Food & Cuisine in Greece
Greek cuisine is popular around the world, and spending some time sampling the delicious food in Greece will give you a pretty good idea why. Fresh, simple, tantalising flavours abound, with well-seasoned meats and tangy fruits and vegetables all featuring heavily. Greece's cuisine has been influenced by the cuisines of its neighbours, specifically Turkey, the Middle East and the Balkans, and shares quite a few similar dishes.
Relax at one of the tavernas, order up a feast, and enjoy the good life!
This Greece restaurants guide gives a brief rundown on the food and cuisine of Greece, with details on some of the most popular dishes that you may wish to sample. Don't forget to do some shopping while you're on holiday - use our Greece shopping guide for hints and tips on what there is to buy. You can check out information about what the local Greek dining scene is like in the destinations below, as well as some of our local suggestions on places to have a meal. We currently have food and cuisine information for:
- Athens
- Corfu
- Crete
- Kefalonia
- Lesvos
- Rhodes
- Santorini
- Thessaloniki
Food & Cuisine in Greece
One of the first things that comes to most people's minds when thinking of Greek cuisine is the abundant use of juicy, flavourful olives and olive oil. Olive trees grow exceptionally in the soil and climate of Greece. Also enjoying the favourable conditions are vineyards, which can be found scattered throughout the countryside. Greece produces a number of excellent Greek wines, which can be normally be quite good value as well. Fragrant lemons are also evident in a number of popular Greek dishes.
With all the water surrounding Greece and its islands, it should come as no suprise that seafood also features quite prominantly on menus. Grilled, baked or fried fish, as well as various type of shellfish, are all very common at the seaside or harbourside tavernas that are especially popular on the islands.
In terms of meat, lamb is definitely the most popular and traditionally Greek. Whole lambs will be spit-roasted during holiday festivities, which are occasions marked by the huge amount of food prepared and consumed. Other meats such as pork, beef and chicken are also popular.
Some favourite Greek dishes include:
Moussaka - a casserole that is layered with zucchini and meat sauce, which has a custard-like topping.
Fila Pitas - thin pastries layered with chicken, feta cheese, spinach and mushrooms, or else lamb and leek
Tzatziki - a yoghurt dip, which includes cucumber and garlic
Souvlaki - consists of small pieces of meat or vegetables on a skewer, which is then broiled
Dolmadakia - stuffed wine leaves, filled with rice and meat and cooked in water, oil and lemon juice
Baklava - layered pastry, filled with crushed nuts and honey syrup
