Athens reveals itself most vividly through its food, and I got a taste of it on my recent trip to Greece. Guided by a local food tour, I went on an immersive journey through the city’s vibrant culinary scene — from tasting spanakopita straight from a bakery oven to discovering how the mezze culture shapes social life.
On an uncharacteristically grey and rainy morning in early October, I met my guide Katerina Lolou and a bunch of other food enthusiasts at the centrally located Monastiraki Square. The ticket instructions from Athens Walks Tour Company said “make sure you don’t eat anything at least 2 hours in advance”, so I had skipped breakfast and was quite hungry. But the tour began without further ado and we immediately hit our first stop — a bakery-cafe for an assortment of stuffed filo pastry pies like spanakopita (spinach and feta), kotopita (chicken), and savoury bougatsa (minced meat). The Greeks are masters of these flaky pies, particularly the sweet bougatsa filled with creamy semolina custard, which is a favourite breakfast of the Athenians (and me). Our next stop was for another sweet treat called loukoumades or fluffy Greek doughnuts that are deep fried to crispy golden and then drizzled with honey and crushed walnuts. The shop we visited is an Athenian institution that has been in the same family for three generations since 1923. We also tried their chocolate version of loukoumades (slathered with a Nutella-like spread), but I preferred the OG one.
A short walk away was Varvakios Central Municipal Market, one of the liveliest food markets in Athens where you will find everything from meat and seafood to vegetables and spices as well as many restaurants and tavernas. The largely covered market was established in 1886 and is a great place to get a feel of seasonal produce and understand how Athens likes to eat. I also loved trawling the spice shops for culinary souvenirs to bring back home, like dried oregano, wild mint, and tzatziki spice mix. The rain had intensified, so we sought refuge in a coffee shop next to the market. Located in a neoclassical building, the cafe (dating back to 1922) is known for serving Greek coffee prepared in the traditional way, that is on hot sand. It was fascinating watching the barista make the coffee in narrow burnished copper pots with long handles. The coffee was rich and velvety but unfiltered, so we were told to let it rest for a minute before pouring into our cups. To cut the bitterness of the coffee, it was served with loukoumi or Turkish delight, which came in rose, vanilla, and bergamot flavours.
By now it was lunchtime, although we hadn’t stopped eating since the tour began! Before we sat down for our meal, Lolou guided us to an olive shop to pick up an assortment of olives to try. We also got a taste of their rather excellent Kalamata olive oil, and I ended up buying two bottles to bring back home. One of the things I loved about Greece was their mezze culture where they share a number of small plates (with drinks) in a convivial atmosphere with family and friends. Our lunch was a representation of this as multiple small plates kept coming from the kitchen — Greek salad, zucchini keftedes with tzatziki, meat keftedes, fava bean dip, saganaki (fried cheese), marinated anchovies, fried sardines, and so much more.
There was house white and rosé wines to wash it all down, and we ended the meal with ouzo. This anise-flavoured liqueur is Greece’s signature drink, and Lolou demonstrated how to drink it properly — on ice or with a dash of cold water so that the clear liqueur magically transforms into cloudy white.
That wasn’t the end of the tour though. Our last stop was back at Monastiraki Square for the Greek street food staple, gyros or meat cooked on a vertical spit served on pita with salad and fries. Of course, most of us were quite full by then, so we ended up getting it as a takeaway; it made for the perfect early dinner that evening.
Beyond the tour, I sampled more Greek food over my four days in Athens, everything from souvlaki (meat skewers in pita), and moussaka (layered dish of minced meat and eggplant covered in creamy béchamel) to dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs), and Dakos salad (a Cretan dish of barley rusks, grated tomato, feta, olives, and oregano). By the time I left, it felt like I had tasted the spirit of Greece itself.
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