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Ten Best Dishes in Greece
Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best dishes to try in Greece, especially if it’s your first visit, and also discover the best places to find them.
Greece is a culinary paradise, offering a rich tapestry of flavors rooted in its history, geography, and culture. If you’re visiting Greece for the first time, here are ten must-try dishes, along with the best places to try them.
Ten Best Dishes in Greece
1. Moussaka
This iconic Greek dish layers eggplant, minced meat (often lamb), and béchamel sauce, baked to perfection. It’s a hearty comfort food that embodies Greek cuisine. We've even devoted a full page to moussaka, with its history and a recipe.
Best Place to Try: Head to Ariston in Athens, a historic bakery and restaurant known for its traditional moussaka and other Greek classics. It's at Voulis 10.
2. Souvlaki
Souvlaki consists of skewered and grilled meat (usually pork or chicken) served with pita bread, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki. It’s Greece’s answer to fast food, but far more flavorful. Many people have voted this the best souvlaki in Athens. The address is Filellinon 7.
Best Place to Try: Visit Kostas in Athens, a legendary spot that has been serving souvlaki since 1950.
3. Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
This savory pastry is made with layers of phyllo dough filled with spinach, feta cheese, and herbs. It’s a popular snack or light meal and is definitely one of the best dishes in Greece. We eat it all the time!
Best Place to Try: Try it in Thessaloniki, the culinary capital of northern Greece, where bakeries like Terkenlis are famous for their spanakopita.
4. Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Dolmades are grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs, and sometimes minced meat. They’re often served as an appetizer or meze. If made fresh they're delicious but some places serve tinned versions. You can tell the difference.
Best Place to Try: Sample them in Pelion, a region known for its fresh, locally sourced ingredients and traditional recipes.
5. Gyros
Similar to souvlaki but made with rotisserie meat, gyros are served in pita wraps with tomatoes, onions, fries, and tzatziki. They’re a street food staple.
Best Place to Try: Enjoy gyros at O Thanasis in Athens, a popular restaurant famous for its juicy, flavorful gyros. You'll find it at Mitropoleos 69.
6. Pastitsio
Often called Greek lasagna, pastitsio features pasta, minced meat, and béchamel sauce. It’s a comforting, oven-baked dish.
Best Place to Try: Try it anywhere on Corfu, but the best we've had was at Taverna Ninos at Sevastianou 44 in Corfu Town.
7. Tzatziki
This creamy dip made from yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and olive oil is a refreshing accompaniment to many Greek dishes. We've devoted a page to tzatziki, with its interesting history and a recipe to make your own
Best Place to Try: Enjoy it in Crete, where the yogurt is exceptionally rich and creamy. Many tavernas in Chania serve homemade tzatziki.
8. Seafood (Grilled Octopus and Calamari)
OK, so we cheated as this could be any of several dishes, but in Greece all seafood is a highlight. Grilled octopus and calamari are particularly popular, often served with lemon and olive oil.
Best Place to Try: Head to the island of Santorini or Mykonos, where seaside tavernas like Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna in Santorini serve fresh, expertly prepared seafood.
9. Baklava
Hard to pick out just one Greek dessert, but it has to be the ubiquitous baklava. This sweet dessert is made with layers of phyllo dough, nuts, and honey syrup. It’s a decadent treat with Middle Eastern influences.
Best Place to Try: Sample baklava in Thessaloniki, where places like Trigona Elenidi (Dimitriou Gounari 13) make fantastic desserts, including the best baklava.
10. Gemista (Stuffed Vegetables)
Gemista are tomatoes, peppers, or other vegetables stuffed with rice, herbs, and sometimes minced meat. They’re a staple of Greek home cooking. Our favourite is stuffed peppers, which we often have at home but stuffed with feta cheese rather than rice.
Best Place to Try: Try them in Meteora, where local tavernas use fresh, organic produce from the surrounding farms.
Our Pick of the Guides to Greece
Ten Best Dishes in Greece
Greek cuisine is as diverse as its landscapes, with each region offering unique flavors and specialties. Whether you’re exploring the bustling streets of Athens, the idyllic islands, or the serene countryside, these ten dishes will give you a true taste of Greece. Pair them with a glass of ouzo or local wine, and you’re in for a treat!
Other Food and Drink Pages
Where to Eat in Athens and Piraeus
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
Greek Food and Drink
Greek food and drink is a highlight of any visit and Greece Travel Secrets brings you info about food and drink from all over Greece, from Athens to Zakynthos.
History of Tzatziki and a Recipe
Greece Travel Secrets tells the history of the classic Greek dish tzatziki, with a recipe for making your own yogurt and cucumber dip.
Crete Olive Oil Tour
For a Crete olive oil tour Greece Travel Secrets visits Biolea, one of the few olive oil factories on Crete that you can visit.
Corfu’s Special Cuisine
Corfu’s special cuisine includes dishes like sofrito and pastitsade and the chance to try ginger beer and kumquats.
Athens Dining Guide
This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.
The Herb Man of Kouses
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Cretan Botano herbs and spices shop near Matala in southern Crete in search of the herb man of Kouses.
Dolmades
Greece Travel Secrets explains the long history of the Greek dish of dolmades, or stuffed vine leaves, which goes back to ancient Greece, and provides a recipe.
Making Rakomelo on Crete
Greece Travel Secrets visits Crete and learns about making rakomelo from Jorgos Kourmoulis in Agouseliana.
Greek Ouzo
Greek ouzo is an aniseed-based aperitif made all over the country but especially on Lesbos, tasting like a Greek pastis or arak and usually drunk with water.
What Is Greek Raki?
Raki is an alcoholic drink made with distilled grapes and anise, and popular in Greece and other Mediterranean countries, including Greece’s neighbour Turkey.
How to Make Petimezi
How to make Petimezi, the sweet Cretan syrup made from wine must, is explained to Greece Travel Secrets.
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Greece Travel Secrets tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali.
Stilianou Winery near Knossos
The Stilianou Winery near Knossos on Crete uses only Cretan grape varieties, with every bottle numbered, and aims for quality rather than quantity.
Athens Culinary Tours
Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.
The Cretan Diet
Studies have shown the Cretan Diet as one of the healthiest in the world, involving lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, fresh fish, and moderate amounts of wine.
Athens Food Tours
Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.
Zakynthos Winemaker
Antonis Maroudas is a Zakynthos winemaker who lives on the 'wine road' and is one of the people who make Zakynthos.
Corfu Olives
Corfu olives are an important part of this Greek island's economy, with an estimated 3-4 million trees producing olive oil of exceptional quality.
Greek Grape Varieties
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to Greek grape varieties to help you know which wines to choose when dining in restaurants or buying wine in Greece.
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