Food & Restaurants in GreeceGreece features many specific dishes, still it has a typical Mediterranean cuisine with strong influences from Italy, Middle East and Balkans. The fish dishes are common, especially in the coastal regions and islands. The olive oil adds the distinctive taste of Greek food. Generally, to much refinement isn't specific to the Greek cuisine, though recent trends among top Greek chefs tend to favor a more refined approach. Some Greek dishes are very popular worldwide and many restaurants offer one or more from this specific foods.
Popular Greek DishesThe specific dishes found in all Greek restaurants include:
Tzatziki - is yoghurt with cucumber and garlic puree used as souce.
Greek Salad - the Greek salad is known in Greece as Horiatiki and consists of tomato, cucumber, onion and sometimes green peppers. It's garnished with olives and feta cheese and dressed with olive oil and oregano. The exported receipts might include lettuce, which is completely unknown in the original Greek version.
Moussaka - is maybe the most famous Greek dish and this food is actually an eggplant casserole. Beside eggplant there are a few other variations of moussaka such as a version with zucchini or rice, but the eggplant variation is the most popular and therefore moussaka alone is assumed to mean casserole with eggplant.
Kleftiko - is lamb slow-baked on the bone, first marinated in garlic and lemon juice.
Stifado - stew of beef and onion with red wine and cinnamon.
Souvlaki - is a another famous Greek dish and consists of lamb and vegetables grilled on skewers, but in general means anything grilled on skewer (chicken, pork, fish, shrimps).
Gyros - is meat roasted on a vertically turning spit, served with sauce or tzatziki and garnished with tomato and onions. Sometimes it is confused with souvlaki because it's served in a similar way. A very similar Turkish food is called kebab.
Greek drinksThe wine is the most common drink in Greece. According to tradition the wine was invented in Greece on the island of Icaria. Until 1980 most Greek wines weren't of the best quality, but now they have came up to international standards. Some of the most famous Greek drinks served in all restaurants are:
Ouzo - is the most specific Greek drink, being a clear alcoholic beverage flavored with anise. It turns milky-white with water or ice and is similar to the also famous French pastis.
Tsipouro - is a clear drink similar to ouzo, often with higher alcohol content, and usually not flavored with herbs. City of Volos, located in the center of Greece, is famous for the high quality tsipouro produced in the area.
Retsina - is a white wine with some pine tar added, originally as a preservative, nowadays just for flavor; it's considered a drink specialty in the region of Athens.
Metaxa - famous worldwide, is a sweet brandy with 40% alcohol content.
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