traditional cuisine & dishes

The following are dishes commonly served in local tavernas. Dishes from the stove or oven are typically on display in a vitrina, or glass case, outside the kitchen. Ask what’s fresh or what the chef recommends! You can also ask to see and select any fish on offer.

Salads, dips, appetizers (mezedes/orektika)

Dolmadakia: grape leaves stuffed with rice and generally meat, sometimes served with an avgolemono (lemon-egg) sauce
Fava: bean purée, typically served with red onions and olive oil
Horiatiki: the famous Greek, or village/country (horiatiki), salad, consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta cheese, and olives, and dressed with oregano and olive oil
Keftedes: small, fried meatballs with oregano and mint
Kolokythakia keftedes: breaded zucchini balls
Kroketes: cheese croquettes
Melitzanosalata: puréed eggplant-based dip
Octapodi sti schara: grilled octopus in vinegar, oil, and oregano
Pantzarosalata: beetroot salad with olive oil and vinegar
Saganaki: fried mild yellow cheese
Taramosalata: purée of pinkish carp roe, breadcrumbs, onion, olive oil, and lemon juice
Tzatziki: yogurt puréed with cucumber and garlic

From the Stove or Oven

Arni sto fourno me patates: oven-baked lamb with potatoes.
Bamies: okra with tomato sauce (sometimes with potatoes, poultry, or meat).
Biftekia: baked, fried, or grilled beef patties
Briám: an oven-baked ratatouille of potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions, herbs, and olive oil
Fasolakia: fresh green beans stewed with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and potatoes
Kokkonisto: beef stewed with tomatoes, onions, and often red wine, chili, or cinnamon
Yemista: baked vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, or other vegetables) stuffed with rice and herbs and sometimes mince
Yigandes plaki: baked beans stewed with onions, tomatoes, and parsley
Yiouvetsi: lamb or veal baked with orzo and tomatoes.
Horta: wild greens blanched and dressed with lemon juice and olive oil
Keftedakia: fried meatballs, often with mint
Kleftiko: lamb marinated in garlic and lemon juice and slow-baked
Kolokythoanthoi: zucchini flowers stuffed with rice or cheese and herbs
Kotopoulo sto fourno me patates: oven-baked chicken with potatoes
Lachanodolmades: cabbage rolls, stuffed with rice and sometimes meat, either served with avgolemono (lemon-egg) or a light tomato sauce
Loukaniko: sausage
Macaronada: classic spaghetti
Melitzanes: eggplant, prepared in various ways
Moussaka: a casserole of mince and eggplant, topped with Béchamel sauce
Papoutsakia: small eggplants stuffed with moussaka
Pastitsio: a casserole of layered Béchamel sauce, penne- or maccaroni-style pasta, and ground meat cooked in tomato sauce
Soutzoukakia: long meatballs spiced with cumin, wine, and garlic and stewed with cinnamon, clove, and tomatoes
Spanakopita: spinach and feta cheese pie
Spanakorizo: spinach and rice stewed with lemon and olive oil
Stifado: rabbit stew with onions, red wine and cinnamon

From the Grill

Souvlaki: A kebab of grilled meat (usually pork but also chicken or lamb)
Paidakia: grilled lamb chops with lemon, oregano, salt and pepper
Brazola hirini: grilled pork chop, dusted with oregano, served with potatoes and lemon

Seafood

Barbounia: red mullet, generally fried
Garides saganaki: shrimp in spicy tomato sauce with feta
Gavros: fried or marinated anchovies
Kalamarakia: deep-fried pieces of squid
Kalamari: whole squid, grilled or fried
Marides tiganites: deep-fried young herring
Savridia: mackerel, baked or fried
Octapothi sti skhara: Grilled octopus in vinegar, oil and oregano

Fast food/snacks

Gyros: meat (usually pork) roasted on a vertically turning spit and served with sauce (often tzatziki) and garnishes (tomato, onions) on pita bread, or served as a sandwich wrapped in pita bread together with tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and tomato sauce; a popular fast food.
Tyropita: a white cheese (usually feta) pie with phyllo pastry
Souvlaki: A kebab of grilled meat (pork, chicken, or lamb) wrapped in a pita with tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, and potatoes