Athens Food
Eating and drinking in Athens is certainly an adventure. From buying souvlaki and koulari from a street vendor to dining in one of the city's up-market restaurants, this Greek treat is sure not to disappoint even the most adventurous of palates.
Greek food traditionally consists of lamb, fish and olive oil and is usually highly spiced and herbs and other fragrant ingredients are common.
Athens also has a wide variety of high-quality restaurants, which range from traditional, cosy tavernas to elegant and chic diners. Estiatorian are the more expensive conventional restaurants, whereas taverna are traditionally informal, smaller, family-run establishments. psistaria largely offer grilled meats, whereas psarotaverna specialise in seafood dishes.
A meal in Greece usually consists of a selection of small hot and cold hors'd'oeuvres, which are called mezedes and are served on individual plates in the centre of the dining table.
Mezedes, usually shortened to mezes, typically consist of items such as melitzanosalta, which is mashed aubergine with oil, lemon and garlic, taramosalata, a Greek caviar spread, dolmadakia, meat or rice which is then rolled in vine leaves, tyropitakia or cheese wrapped in strudel leaves and kalamarakia, more commonly known as calamari. All these dishes are typically served with tzatziki, a cucumber and yoghurt dip.
Main courses traditionally consist of a casserole or grilled fish with potatoes or rice. Popular vegetables, such as artichokes, beans, peas, carrots and courgettes, are usually cooked in a stew or casserole rather than being eaten separately or as a side dish. Fish and shellfish are famously fresh in Greece and the capital city plays host to a number of excellent fish and seafood restaurants.
One of the most popular Greek delicacies is souvlaki, which has been named the 'Greek hamburger'. Souvlaki is usually made of meat of some sort, such as beef, lamb or pork.
The chef cooks the meat and then places it on round pitta bread with tomato, lettuce, onions and tsatziki. In some souvlaki shops the meat is also skewered and you can get ground beef, which is known as beefteki. In a number of the more upmarket souvlaki joints swordfish souvlakis can be purchased.
There are a number of very good souvlaki shops in Athens, with the majority of them located on Mitropoleos street, which is close to Monastiraki square. Service is usually friendly and you never have to wait very long to get served and it is a cheap and tasty way to eat in Athens.
Due to the warm climate during the summer months in Greece, desserts usually consist of fruit such as melon, grapes, pears and peaches. Sweet treats such as baklava, a rich pastry made of filo pastry and chopped nuts and sweetened with sugar or honey, are also popular.
Drinking is certainly a popular hobby in Greece. The ancient Greeks worshipped Dionysus, the wine god, for his precious gift and wine has since become the inspiration for festivals and ceremonies. Wine is produced throughout the mainland, as well as the Greek islands, with the climate of low rainfall and long hours of sunshine producing excellent grapes.
Retsina is one of the two national drinks of Greece and was created out of the need to preserve and ship wines in pine-pitch sealed vessels. It has been produced for almost 3,000 years and is a traditional Greek wine that has been treated with pine-tree resin to give it a distinctive taste.
Ouzo is the second national drink and is an aniseed-flavoured beverage that is popular among locals and tourists and can be purchased extremely cheaply from bars and shops. It is traditionally sipped slowly as a long drink, mixed with water and ice, and enjoyed with mezes.
Whether you enjoy your Greek food in one of Athens's old-fashioned, cosy, family-run establishments or decide to take a trip into the hub of the city to sample some of the more modern delights, Athens is sure not to disappoint when it comes to gastronomy.
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Eating and Drinking
