If you are a foodie visiting the Greek capital, chances are you are looking for all the must eat food in Athens, Greece. Athens is a beacon of Greek culture and it is also the beating heart of Greek cuisine. Greek gastronomy is notorious for its flavorful nature, employing a lot of fresh ingredients with dedicated fans all over the world. Athens offers a wide range of delicious imaginative platings,from mouthwatering street eats prepared on the spot as a quick but filling to-go meal, to sit down feasts at various restaurants, tavernas but also unique sweet delicacies being sold in cafes, sweet shops, street vendors and local food markets. Since there is so much Greek cuisine to enjoy and sample while in Athens, it can be a little challenging to decide which ones are must-eats. For the definitive top 5 must eat food in Athens, Greece after insightful consideration, our recommendation is as follows:
Top 5 must-eat food in Athens, Greece
1. Souvlaki
At any district or downtown corner of Athens, you may find street food vendors lighting up their grills to cook a variety of skewered and charcoal-grilled meats, most commonly pork and chicken, sometimes lamb too at certain more specialty souvlakeries. It is popularly consumed as gyros or pita-wrapped and accompanied by delectable condiments and dips like tzatziki.
2. Horiatiki – Greek Salad
You’ll come to notice that Greeks enjoy salads so much, it has become a staple dish; in particular, a Horiatiki one. This is the local name for the most classic of Greek salads, with tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, onions and olive oil. The fresher the ingredients, the better the taste. Try savoring one in a traditional tavern or restaurant in Psyrri or Plaka along your main courses.
3. Bougatsa
This is a filo pastry custard pie that is traditionally sweet and creamy but also comes in a savory variant with cheese, spinach, or minced meat. This sweet variation is typically served for breakfast with coffee and topped with caster sugar and cinnamon. Find the best bakery on Syntagma Square, opposite Hotel Grande Bretagne, and taste traditional pies, based on recipes from all over Greece, with their distinctive multilayered pastry and multi flavored filling.
4. Loukoumades
The simple yet sumptuous delicacy called loukoumades is made with sugar, lemon, honey, flour, and cornstarch. They may resemble small doughnuts, except they don’t contain any filling. While some prefer to pair them with melted chocolate, they are most commonly prepared drizzled in honey and topped off with a dash of cinnamon. Insider’s tip: try them before entering the must-visit bustling Municipal Market of Athens, aka the iconic 19th-century Varvakeios Market, to wonderfully mask the scent from the meat and fish stalls that are intertwined with stories from old Athens.
5. Saganaki
Another delicious example of must-eat food in Athens, Greece is none other than a piece of grilled or fried cheese widely known as Saganaki. Greeks love their cheeses, and their diet features many, many different variants of it. This dish is typically served as an appetizer, an entree or a meze choice and takes only 5 minutes to prepare using only two ingredients: flour and graviera or kefalotyri cheese. It holds a proud place in the menu of every Athenian tavern or restaurant in the beating heart of the city.
Be sure that Athens offers a variety of dining options, whether you want a formal dining experience or the laid back vibes and lively flavors of a local tavern. It is therefore worthwhile to investigate its diverse, urban culinary scene and why not discover all the must eat food in Athens, Greece with a Taste of Greece Tour from Discover Greek Culture. This private food tour offers you the chance to savor some of the aforementioned most popular delicacies for an authentic experience of Greek food culture in the center of the Greek capital. What you will taste on this tour includes traditional treats like loukoumades, bougatsa, cheese pie, spinach pie, the best Athenian version of Greece’s quintessential street food souvlaki, plus the best speciality meze in town.
Delight yourselves in the rich variety of Greek flavors and aromas, on a quintessential food tour that takes us through the streets of central Athens. Every bite and sip will bring you closer to our diverse and bespoken culinary tradition. Pair these gastronomical wonders with traditional Greek coffee, ouzo or tsipouro, local beers and vintage wines and raise your glasses to the true taste of Greece!
