We will be having a break for a couple weeks in Greece this March - focussing on [Athens] and touring in the Peloponnese, also a stop in Delphi . Ive been to a number of the places we will visit before but it would be great to get some good suggestions. I think we willl be staying at the O&B Botique Hotel in Psirri which I really liked (comfortable, well located, great breakfast!) on my prior visit. Interested primarily in high quality renditions of greek regional food, meat, fish, vegetables, not international style fine dining. Would love to hear about any great experiences you have had!
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I haven’t been to Greece since 2007, so I won’t give specific recs based on my experiences apart from the breakfast at the St George Lycabettus hotel in Kolonaki.
I am a big fan of Akis Petrezikis’ recipes. He has a modern restaurant, in case you’re interested, here is the link https://www.kitchenlabcafe.com/en/.
It’s always a treat for us to visit Piraeus to have dinner at an upscale psarotaverna.
If you want to splurge on a posh Greek hotel breakfast with a view, the St George Lycabettus hotel in Kolonaki is phenomenal.
Enjoy your visit! I had hoped to visit Greece in the summer of 2020. I have no idea when I’ll be able to visit Europe again.
If I visit Athens again, I am interested in seeking out some of the Constantinople-style foods found in some neighborhoods.
Fatsio is a diner that serves them. I don’t know of any other spots, but I haven’t looked into it.
.https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/athens/2022/fatsio-a-taste-of-old-constantinople/
Later this month I’ll be spending four days in Athens myself at the invitation of Culinary Backstreets. Afterward I might have a few suggestions; remind me if I don’t pipe up!
I was discouraged by the MIchelin picks - they have virtually no recommendations outside Athens and feature overwhelmingly restaurants offering international style, “creative” or asian cuisines, or restaurants operated by chefs with international experience. (similarly with the Istanbul picks in their new guide) This wont be much of a greek experience for travelers. We had delicious food made with fine local ingredients and well executed on our last visit and will be looking for more of the same.
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Hi Dave! Congrats on the opportunity and I certainly will appreciate any nuggets! Ive sifted through restaurants recommended in articles on their website/blog and there were great ideas there, but many are rather old and pre-pandemic. We will be arriving on Clean Monday (the start of their serious Orthodox Lent) and will only be in Athens proper (staying in Psirri) without a car for 3 days, tho will be be in nearby Attica for a bit close to arrival and departure.
We will be driving up to Delphi (Arachova) then W to the area near Olympia, down to Pylos, then opossibly Areopoli (in the Mani) for a night and day if we are up for that much driving, Mystra/Sparta, then Napflio and its region, and back to Athens at the end. I have some ideas based on a prior visit but would be grateful for any suggestions of great (mainly traditional and mainly sitdown) tastes to experience. I will be coming off of a two week visit to Turkey but I have been wondering whether there have been new, good eating places have resulted in Greece as well from recent immigrant flows. I know there has been an explosion of new places in Istanbul for example resulting fron inflows of Kurds and Syrians.
I happen to be half Greek.
I follow which dishes my relatives currently enjoy and make at home on FB and on Instagram.
While they often eat Greek food at home, and at restaurants when distant relatives visit Greece, the Gen X and Millenial cousins are cooking or baking the same kinds of foods that are in style in North America. The small island where my relatives live is an entry to Europe for many refugees. I was surprised to see stores selling South Asian ingredients in 2004 and 2007, as well as some Chinese and Indian restaurants. I’m sure there are Syrian and Afghan restaurants now, as well as more Chinese restaurants with broader menus. There were a lot of people from Africa working as street vendors on my last visit, and I would think there are places to buy African foods now.
I say this, because it may mean finding good traditional regional food on the tourist circuit might be harder to find than it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. The population and their eating patterns are changing, along with the costs of some traditional dishes.
This just reflects globalization, I think. As does the interest in Asian influences at the restaurants that are getting raves.
The Michelin guide in Ontario is focused on Toronto only, and the Greek guide is focused on Athens.
I hope you find what you’re seeking during your trip.
There are some winter dishes to seek out, that will still be around in March. Cabbage rolls, etc.
I would still try to fit in a good meal at a psarotaverna in Piraeus, if you can.
Lent will be taking place during March, so you should be able to find places serving traditional Lenten dishes. Lots of lentils and shellfish.
Clean Monday is on March 18, 2024. That’s the beginning of Greek Lent.
If you’re visiting before then, you might be able to enjoy some of the Greek Apokries (Carnival) foods.
Patras, in the Peloponnese, is known for its Apokries.
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thanks yes - we will be looking out for some of the carnival and Lent items. I had such delicious food on my last visit I am hoping to share this with my husband. Personally I am hoping that, as in Italy the social media influence of America is not having too much of a pernicious influence on local restaurant culture even if at home younger people are aping our bad habits!!
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I don’t see it as an American influence necessarily, more of a global social media influence
The TikTok recipes are happening everywhere, English language-influenced or not!
yet you talked about “the sort of foods that are in style in America” …yes tik tok etc is everywhere but if social media posts arent in a language you know you wont be reading/looking at them very much.
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I was in Greece in 2017. Had a lovely lunch on the terrace of To Patriko Mas just outside of Delphi (maybe in Delphi, but outside of where the ruins are). Anyway, a glorious view and the food was quite good, simple, definitely Greek. Also, a really fun and delicious dinner at Elias Fish Restaurant in Sounio after we went to the Temple of Poseidan for sunset. It gets some poor reviews on Trip Advisor, but we had a lovely time, eating all of the seafood and fish I remember eating when I was in Greece as a teenager. We ate at a table stuck in the sand, right on the sea and ate mussels, fried squid, salads, etc. We got our “taxi driver” to join us. We used George’s Taxi (really a tour guide service) to take us from Athens to the places we wanted to go (me and my kids), and he found the restaurants for us). It looks like weather might still be cold in March, though, so you might want to eat indoors, not on terraces!
yeah we will be a little early in the year! I just hope it doesnt rain on us- its funny that I was taken to elias too, in late October 2019 - its such a beautiful spot Im planning to go back and show it to Jim. I think this is probably it, on the left (zooming in from the temple above)!
Really dont know what to make of the reviews it was just fine although I seem to recall some folks were taken aback by fish with bones and piles of little sardines LOL! On that trip, the Greek botanist who was hosting us picked all the places outside of Athens, and the food was pretty darn wonderful - its going to be a little bit more of an adventure this time, driving ourselves and doing most of the choosing on the fly. Thanks for the reccs!
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To Patriko Mas is certainly in the town of Delphi and I hope to eat there this summer. I will report back!
What did you think of the Temple of Poseidon?
Its beautiful and the site placement as is usual for greek temples is extraordinary. It will be fun to get some more first person reports on eating around Greece here. I will try to pull together some from the 2019 visit - I have been trying to locate addresses for some of the very good places we went and I will have two weeks of touring around the countryside (no airbnbs this time) on this visit.
Temple of Poseidon was my choice (we had three days to make excursions out of Athens and my two “kids” and I each got to plan an excursion). So perhaps I am biased. We went to watch the sunset, and I found it awe inspiring, or perhaps just inspiring. Here’s a few pictures from that evening (dad and baby not related to me):
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those give a better idea of how wonderful it was! Very nice shots.
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I look forward to hearing more!
Mmmmm, thanks so much for the photos/description. What were the other excursions?
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