when you ask for the bill, you will most likely be offered something sweet on the house. This could be some cold, juicy watermelon, a semolina pudding, some cake, or even ice cream or brownies. Some places offer a shot of sweet digestive liqueur instead.

Food in Greece you might not have heard of:

This is a selection of a few menu items that you might not be familiar with:

Meats & Charcuterie

• Soutzouki: traditional Greek sausage made from ground meat (usually beef or pork) seasoned with garlic, cumin, and other spices, then air-dried.
• Apaki: A traditional Cretan delicacy, apaki is pork loin, marinated in vinegar, wine, and herbs, smoked and air-dried.
• Synglino: Similar to the above, salted pork belly (or loin) seasoned with herbs, smoked and air-dried, a dish from Mani in the Pelopponese.
• Soutzoukakia: Spiced meatballs, made of minced beef and stale bread saturated in wine, served in a wine and tomato-based sauce, predominantly flavoured with cumin and garlic.
• Pastourmas: A type of deli meat (it is usually beef or more rarely goat in Greece but the original Middle Eastern version is camel meat). I have seen it translated as ‘pastrami’ on some menus, which is inaccurate. They are similar but with a different flavour profile and cultural origin. Pastourmas is seasoned with a mixture of spices such as paprika, garlic and fenugreek, then pressed and air-dried. It has a very strong, distinctive taste and, if you eat a lot, your sweat might smell of it a little. Quite nice, in my opinion. There is a pie version of this ( ‘pastourmadopita‘), it’s quite common, give it a go.

Cheese & Dairy

• Staka: A traditional dairy product made from butterfat. Used as a rich and creamy topping for dishes like traditional Cretan pies, eggs or drizzled over cooked vegetables.
• Kopanisti: A tangy and spicy spread made from fermented cheese.
• Bougiourdi: A baked appetiser made from feta or other cheese, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and herbs. Typically served with bread for dipping. It is nice, do order this.
• Saganaki: Pan-fried cheese, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

If you’d like to be more even more prepared and knowledgeable about food in Greece, Vanessa at Real Greek Experiences has an in-depth article with the 50 most common Greek dishes.

Rusks

What is it with the “rusks” mentioned everywhere?

Known as “paximadia” in Greek, they are double-baked bread slices, resulting in a dry and crunchy texture. They’re made of wheat, barley and / or whole grains and olive oil. It is an old traditional Greek cuisine staple, allowing for a long shelf life. Locals enjoy them as an accompaniment to drinks and dips and they can be “revived” with water, olive oil and tomato juice. The larger ones are often used as a base for salad toppings.

Our local bakery in Athens makes such rusks in the shape of a bowl so you can chop a Greek salad straight inside. How genius is this?

Your Taverna Drinks

Beer

Beer in Greece means lager and only lager. There are quite a few real ale and craft beer places and micro-breweries emerging, but if in a taverna you will normally only find lager under ‘beer’. (My husband is a porter and stout person and he is not impressed.) There are normally a few different lager options. However Greek people don’t seem to have a particular loyalty to any specific one. They will always go with whichever one is coldest instead. Being frozen cold is what is appreciated most when it comes to beer. (Maybe because they all taste the same? Chris says. OK Chris, we get it, you don’t like lager. Forgive us for not enjoying tepid beer when it’s 39 degrees Celsius).

Hello, Chris here, taking over the laptop. If you’re reading this and fancy some actual beer in Athens, head to Barley Cargo & The Dogs’ Place.

Wine

This article is not hoping to be your full guide on Greek wines, this should be a post on its own. However we’ll talk briefly about your options when at an informal Greek eatery.

• Bottled wine: If bottled wine is available, you will find a handful of Greek labels only. The most popular local red variety is Aghiorgitiko, while the most popular white one is Assyrtiko. However this is simplifying the Greek wine scene a little. The choices will obviously depend on where exactly you are on the map.
• House wine: Some restaurants have ‘house wine’ only, served in a 250ml, 500ml or 1L carafes. This could be poured from the taverna’s own barrel (it used to be the case that tavernas produced their own wine), or from a barrel that the owners bought from a winery, or, quite often, from a box of wine bought in bulk. You are not likely to find sparkling wine at a taverna.

Spirits

You can usually order small carafes of tsipouro or ouzo. Ouzo is best enjoyed with seafood and preferably by the sea! Spirits are always served with large carafes of water and ice at request.

If out for a drink

I am focusing on eating out in this post, but this is a quick note on drinking out. If you sit somewhere for a glass of wine or a beer, you will always be given a snack with it. Most places do peanuts, but more common snacks include salted crisps, salted roasted almonds, bar mix, pretzels, olives and popcorn. As you can see, a drink without a little bite on the side is just not in the Greek culture.

A special mention to lemons

Greeks use lemons very generously, and food in Greece is of course served with half a lemon on the side if it’s grilled or fried. Also if it’s a non-tomato based soup or stew. And come to think of it, there’s even a semolina dessert served with squeezed lemon.

Lemons are abundant (they literally grow on trees) and cheaper than in the UK. People would normally buy their weekly bag full of lemons from the local farmers’ market. But, on some occasions, they could be given lemons by someone that has a tree.

One of my first questions when I first went to a grocery store in the UK was, why does one lemon cost 50p? And why do they sell them individually? One of Chris’ first questions when he first came back to Greece with me was, why are there 14 lemons in the fridge drawer?

Ready to order

I hope that this article has given you some useful insights on food in Greece, as well as inspiration and confidence for your own Greek gastronomic adventure.

Pin this for later if you’ve found it helpful!

PS. Share this with a friend who would kill for a pastitsio.

PS2. Or maybe share this with a friend who would be scarred for life with kokoretsi.

PS3. Let me know if I forgot anything about food in Greece!

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