Here it is, everyone’s favorite part of international travel; all the food we ate during our two-week trip to Greece. Nine times out of ten, we just ordered a variety of appetizers and entrees and shared them amongst ourselves, one of the major perks of traveling with fellow foodie friends. The only exception to this rule was food that was too hard to share. Greek hospitality is unmatched, and food is a huge part of that culture. We occasionally ordered more than we could eat, but powered through so as to not offend the restaurant owners, and were often served free desserts and/or digestives at the end of the meal.
Athens
O’Thanasis
We picked this place based on good reviews, but to be honest it was just… fine. We enjoyed it all as our first meal of the trip, but it was pretty bland compared to most other things we ended up eating, and it felt pretty touristy.
😐 Skip
victory cafe
Victory Cafe, like many restaurants in Greece, is all outdoor dining with a tiny little kitchen as the building. They had a massive menu, and we definitely over-ordered not realizing how large the portions would be, and the guy working at the restaurant was incredibly friendly.
🤤 Would recommend
the clumsies
Named one of the top 50 bars in the world, The Clumsies was a great spot for a fun cocktail and trying several small plates. Even though it was too early in our trip to be tired of traditional Greek food, I’m glad we got the chance to have something different, and it seemed like most other patrons were locals.
🤤 Would recommend
atlantikos
None of these photos do this food justice, but we were dining outside in the dark. While the anchovies were pretty bland, the fish soup was one of my favorite things I ate on the whole trip. The calamari and porgy were also delicious, and this was my first (and only) time deboning a whole fish. I had watched several tutorials before the trip knowing it was only a matter of time, and it paid off as I did a pretty decent job.
🤤 Would recommend
Nancy’s sweet home
On our penultimate night in Greece, we decided to treat ourselves to indulgent desserts. Again not the best lighting for photos, but these treats did not disappoint.
🤤 Would recommend
STani
So good I went two mornings in a row, Stani is a traditional dairy shop that has been open since 1931, and with good reason. The first day I ordered the sheep yogurt and my friend got the cream. The best way I can describe the cream is to say it’s similar to pudding, though that’s not quite a fair comparison. The second day, my friend got the sheep yogurt while I went with the goat this time, and we each got a slice of brioche to go with the butter and honey. I have no words to describe the way something so basic could be so good, but this was a stand out meal. Pack some Lactaid, if needed, and make sure you don’t miss Stani.
🤤🧑🍳🤌 Must eat!!!
diporto
Some meals are just as much about the experience as they are the food, and that was definitely the case with Diporto. As pictured above, it’s literally an underground hole in the wall, and once you step inside you’ll find a bunch of wine barrels and only ten tables. We had read online beforehand that there is no menu – they seat you and bring you what they have, including the wine. The items we were served pictured above seem to be what everyone gets based on the reviews I’ve read. (They did offer us fish, which I assume was anchovies or sardines, but we opted out because we already had too much food.) But, the confusing part is that there was a menu posted when we went to pay, and it included a lot more items.
I had also read comments online that they frown upon pictures, so I was surprised when, as we were leaving, the man running the place grabbed my arm, said “photo!”, and shoved the pitcher into my hands so we could take a group picture.
🤤 Would recommend
Neoma sky restaurant & bar
For our last night in Athens, we chose a rooftop bar with views of the Acropolis, and a friend had recommended Neoma. We split bread, olives, gnocchi and veal tartare, but the entrees were tiny so we just each ordered our own. Their menu has since been updated so I can’t remember exactly what mine was called, but it was a pasta with a rich cream sauce and walnuts. The pasta was delicious, but the veal tartare was the highlight of this meal.
🤤 Would recommend
paros
To souvlaki tou pepe
Recommended by our hotel host, we loved Pepe. One thing that I learned just before going on the trip is that, despite most gyros in America being made with lamb and beef, traditional Greek gyros are made with either chicken or pork. At Pepe, I chose the pork and it did not disappoint.
🤤 Would recommend
apostolis ouzeri
We chose this restaurant on a whim as it was close to our hotel and, being a cold, windy night, we didn’t want to wander too far. We were still sat outside, and so weather might have played a part, but the spaghetti was cold. We did like the dips (especially the garlic dip and spicy cheese dip) and the grape leaves. The octopus was a bit too charred and rubbery. The salad of sting ray was fine, but didn’t have as much flavor as I had hoped. Not pictured: we all shared a glass of ouzo, and I unsurprisingly was the only one who liked it. It’s a local liquor with a strong anise flavor, so if black licorice isn’t your thing, you’ll want to skip it. (Meanwhile, give me all your black jelly beans, please.) Although we weren’t impressed with the meal, it does have good reviews, so maybe it was the weather or just an off night, but honestly:
😐 Skip
ramnos all day
Just past the bus stop in Lefkes Village, Ramnos made for a perfect brunch spot. While it was a bit too windy to sit outside, they had a wrap around balcony overlooking the valley of the town below. And since I haven’t mentioned it yet, let me introduce you to freddo espresso, my obsession throughout the whole trip; take two shots of espresso, add a little sugar and a few ice cubes, froth it all together, then serve over ice. So simple, yet it does not exist in the U.S. Here’s hoping an American barista makes this a thing.
🤤 Would recommend
Yianiyamas
The original restaurant we tried to go to for dinner in Naoussa was already closed for the season, so we popped into Yianiyamas since it was open and sushi sounded good to all of us. We purposefully chose the sea bass and the blue crab roll since they were Aegean Sea specific, and everything was delicious.
🤤 Would recommend
secret street food
One of the more popular desserts in Greece, we talked about getting Loukoumades almost every day until we finally got them in Paros. We ordered traditional (honey) and a caramel and chocolate flavor. The only other place we ended up having them was at our hotel in Santorini, so I can’t speak to how good these were compared to others, but I do know they were delicious and my favorite treat of the whole trip.
🤤🧑🍳🤌 Must eat!!!
hella’s
The one time I forgot to get a picture of the actual food. We used the Wolt app (a Greek food delivery app) to stay home and have a small meal from Hella’s on our hotel patio. Two of my friends ordered gyros, and my other friend and I each just got a couple souvlaki sticks.
🤤 Would recommend
antiparos
captain pipinos
Recommended by cousin, this was my absolute favorite meal of our whole trip. The mussels saganaki (cooked in tomatoes and feta) tasted incredibly fresh, the octopus orzo had so much flavor, and the smoked mackerel might be the best piece of fish I’ve ever had. At only $25 USD per person, including soft drinks, this was also one of our more expensive melas, which just goes to show how cheap the food is in Greece. (For comparison, I’ve paid that much for a salad at my neighborhood bar in Nashville .)
🤤🧑🍳🤌 Must eat!!!
santorini
Lucky’s souvlaki
After having had a pork gyro at Tou Pepe’s in Paros, this time I opted for a chicken gyro. I might be biased because it was super late lunch and I was getting pretty hangry, but this was my favorite of all the gyros and souvlaki we had on the trip. (I think maybe I wasn’t too biased because two of my friends did end up going back for more later.)
🤤🧑🍳🤌 Must eat!!!
Aktaion
Aktaion is the oldest restaurant in Santorini, and with good reason; this was easily my second-favorite meal of the trip. The mushroom pasta and the lamb shank were both so flavorful and we really welcomed the hearty meal on a cold, rainy night. As you can see in the picture, the lamb shank was so tender, it was served with only a giant spoon, and that’s all we needed. You’ll also notice the potato tarts have cheese cream. At first, we thought this was just a funny bad translation for cream cheese, but it really is its own thing – a combination of greek yogurt and cream cheese.
🤤🧑🍳🤌 Must eat!!!
sunset oia sailing cruise
During our sailing cruise with Sunset Oia, they docked outside Amoudi Bay and cooked us this delicious dinner. While the food wasn’t the main focus of the sunset cruise, it did not disappoint.
🤤 Would recommend
jasper’s
All of the restaurants along the black beach of Perissa, Santorini looked like tourist traps, so it’s no surprise to say this meal wasn’t that great. I did have a delicious cocktail, and the Greek salad was refreshing, but I ended up feeding a good chunk of fish to the stray cats. (I don’t even remember what kind of fish it was.)
😐 Skip
tholoto
This was another favorite meal of the trip. The tomato fritters and salmon were especially delicious. The mushroom risotto was great and has inspired me to work on improving my own risotto recipe. The shrimp and scallop risotto was also good, but had a little less flavor than the mushroom risotto. The dessert was like the texture of a fudgy brownie, and I think it had a Bueno bar crushed up inside it.
🤤 Would recommend
crete
O Maki’s
While I would say this meal didn’t quite make the list of favorites, it was all still so delicious. But, the experience itself was absolutely one of my favorites. This restaurant has no menu. Instead, the little old man who runs the place walked us through his kitchen to show us what he had that day. (What he didn’t realize was that a server had already given us the tour, so he was surprised when my friend knew what was going to be in the next pot. Catch him asking “how’d you know?” in the video below.) Both the beef and lamb were really tender, both beans had so much flavor, and he stuffed peppers were my favorite part of the meal. We aren’t sure what kind of cake we were served, but it reminded us of pineapple upside down cake, without the pineapple.
🤤 Would recommend
akrogiali fish tavern
My favorite parts of this meal were the stuffed wine leaves, fried mushrooms, and the octopus. The stuffed vegetables were just okay. The fried shrimp were fried with the shell on, and while I have no problem shelling my own shrimp, it defeated the purpose of them being fried. We ordered the cuttlefish on a whim as it’s something none of us had ever had, not realizing that it’s similar to a squid. And while we all like calamari, the cuttlefish was a little too rubbery for us to enjoy. (We did like the tentacles though.)
While we did order the orange cake, the Raki and yogurt were more free things we did not order. Raki is essentially a Creten version of Ouzo, but doesn’t have the strong anise flavor, and none of us liked it. Overall this meal wasn’t bad, I think we just ordered wrong. If I ever happen to be in the area again, I’d give it another go to find out for sure.
🤷🏻♀️ Take it or leave it, I guess
maridaki
We went to Maridaki specifically for their fish soup, only to learn they were sold out. The server told us they sell out every Saturday afternoon, which makes me wonder why they don’t plan to make more on Saturdays. Overall this meal was good, but not memorable. I am curious how good their fish soup is, though. The sorbet finds itself on the list of free desserts we didn’t order.
😐🤷🏻♀️ Skip, I guess, unless you can try the soup for me?
the tanneries hotel & Spa
The Tanneries Hotel & Spa has a full breakfast buffet as well as a full made-to-order breakfast menu, and both are complimentary. This is all the breakfast food I had over the course of three mornings, and our server was incredibly friendly and offered lots of suggestions four our time in Crete.
🤤 Would recommend
snacks
Pictured above was my first snack haul of the trip. I had heard the cherry juice was good, and I agreed so much that I bought a box about every other day. I picked up the pomegranate soda on the far right just because the name was similar to my own, and it was a fun treat at the end of a long day. The sesame bars were everywhere and drew my eye as something different I had never seen before. Imagine peanut brittle, but the wrong texture since it’s a bunch of tiny seeds, and then obviously sesame flavor rather than peanuts. They were good, but not worth getting again. Everyone on the internet said to get the Caprice cookies, and understandably. These were of our favorite grocery store dessert. The paprika chips were good, but I imagine they’d be better if they weren’t baked. My absolute favorite salty snack of the whole trip was those olive and rosemary crackers, though as you can see from the bag, they’re Spanish, not Greek.
These were… not great. Way too heavy on the oregano flavor. They were everywhere though, so I imagine they’re a big hit with the locals.
The tzatziki chips were our favorite standard potato chips of the trip, though they were hard to find, and my understanding is they’re considered more of a tourist snack. Dear Lays, please make these in the U.S. since we’re the ones who seem to love them so much. Both of these other chips were really great too, and turns out the paprika and sour cream chips were actually made in Germany.
You can’t go to Greece and not get baklava. The top photo was from a random cafe in Oia, Santorini (I don’t remember the specific place, so that’s why it was left off the Santorini section above). The bottom was our treat on our Aegean Airlines flight from Chania to Athens. Both were excellent.
Kataifi is another popular Greek dessert, but we never got around to trying a fresh version, and we didn’t finish this pre-packaged one. The best way to describe the taste and texture is to imagine you take a box of shredded wheat, soak it in honey, and cover it in some sort of jello? I don’t know. The flavor was fine, but the texture was pretty off-putting, and I’m not normally a person who has problems with food texture.
Along with the Caprice cookies, the internet told us to make sure we tried some Papadopulous cookies as well. The standard flavor is basically the Greek version of an Oreo, but we also had these salted caramel ones, and (not pictured) lemon, and orange. They were all good, but these caramel ones were my favorite.
Rest assured, the froyo trend is still alive and well in Greece. And, naturally, way better than it ever was in the U.S.
If you stumbled on to this post and are curious about the non-food part of my two-week trip to Greece, you can read my five-part blog post starting here.
Scream And Be Frees 