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Food, Drink & Dining Culture
Greek food culture is one of the great pleasures of expat life. It is simple, seasonal, Mediterranean, and extraordinary in quality-to-price ratio. Eating out is a central social activity, not an occasional luxury.
- Taverna dining: the heart of Greek food culture — long, unhurried meals with shared dishes, carafes of house wine, and no rush to clear the table; full meal with wine €15–€25/person
- Must-know dishes: souvlaki, moussaka, pastitsio, fresh grilled fish (psarosouvlakia), dakos (Cretan bruschetta), spanakopita, saganaki (fried cheese), fresh calamari, lamb kleftiko
- Greek salad (horiatiki): eaten daily by most Greeks — tomatoes, cucumber, feta, olives, olive oil; the best are extraordinary in summer when tomatoes are in season
- Wine culture: Greek wine is experiencing a global renaissance; natural wines from small producers, excellent white wines from Santorini and Macedonia, full reds from Nemea and Naoussa
- Ouzo and tsipouro: anise-flavoured spirits central to Greek socialising; the proper way is small pours with mezedes, not shots
- Kafeneion (coffee house) culture: sitting over a single coffee for 2–3 hours while discussing football, politics, and everything else is not wasting time — it is a social institution
- Street food: souvlaki wraps (gyros) are the quintessential cheap, delicious Greek street food — €2.50–€4 each and available everywhere late into the night