Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TAVERNA TIPS
Since the idea of
courses
is foreign to Greek cuisine, starters, main dishes and salads often
arrive together unless you request otherwise. The best strategy is to order a selection of
mezédhes and salads to share, in local fashion. Waiters encourage you to take
horiátiki saláta
- the so-called Greek
salad
, including feta cheese - because it is the most expensive. If you
only want tomato and cucumber, ask for
angourodomáta.
Cabbage-carrot (
láhano-karóto
) and
lettuce (
maroúli
) are the typical cool-season salads.
Bread
is generally counted as part of the “cover” charge (€0.50-1 per person), so you have to
pay for it even if you don't eat any. Though menu prices are supposedly inclusive of all taxes
and service, an extra
tip
of around five percent or simple rounding up of the bill is in order.
veal, especially as
pansétta
(spare ribs). The best
souvláki
, not always available, is lamb; more
commonly encountered are rib chops (
païdhákia
);
lamb roasted in tin foil (
exohikó
) is another favourite.
Keftédhes
(breadcrumbed meatballs),
biftékia
(pure-
meat patties) and the spicy, coarse-grain sausages
called
loukánika
are cheap and good. Chicken is
widely available but typically battery-farmed. Other
dishes worth trying are stewed goat (
gídha vrastí
) or
baked goat (
katsíki stó foúrno
) - goat in general is
typically free-range and organic.
autumn you may find
psarósoupa
(fish soup) or
kakaviá
(bouillabaisse).
Cheaper
seafood
(
thalassiná
) such as fried baby
squid (usually frozen);
thrápsalo
(large, grillable
deep-water squid) and octopus are summer staples;
often mussels, cockles and small prawns will also be
offered at reasonable sums (€20-30 per kilo).
Wine
All tavernas will offer you a choice of bottled
wines
,
and most have their own house variety: kept in
barrels, sold in bulk (
varelísio
or
hýma
) by the
quarter-, half- or full litre, and served in glass flagons
or brightly coloured tin “monkey-cups”. Per-litre
prices depend on locale and quality, ranging from
€4 (Thessaly, Skýros) to €10-11 (Santoríni, Rhodes).
Non-resinated wine is almost always more than
decent; some people add a dash of soda water or
lemonade. Barrelled
retsina
- pine-resinated wine,
often an acquired taste - is far less common than it
used to be, though you will find bottled brands
everywhere: Yeoryiadhi from Thessaloníki, Liokri
from Ahaïa and Malamatina from central Greece are
all quaffable.
Among
bottled wines
available nationwide,
Cambas Attikos, Zítsa and Rhodian CAIR products
are good, inexpensive whites, while Boutari
Naoussa and Kourtakis Apelia are decent,
Fish and seafood
Seafood can be one of the highlights of a trip to
Greece, though there are some tips to bear in
mind. When ordering, the standard procedure is to
go to the glass cooler and pick your specimen,
then have it weighed (uncleaned) in your presence.
Overcharging, especially where a printed menu is
absent, is not uncommon; have weight and price
confirmed clearly. Taverna owners often comply
only minimally with the requirement to indicate
when seafood is
frozen
- look for the abbreviation
“kat”, “k” or just an asterisk on the Greek-language
side of the menu. If the price, almost invariably
quoted by the kilo, seems too good to be true, it's
almost certainly farmed. The choicest varieties,
such as red mullet,
tsipoúra
(gilt-head bream),
seabass or
fangrí
(common bream), will be
expensive if wild - €45-70 per kilo. Less esteemed
species tend to cost €20-35 per kilo but are usually
quoted at €6-9 per portion.
Fish caught in the summer months tend to be
smaller and drier, and so are served with
ladholé-
mono
(oil and lemon) sauce. An inexpensive May-
June treat is fresh, grilled or fried
bakaliáros
(hake),
the classic UK fish-and-chip shop species.
Gávros
(anchovy),
atherína
(sand smelts) and
sardhélles
(sardines) are late-summer fixtures, at their best in
the northeast Aegean.
Koliós
(mackerel) is excellent
either grilled or baked in sauce. Especially in
VEGETARIANS
Vegetarians will find scarcely any
dedicated meat-free restaurants at all in
Greece. That is not to say that they cannot
enjoy excellent food, however. The best
solution in tavernas or ouzerís is to
assemble a meal from vegetarian
mezédhes and salads and, in
estiatória
especially, keep an eye open for the
delicious
ladhera
, vegetables baked in
various sauces.
