Restaurants & food of Greece

Greece features many specific dishes, still it has a typical Mediterranean cuisine with strong influences from Italy, Middle East and Balkans. Fish dishes are common, especially in the coastal regions and on islands. The olive oil adds the distinctive taste of Greek food. Generally, to much refinement is not specific for the Greek cuisine, though recent trends among Greek culinary circles tend to favor a more refined approach...Some Greek dishes are very famous in the whole world and many restaurants from many countries will offer you one or more from this specific foods.

Greek dishes

Some specific Greek dishes, found everywhere in Greek restaurants, are:
Tzatziki - is yoghurt with cucumber and garlic puree, used as a dip.
Greek Salad - the Greek salad is known in Greece as Horiatiki and it consists from tomato, cucumber, onion, and sometimes green peppers. It's garnished with olives and feta cheese and dressed with olive oil and oregano. Sometimes it includes lettuce, which is completely unknown in the original Greek version.
Moussaka - it's maybe the most famous from Greek dishes and it's an eggplant casserole. Beside eggplant are a few other variations of moussaka, such as a version with zucchini or rice, but the eggplant version is the most popular - so moussaka alone is assumed to mean casserole with eggplant.
Kleftiko - it's lamb slow-baked on the bone, first marinated in garlic and lemon juice.
Stifado - beef-onion stew with red wine and cinnamon.
Souvlaki - it's a another famous Greek dish and consists of lamb and vegetables grilled on skewers, but in general means anything grilled on a skewer (chicken, pork, fish, shrimps).
Gyros - it's meat roasted on a vertically turning spit and served with sauce or tzatziki and it's garnishes with tomato and onions. Sometimes it's confused with souvlaki, which is served in a similar way. A similar Turkish dish is called kebab.

Greek drinks

Some of the most famous Greek drinks, served not just in Greek restaurants, are:
The wine is the most common drink in Greece. According to tradition, the wine was invented in Greece on the island Icaria. Until 1980 most Greek wines weren't of the best quality, but now they have come up to international standards.
Ouzo - it's the most specific Greek drink and it's an 80-proof clear alcoholic beverage that is flavored with anise. It turns milky white with water or ice and it's similar to the also famous French pastis.
Tsipouro - it's a clear drink similar to ouzo, often with higher alcohol content, and usually not flavored with herbs. City Volos, in the center of Greece, is well-known for the Tsipouro produced in the area.
Retsina - it's a white wine that has some pine tar added, originally as a preservative, nowadays just for flavor; this is an Athens' region drink specialty.
Metaxa - famous not just between Greek drinks, but also around the world, it's a brand of sweet brandy with 40% alcohol content.