... holds body and soul together - even on vacation!
According to the old Greek custom, you can go to the kitchen in many restaurants and taverns and choose the mostly unknown dishes according to the “taste of the eye”. Either way, ask if you can choose in the kitchen. Somehow you will be understood, regardless of whether you speak German, English or “hands and feet”.
The dishes of Greek cuisine are generally easy to digest. Most are prepared with the easily digestible olive oil. The grilling is mainly done over a wood fire. Fish is almost always freshly caught, but it is also expensive in Greece.
When Greeks go out to eat, they always order something of everything (pikilia mesedes). The dishes are placed in the middle of the table and everyone can help themselves to their heart's content. You may also familiarize yourself with this nice habit. It's very social and great fun.
Incidentally, in Greece it is customary to have only one invoice issued in the restaurant for everyone who ate together. This amount is divided by the number of people, no matter how much everyone ate and drank. If tourists ask for separate bills, the hosts will smile. For them, this is the Western European way of paying.
Before we wish you “Kali orexi”, ie bon appetite, a few words about Greek drinks, because every good meal needs a good drink - be it wine, beer, water or ouzo.
Wine is grown almost everywhere in Greece. This is now known beyond the borders. Let the host or waiter advise you and decide which wine suits you best. Or ask the person sitting next to you (with gestures if necessary) whether they like the wine and simply order the same type.
You can choose between white, red, rosé wine and the resinated retsina (be sure to try it, even if it is not everyone's taste). Of course there is also beer (= Bira) and water (= Nero). Not to forget the aniseed schnapps ouzo, which you can take before and after your meal, depending on your mood.
Salads & starters
| feta | Greek sheep cheese |
| Tzatziki | Yogurt cream containing garlic |
| Taramas | Cream consisting of fish caviar |
| Horiatiki | Farmer's salad, usually made from tomatoes, cucumber, onions, olives and feta - it is usually prepared by the guest himself |
| Htipiti | Hot cheese cream, consisting of feta and hot paprika |
| Marouli | lettuce |
| Horta | Dandelion and endive, cooked with olive oil and dressed with lemon |
| Rossiki | Salad made from boiled vegetables, dressed with mayonnaise |
| Feta saganaki | Baked feta cheese |
| Kolokithakia | Fried zucchini - best to order together with tzatziki |
| Melitzana | eggplant |
Meat
| Souvlaki | Grilled meat skewers seasoned with oregano |
| Bifteki | Hacksteack from the grill, filled with cheese on request (Bifteki jemisto) |
| Gyros | Fine pieces of meat from the rotisserie |
| Kokoretzi | Lamb offal grilled on a rotisserie |
| Kotopoulo | chicken |
| Arni | Lamb |
| stifado | Veal or hare in a spicy onion sauce |
Fish
| Psari | Fish |
| Oktapodi | Squid (usually as a salad or from the grill) |
| Calamaria | Fried or filled squid (Kalamarias jemista) |
| Media | Fried mussels or in spicy garlic sauce (Midia Saganaki) |
| Astakos | Lobster |
| Garides | Shrimps |
Oven specialties
| mousaka | Casserole consisting of minced meat, eggplant, potatoes and bechamel sauce |
| pastizio | Casserole consisting of pasta, minced meat and bechamel sauce |
| Jouvetzi | Pasta baked in small molds with cheese (rice-shaped) with a side meat dish, depending on the order |
| psito | Roast pork or veal |
| Jemista | Peppers, tomatoes, mostly stuffed with rice or minced meat |
Desserts
| jaourti | Yoghurt, if desired with honey (Jaourti me meli) |
| Halvas | Fine semolina slices soaked in honey |
| Baklavas | Puff pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in syrup |
| Bougatsa | Puff pastry with various fillings (the filling with cream, dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon is very popular) |
Coffee
Finally, a few words about the Greeks and their coffee: The Greeks are avid coffee drinkers. They enjoy the aromatic tropical bean at every opportunity. This drink was introduced during the rule of the Turks and has been a staple of everyday life in Greece ever since. Whether in the kafenion (village bar) with a round of tavli (backgammon) or with the women’s daily coffee gossip, coffee is popular everywhere.
The locals prefer to drink Greek coffee (Ellinikos coffees), a viscous coffee with a special taste that is served in small cups.
In the summer months, people like to drink a coffee shaken in a shaker and cooled with cold water and ice cubes, the so-called frappé and, more recently, also the freddo, an ice-cold cappuccino.
Since the coffee (with the exception of filter coffee) is usually already served sweetened, you should perhaps remember the following expressions:
| metric | Medium |
| Sketo | Sugar-free |
| gliko | SÜß |
| me gala | With milk |
| Horis gala | Without milk |
