Greece eating out

Information about the food and wines of Greece

The Greeks, even in the most ambitious Athenian restaurants, do better with their own cuisine than that of any other origin. For those with simple tastes there is a wide range of grilled, casseroled, and baked meats, fresh fish is a delight. Menus are usually handwritten in Greek or printed in highly original versions of English or French. The Greeks themselves, except in upmarket restaurants, do not rely on menus, they go into the kitchen to see what's cooking. The visitor is recommended to do the same.
The adventurous gastronome should try taramosalata, made from fish roe and other ingredients, melitzanosalata is a soft pate made with egg-plant.
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Kokkinista is meat stewed in a rich tomato sauce, moussaka, shepherd's pie of aubergines or baby marrows and minced meat, pasticcio, layers of meat and macaroni topped with a thick bechamel sauce. And, for those who like garlic, there is psari (fish) spetsiotico, and skorthalia, a rather heavy oily eaten with fried marrow or aubergine or salt cod.

These dishes go well with Ouzo, the national aniseed-flavoured aperitif, and retsina, the wine of Greece into which they have put resin since time immemorial. For those who dislike resin, there are many bottled wines, of which Samos sec, Achaia's Demestica, and Tsantalis Naousa are good and cheap, and others like Pallini, Santa Laura, and Makedonikos are a bit more expensive.
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Mezes, the Greek appetisers, are an institution, and if you order an aperitif you will be served with a meze as well. By the sea, you may get delicious fried kalamarakia (tiny squid) or marithes (whitebait) and boiledoctopus strewn with herbs. Inland you will find keftethe.s and sikotaki (liver).
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Branded spirits and bottled wines are expensive. Local wines, especially those sold by carafe from the barrel, are often better. There are also excellent locally-made lager beers, which are relatively expensive.
Tipping has a peculiarly Greek character. From to to 15 per cent is added to restaurant bills, but it is customary to leave two further sums, separately, on the table. One is for the waiter and the other for his assistant, usually a young trainee who clears the dishes, brings place-settings, bread, and the rest, and has no salary. The amount varies with the class of restaurant, but it is safe to estimate a further io per cent for the waiter and a little less for his helper.

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