What Greek Food Should I Try

A Greek dish to order or cook next, with what goes into it.

MoussakaLayers of eggplant, potato and spiced minced meat, often under a top of béchamel sauce.

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How it works

Stuck on what Greek food should I try at the taverna? Start with one dish from 145: grilled meat and fish, meze, phyllo pies, bean soups, syrup-soaked sweets and cheeses.

Read the full guide

If you have only had gyros

Moussaka and pastitsio are both baked under a béchamel top, one built on eggplant and the other on pasta. Kleftiko is lamb slow-baked on the bone, and giouvetsi is lamb, beef or chicken baked in a clay pot with orzo.

No meat on the plate

Gigantes plaki is large white beans baked in tomato sauce, spanakorizo is spinach and rice cooked with lemon juice and olive oil, and briam is summer vegetables baked in olive oil.

Sharing? Order a few meze for the table first, such as tzatziki, dolmadakia and grilled octopus.

Questions and answers

What Greek food should I try first?

Take one from each part of the menu: tzatziki and a Greek salad, a slice of spanakopita, then souvlaki or moussaka, and loukoumades or baklava to finish.

What is the national dish of Greece?

Fasolada, a soup of dry white beans, olive oil and vegetables, is sometimes called the national food of the Greeks. The modern Greek moussaka was created by a Greek chef in the 1920s.

What is the difference between gyros and souvlaki?

Gyros is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and wrapped in pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki. Souvlaki is small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer. In Greece gyros is traditionally pork, and souvlaki most often pork or chicken.

What Greek dessert should I try?

Baklava is filo layered with chopped nuts and syrup or honey. Galaktoboureko puts custard between the filo, loukoumades are fried balls of dough with honey, and portokalopita is an orange cake bathed in syrup.

All 145 dishes

Meat and fish 25

Baked lamb with potatoes A common dish, with many regional versions that add other ingredients.
Bifteki A round patty of minced beef, grilled. Chicken or turkey can be used too.
Bogana Argolis. Lamb or goat slow-cooked with potatoes and tomatoes.
Bourdeto Corfu. Fish cooked with onion and sweet and hot red pepper.
Brantada Cyclades. A fish dish similar to brandade.
Giouvetsi Lamb, beef or chicken baked in a clay pot with orzo pasta and tomato sauce.
Gyros Meat roasted on a turning spit and sliced, served in pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki.
Keftedakia Meatballs, fried or oven-baked, typically seasoned with oregano and mint.
Kleftiko Lamb marinated in garlic and lemon juice and slow-baked on the bone, often with potatoes.
Kokkinisto A family of meat stews with tomatoes. The name means reddened.
Kokoretsi Lamb or goat intestines wrapped around seasoned offal and typically grilled.
Kontosouvli Large pieces of meat cooked on a long skewer over a charcoal barbecue.
Makalo Macedonia. Meatballs, usually, in a garlic sauce.
Moussaka Layers of eggplant, potato and spiced minced meat, often under a top of béchamel sauce.
Paidakia Grilled lamb chops with lemon, oregano, salt and pepper.
Pastitsada Corfu. Veal, beef or poultry braised in a spicy tomato sauce and served over pasta.
Pastitsio Baked pasta with a filling of spiced minced meat and a béchamel top.
Savoro Corfu. Fish marinated and cooked in vinegar.
Snails Eaten in many dishes. On Crete, snails in tomato sauce is a popular one.
Soutzoukakia Smyrneika Oblong meatballs spiced with cumin and garlic, served in tomato sauce.
Souvlaki Small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer, most often pork or chicken.
Spetzofai Mount Pelion. Country-style sausages cooked with peppers and onions.
Stifado A stew of veal, rabbit or other meat with pearl onions and cinnamon.
Tigania Fried pork. It can be made with chicken too.
Xiphias Swordfish, generally grilled.

Salads, dips and meze 22

Apaki Crete. Smoked pork, or sometimes chicken, served cold.
Bakaliaros Cod, often fried in batter and served with skordalia.
Dakos Crete. A barley rusk soaked in olive oil and topped with tomatoes, feta and herbs.
Dolmadakia Vine leaves stuffed with rice.
Fava Yellow split peas cooked with onion and mashed into a thick, creamy paste.
Florina peppers Roasted red peppers in olive oil and vinegar, often stuffed with feta and herbs.
Fried squid Squid coated in batter and deep-fried, served with salt and lemon.
Greek salad Tomatoes, cucumber, onion, feta and olives, dressed with oregano and olive oil.
Grilled eggplants Eggplants cooked on the grill. They can be fried too.
Grilled octopus Octopus, usually grilled, dressed with lemon juice and served as a meze or a main dish.
Kolokythakia tiganita Fried zucchini, eaten as an appetizer.
Kolokythoanthoi Fried zucchini flowers, often stuffed with rice and herbs.
Lakerda Pickled bonito, eaten as a meze.
Loukaniko A sausage of pork or lamb, typically flavored with orange zest or leeks.
Pasta elias A dip of chopped olives, capers and garlic, very like tapenade.
Pitaroudia Rhodes and the Dodecanese. A chickpea dumpling.
Saganaki Cheese fried in a small frying pan, a sagani, and served as an appetizer.
Skordalia A purée of potato, garlic, olive oil and vinegar that typically goes with fried cod.
Taramosalata A dip of fish roe, breadcrumbs, olive oil and lemon juice.
Tirokafteri A spread of feta and roasted red peppers. It can be spicy hot or mild.
Tomatokeftedes Santorini. Fritters of crushed tomato and flour with onion, parsley and mint.
Tzatziki A dip of yogurt, cucumber and garlic, usually with olive oil and sometimes dill.

Pies and breads 20

Batzina Thessaly. A pie made without filo, originally with pumpkin and batzos cheese.
Blatsaria Epirus. A greens pie made without filo, with cheese and corn flour.
Daktyla A country bread, also called village bread.
Eptazymo A bread made from chickpeas.
Fogatsa Corfu. A sweet bread.
Hortopita A pie filled with greens.
Kalasouna Folegandros. An onion pie.
Kasiata Epirus and Thessaly. A cheese pie made with corn flour.
Kolokythopita A pie filled with zucchini.
Koulouri A ring of bread crusted with sesame seeds.
Kreatopita Kefalonia. A pie of minced lamb, goat or pork with rice and a light tomato sauce.
Lagana A flatbread baked for Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. Sesame seeds are a common topping.
Patsavouropita A spinach and cheese pie whose phyllo is creased to look messy. Also called rug pie.
Paximadi A dried bread made with whole wheat, chickpea or barley flour.
Plastos Thessaly. A pie of mixed greens and corn flour.
Pougia Rhodes. Small grilled pies filled with greens.
Spanakopita A phyllo pie with a filling of spinach and cheese.
Stafidopsomo Raisin bread.
Tiropita Layers of buttered phyllo around a filling of cheese and egg.
Tsouknidopita A nettle pie of filo pastry, butter and feta.

Vegetables, eggs and pasta 19

Anginares alla polita Artichokes cooked in a casserole with olive oil, onion, carrots and potatoes.
Arakas me anginares Green peas with artichokes.
Briam Summer vegetables baked in olive oil: potatoes and zucchini, usually with eggplant and tomatoes.
Fasolakia Fresh green beans stewed in tomato sauce, sometimes with potatoes, carrots or zucchini.
Gigantes plaki Large white beans baked in tomato sauce with herbs.
Hilopites Greek egg pasta.
Horta Boiled greens, usually served with olive oil and lemon.
Kritharaki Short-cut pasta, the same as orzo, served alone, in soup, in a salad or baked.
Lachanorizo Cabbage with rice.
Makaronia me kima Spaghetti, macaroni or other pasta with a ground meat sauce.
Petoura Macedonia. Handmade egg pasta, often served with tomato sauce.
Prasorizo Leeks and rice stewed in lemon juice and olive oil.
Sfougato An omelette found on various islands. The name comes from a word for spongy.
Spanakorizo Spinach and rice cooked in lemon juice and olive oil.
Strapatsada Eggs scrambled with tomato.
Trahanas A fermented, dried mixture of grain and yogurt or fermented milk.
Tsigareli Corfu. Cabbage with fresh tomato, spicy red peppers, potatoes, dill and parsley.
Tsouchti Mani. Pasta, usually long hilopites, with egg and mizithra cheese.
Yemista Tomatoes, peppers or other vegetables, hollowed out and baked with a rice and herb filling.

Soups 13

Avgolemono A family of soups and sauces thickened with egg yolk and lemon juice.
Bourou-bourou Corfu. A pasta soup.
Faki Lentil soup, usually served with vinegar and olives or smoked herring.
Fasolada A soup of beans, tomatoes, carrot, onion, celery, herbs and olive oil.
Hortosoupa Mixed vegetable soup, which may hold carrot, cabbage, zucchini, onions and potato.
Kinteata Nettle soup.
Kotosoupa Chicken soup, sometimes with a thin pasta and often with vegetables.
Magiritsa A soup of lamb offal thickened with avgolemono, eaten after the midnight mass at Easter.
Manitarosoupa Mushroom soup.
Patsas A tripe soup.
Psarosoupa Fish soup, often with vegetables. Kakavia is a well-known one.
Regali Mani. A lamb soup.
Revithada Chickpea soup. The one from Sifnos is notable.

Sweets and coffee 32

Amygdalopita An almond cake of ground almonds, flour, butter, eggs and pastry cream.
Amygdalota Round cookies of almonds and sugar.
Baklava Layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and held together with syrup or honey.
Bougatsa Layers of phyllo around a filling of vanilla custard or of salty cheese.
Copenhagi Layers of filo filled with almonds and cream, with syrup or honey.
Diples Thin sheets of dough fried into spirals, then covered with honey and crushed walnuts.
Fanouropita A spice bread with cloves and cinnamon, baked for the feast day of Saint Fanourios.
Frappé A cold coffee under a thick foam, made by shaking or blending instant coffee with water.
Galaktoboureko Custard between layers of filo, covered in syrup.
Greek coffee Very finely ground coffee brewed in a small long-handled pot, a briki, and served unfiltered.
Karydopita A soft walnut cake flavored with spices.
Koulourakia Butter cookies, typically baked for Easter.
Kourabiedes Christmas cookies of flour, butter and crushed roasted almonds, dusted with powdered sugar.
Lazarakia Small, sweet spice breads made on Lazarus Saturday.
Loukoumades Fried balls of dough, drizzled with honey and often spiced with cinnamon.
Mandolato Greek nougat, found all over Greece and made specially on the Heptanese islands.
Melekouni Rhodes. A sweet of honey, almonds and sesame.
Melitinia Cyclades. Sweet cheese pastries, typically filled with soft myzithra.
Melomakarona Cookies soaked in a honey syrup and sprinkled with crushed walnuts.
Milopita Apple pie with cinnamon and powdered sugar.
Moustalevria A pudding of flour and grape must.
Moustokouloura Cookies of flour kneaded with fresh grape must in place of water.
Pastafrola A covered tart of shortcrust pastry filled with jam.
Pasteli A bar of sesame seeds pressed with sugar or honey.
Platseda Lesbos. A twisted sweet pie with nuts and honey.
Portokalopita An orange cake made with dry shreds of filo and bathed in syrup.
Rizogalo Rice pudding, commonly sprinkled with cinnamon. The name means rice-milk.
Spoon sweets Fruit boiled whole or in large pieces, made the way marmalade is made.
Strained yogurt with honey Strained yogurt served with honey. Walnuts or fruit are often added.
Tiganites An old traditional dessert: a kind of fried pancake.
Tsoureki A sweet Easter bread flavored with mahlepi, often decorated with red-dyed eggs.
Vasilopita A cake for New Year's Day, often baked with a coin inside for whoever finds it.

Cheeses 14

Anevato Macedonia. A creamy cheese.
Anthotyros A traditional fresh cheese, sold fresh or dry.
Feta A white, salty cheese made from the milk of sheep or goats.
Formaela Arachova. A hard cheese produced only there.
Graviera A hard, light yellow cheese, a little sweet and nutty. Greece's second most popular after feta.
Kasseri A medium-hard, pale yellow cheese made from sheep's milk.
Kefalograviera A hard table cheese, usually made from sheep's milk or from sheep's and goat's milk.
Kefalotyri A hard, salty yellow cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk.
Kopanisti Cyclades. A salty, spicy cheese.
Ladotyri Mytilinis A cheese of sheep's milk, or of sheep's milk mixed with some goat's milk.
Manouri A semi-soft, fresh white whey cheese of goat or sheep milk, mostly from Thessaly and Macedonia.
Metsovone Metsovo. A semi-hard smoked cheese of cow's milk, sometimes mixed with sheep's or goat's.
Myzithra A fresh cheese made with milk and whey from sheep or goats.
San Michali Syros. A cow's milk cheese.