Food & Drink in Greece

Greek cuisine

There is a lot to discover in the cuisines of Hellas. Greek cuisine is Mediterranean: with many dishes made from sheep and goat meat, fish and seafood, salads, vegetables and herbs. The mountainous, coastal country offers the best conditions:

On the one hand, the many sheep and goats reared in the mountainous regions provide the basis for many dishes made from sheep and goat meat or sheep's cheese; on the other hand, the tradition of fishing and the processing of seafood on the islands and in the coastal regions influences the country's cuisine. Northern Greece even grows its own rice, which is used as a side dish for many specialities.

The typical Greek menu also includes many seasonal wild vegetables and herbs that are grown in the country. In summer, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and courgettes are almost always available, as are spices and herbs such as thyme, rosemary and mint, which turn many main courses into typical Greek specialities.

In spring and summer, you will also find watermelons and sugar melons, strawberries, cherries, oranges and peaches everywhere, while in winter you will find dessert grapes, apples, kiwis and oranges. Greek cuisine is rather unknown to holidaymakers in winter and during the fasting months:

While in winter many dishes are based on potatoes and cabbage, during Lent there are only dishes with seafood, squid or taramosalata (fish roe paste). Sweets such as halva are also exempt from the fasting requirement.

Eating habits in Greece

Due to the hot, dry temperatures, Greece has different eating habits, as is typical in the Mediterranean region. Breakfast is often just a coffee. More popular than tea, there are many coffee variations in Greece: Nescafé, mocha, freddo or café frappé.

The best known is probably Greek coffee, also known as "eleniko" or "greek coffee", which consists of an unfiltered black coffee and is served with grounds. The strong, caffeinated drink often tastes bitter and is therefore drunk gliko (sweet), in small sips. Due to the hot, dry temperatures, only snacks are usually served in the morning between 10 and 11 a.m., such as koulouri, white bread doughnuts with sesame seeds, or bougatsa, puff pastries with sweet or savoury fillings.

In Greece, a light lunch of fish, freshly prepared vegetables and salad is served between 2 and 3 pm. Greeks traditionally take more time for their lunch break - often until 5 pm. However, in tourist strongholds, the long lunch break is generally dispensed with and hungry holidaymakers will find tavernas, supermarkets and bars open even during this time.

However, especially in more remote regions, you should be prepared for the siesta to be observed. With a time delay that is unusual for many people who do not live in the Mediterranean region, the main meal is not served until late in the evening. However, there is also a difference here between locals and holidaymakers:

While Greeks don't eat until 9 or 10 pm in the hot summer months, the hot kitchen in most restaurants opens for tourists as early as 7.30 pm. It is customary for families and friends to sit together at the table, so-called pareas, for hours, eating and drinking and discussing God and the world.

Mezedes, typical Greek starters, are ordered together and everyone helps themselves. As someone usually invites someone and picks up the bill, it is customary to have a total bill. There are also a few other special features to bear in mind when visiting a taverna:

🌿 In Greece, there are bars and coffee houses (kafenion), tavernas (Ταβέρνα) and istiatorios (εστιατόριο). The latter are restaurants that cater to even the most discerning palates.

🌿 In a Greek restaurant, wait at the door until a waiter assigns you a table. If you want to attract the attention of a waiter, you should make eye contact or raise your arm. Waving or clapping is considered impolite.

🌿 Usually starters and main courses are ordered together so that they can be served and eaten at the same time. Starters and grilled dishes are often placed in the centre of the table so that everyone can help themselves.

🌿 As a result of this custom, total bills are common. If you want a separate bill, you should point this out to the waiter when you order. However, this is not always appreciated, as it is usually expected that the bill will be split between the waiters afterwards.

🌿 Don't be surprised if waiters in traditional taverns rarely clear empty plates, platters and bottles in between. At pareas, you order so much that there is always something left over. Prove to yourself and others that you are doing well and that you can afford it.

🌿 A table wine is often served with the meal, as well as raki or ouzo. However, getting too drunk is not appreciated in Greece.

🌿 If you are planning to eat fish, you should enquire with the host beforehand. Good kitchens provide information about their daily fresh fish and prices, as fish specialities are often not cheap in Greece.

🌿 Coffee houses are popular - the so-called kafenion (Καφενείο). Typically, pensioners meet to play and discuss over Kaffee Tafli - a type of backgammon. Even in tourist resorts, coffee houses are often reserved for men only and women are not welcome.

Typical specialities: Pita, gyros & tzatziki, ouzo

Many of Greece's typical specialities are also familiar to us from local restaurants - including gyros, tzatziki and souflaki. Nevertheless, there are some delicacies that are unknown to us in this country, but which are definitely worth trying on holiday in Greece!

Appetisers (oretiká)

Before the main meal, various appetisers are served in Greek cuisine - so-called mezedes (Μεζέδες). Meze (Μεζέ) often consist of aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes and peppers, which are roasted, baked or deep-fried in different variations and seasoned with local wild herbs such as oregano, thyme and rosemary. They are served with plenty of bread, olive oil and garlic. It is customary to order many meze at once so that everyone at the table can help themselves. Some of the most popular starters are

🌿 Pita: The flatbreads made from yeast or filo dough come in different varieties, depending on how they are filled: With feta cheese and courgette (zimaropita), with spinach and feta (spanakopita) or with cheese and egg (tiropita).

🌿 Greek farmer's salad (Choriatiki Salata): The Greek farmer's salad with cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, feta and olives is the classic par excellence! In some tavernas, the farmer's salad also contains capers or rusks.

🌿 Dolmades: It's not just a glass of wine that is customary for lunch, but also vine leaves filled with rice or minced meat (dolmades, dolmaki).

🌿 Saganaki: The popular sheep's cheese is often served as saganaki, i.e. fried or deep-fried.

🌿 Keftedakia: Also known as keftedes, these are small meatballs made from minced meat.

🌿 Kolokythokeftedes: Crispy fried balls made from courgette, feta and herbs.

🌿 Tzatziki, skordalia and fáva: Dips and creams such as tzatziki (Greek yoghurt with garlic and dill), skordalia (cream made from potatoes or almonds with garlic) or fáva (puree made from yellow peas, olive oil, onions and lemon juice) are served with the meze. Feta, aubergines and fish roe are also used to make popular, often spicy, garlicky dips.

Main courses (kyria piata)

As the menu not only includes lamb and goat meat, fish and seafood, but also lots of vegetables such as aubergines, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes, Greek cuisine also offers many vegetarian alternatives in addition to the popular meat dishes. You should definitely not miss out on some of these during your holiday in Greece:

Meat dishes

🌿 Bifteki: Minced steak made from beef or mixed minced meat.

🌿 Souvlaki: skewers of beef, pork or chicken, served on a plate or with flatbread. Served with vegetables, tzatziki and chips.

🌿 Moussaka: aubergine and potato casserole made with beef or mixed minced meat with tomato and béchamel sauce.

🌿 Pastitio: Greek pasta and cheese casserole with minced meat.

🌿 Kotopoulo: Chicken, as a meat skewer or fillet

All main courses are often served with chips, dvujec rice (tomato rice) or kritharaki (small pasta in the form of cereal or rice grains). Vegetable side dishes include small salads, green beans, aubergines or okra.

Fish dishes

🌿 Chtapodi: Squid or octopus comes in many varieties, often grilled, with vinaigrette or braised in red wine. Calamari, deep-fried squid rings with lemon juice, are also popular.

🌿 Shrimp saganaki: shrimps cooked in a tomato sauce with lots of vegetables and feta. Dishes with shrimps and prawns are often served with spaghetti.

🌿 Kakavia: A traditional fish soup in which the fish is served on a separate plate.

🌿 Marida: Crispy fried anchovies, flavoured with lemon juice and eaten whole.

Vegetarian and vegan dishes

🌿 Fasolada: The typical, flavoursome Greek bean soup is a national dish. Stewed beans with tomatoes and potatoes or beans simply marinated in oil are also typical.

🌿 Chorta: Chorta refers to all local wild vegetables. They are often served in taverns (albeit at a high price) as a side dish with fish and meat. They are cheaper to buy at farmers' markets and weekly markets.

""" In anticipation of your trip to Greece, you can try out a little of what traditional and modern vegetarian cuisine in Hellas has to offer at home. Here you will find the best recipes and stories about "Greece Vegetarian"

🌿 Kritharoto: Boiled, sometimes baked kritharaki noodles with vegetables.

🌿 Patates Furnu: Classic jacket potatoes, with herbs, feta or tzatziki.

🌿 Spanakopita: Spinach pie with feta, spring onions and egg.

🌿 Sfuggato: Small courgette cakes prepared with feta, egg, onions and herbs, which are eaten hot and cold, especially on the island of Lesvos.

Drinks

🌿 Retsina: A popular dry white wine to which resin is added.

🌿 Ouzo: The well-known aperitif with a pronounced aniseed flavour, preferably drunk cold.

🌿 Tsikoudia: In Crete called tsikoudia, in the rest of Greece raki or tsipouro, this is a pomace brandy with an aniseed flavour and high alcohol content.

🌿 Beer: Although rather unusual in the rest of the Mediterranean, many locals in Greece like to drink beer. Many tavernas serve fresh, local draught beer as well as international beers.

🌿 Coffee: Coffee is more popular than tea in Greece, as a mocha, frappé or café freddo.