How a Greek meal works
You don't order a starter and a main. You order mezedes (small plates) to share, plus one or two larger dishes if you're hungry, and everything arrives more or less when it's ready. Salads come whenever they come. Bread is automatic. So is a small free dessert at the end — usually a slice of fruit or a thimble of liqueur. Pay at the table when you ask for the bill ("logariasmó parakaló").
Order four of these
Cold mezedes (always)
- Tzatziki — yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint. The bread-dip standard.
- Melitzanosalata — smoky aubergine purée. Better than baba ghanoush, fight us.
- Taramasalata — pink fish-roe spread. Salty, lovely with retsina.
- Tirokafteri — spicy feta dip with roasted peppers.
- Fava — yellow split pea purée with onion and olive oil.
- Horiatiki — "village salad," the Greek salad you know. Tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, capers, a great slab of feta on top. No lettuce. Often.
Hot mezedes
- Saganaki — pan-fried cheese with lemon. A whole slab, table-shareable.
- Gigantes — giant white beans baked with tomato. Best in winter.
- Keftedakia — small herb-laced meatballs.
- Spanakorizo — spinach and rice, lemony, vegetarian.
- Dolmadakia — stuffed vine leaves (with rice; the meat version is dolmades yiouvarlakia).
- Kolokithokeftedes — courgette fritters with feta.
Mains worth ordering
- Souvlaki — skewered grilled meat (pork, chicken, lamb).
- Pork chop / lamb chop from the grill — brizola or païdakia. Often the best thing at a taverna in summer.
- Moussaka — layered aubergine, potato, mince and béchamel. Heavy. Order with friends.
- Pastitsio — Greek pasta bake: bucatini-style pasta, mince, béchamel. The food of childhood, in most Greek homes.
- Stifado — slow-cooked beef or rabbit with small onions and red wine.
- Gemista — tomatoes and peppers stuffed with rice. Summer staple. Vegetarian.
- Whole grilled fish — sea bream (tsipoura) or sea bass (lavraki). The default at any seaside taverna.
- Octopus — grilled (htapodi sti schara). Specifically at the seaside tavernas in Porto Rafti.
Drinks
- Retsina — pine-resined Savatiano white. Polarising. Try a good one (Kechris, Tetramythos) before judging.
- Assyrtiko — flinty white from Santorini. Best partner for grilled fish anywhere in Greece.
- Tsipouro / raki — clear grape brandy. Apéritif and digestif both.
- Ouzo — anise-flavoured spirit, served with water and ice (turns cloudy). Drink it with mezedes, not on its own.
- Greek coffee — order "metrios" (medium-sweet) the first time. Don't drink the bottom inch — it's grounds.
- Freddo espresso / freddo cappuccino — Greece's signature summer drink. Iced, foamy, brilliant.
Vegetarian, vegan, and allergies
Vegetarian travel is very easy in Greece. The "nistísimo" (νηστίσιμο) section of most menus exists for Orthodox fasting periods and contains all the vegan dishes — fava, gigantes, dolmades, spanakorizo, oily vegetables (ladera), bean stews. Tell a waiter "I'm vegan" or "I'm vegetarian" and they'll guide you. Allergy awareness is improving but not universal — be very clear about nut, dairy, gluten issues, and use the Greek words ("chōrís" = without).
Breakfast
Greeks don't really do breakfast — they have coffee and maybe a koulouri (sesame bread ring) on the way to work. If you want a proper breakfast on holiday, head to a fournos (bakery) for pies — tiropita (cheese), spanakopita (spinach and feta), bougatsa (custard or cheese in phyllo). Eat on the seafront. Don't tip the bakery; they'll be confused.
Three things to know
- Bread is automatic and chargeable (€1–2 a head). Refuse it if you don't want it — say "óchi psomí."
- Service is included in the bill. Tipping is appreciated but not expected; round up or 5–10% if the service was excellent.
- Dinner starts late. Tavernas open from 7 pm but Greeks don't sit down to eat until 9 or 10. If you arrive at 7:30 you'll have the place to yourself.
One sentence to remember if you forget everything else: order the cold mezedes first, share everything, let the waiter steer you on the fish.← Back to all guides