Greek courgette fritters bound with grated kefalotyri cheese, fresh mint, dill, spring onion and a little flour, shallow-fried until golden, served hot with tzatziki.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Kolokithokeftedes are the Greek mezze fritter that channels summer-season courgettes through grated cheese and fresh herbs. The dish appears in Greek home-cooking from at least the 19th century, with strong roots in the Cyclades (especially Santorini) where courgettes were grown for the summer market. Athens tavernas like Tzitzikas kai Mermigas and Manimani plate them as the canonical opening mezze, served hot with a bowl of tzatziki and lemon wedges.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Tip from the editors. The squeezing is everything. Half the volume of the grated courgette should come out as liquid. Skip this step and the fritters collapse.
Tzitzikas kai Mermigas on Mitropoleos in Athens has cooked Greek small plates with seasonal ingredients off Syntagma Square for three decades.
Signature: Keftedakia, Kayianas allios, Greek salad
Order: The keftedakia and the kayianas allios with a glass of the house assyrtiko.
Tip: Lunch from 13:00 is the easier seating; book three days ahead for Friday and Saturday dinner.
Manimani in Koukaki cooks the food of the Mani peninsula in a neoclassical building near the Acropolis Museum in Athens: cured pork siglino and handmade.
Signature: Siglino, Sausage from Mani, Handmade Mani pasta
Order: The siglino with handmade pasta and a half-litre of the rosé from the Peloponnese.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Sunday lunch from 14:00 is the easiest service to find a window seat.
Karavitis Tavern on Pausaniou in Pangrati is the 1926 neighbourhood taverna with a rustic courtyard, barrels of house wine and a point-at-trays system.
Why locals love it: Pangrati neighbourhood taverna since 1926 with a rustic courtyard, barrels of house wine, and an order-by-pointing system that keeps the tourist trade away.
Tip: No reservations are taken; arrive before 21:00 on weeknights and before 20:30 on Saturdays.
Mavro Provato in Pangrati Athens is the daily mezedopoleio favourite for small-plate Greek cooking, Greek wine by the glass and a sidewalk of regulars.
Signature: Saganaki, Smoked aubergine, Pork tenderloin with prunes
Order: The smoked aubergine, the saganaki and a half-litre carafe of house white.
Tip: Book three days ahead for dinner; lunch tables on the pavement are walk-up after 14:00.
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