30 editor picks across Greece.
30 casual dining worth the trip across Greece, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Greece guides.
Diporto on Sokratous and Theatrou has poured Attic retsina from barrels since 1887, a basement koutouki in Athens with no sign and a handful.
OrderRevithia chickpea stew, sardines and a small glass of retsina from the barrel.
TipLunch only from late morning until the pans empty, often by 17:00; no menu, no English spoken.
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.
OrderThe smoked aubergine, the saganaki and a half-litre carafe of house white.
TipBook three days ahead for dinner; lunch tables on the pavement are walk-up after 14:00.
Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani on Sokratous is the Athens deli-mezedopoleio for Asia Minor cured meats: Karamanli pastourma, sausages and small plates.
OrderThe Karamanli pastourma board with sheep cheese and a carafe of tsipouro.
TipClosed Sundays. The deli counter runs 08:00-21:00 if you want to take meats home with you.
Chef Giannis Loukakis's Ladadika restaurant operates at the creative edge of northern Greek cooking. Kitchen leans market-driven creative greek.
Chef Manolis Papoutsakis opened Charoupi in 2017 to bring Cretan ingredients and technique to Thessaloniki. Kitchen leans cretan modernist. At Doxis 4.
Karavitis in Pangrati has cooked Athens taverna food since 1926, a rustic courtyard with barrels of house wine and the bekri-meze stew that defines the room.
OrderThe bekri meze stew with stuffed vine leaves and a carafe of the house red.
TipNo reservations are taken; arrive before 21:00 on weeknights and before 20:30 on Saturdays.
The 1926 waterfront landmark reopened in 2022 as one of the city's most ambitious restaurants under FNL-recognised chef Dimitris Tasioulas. Family-friendly.
Chef Asterios Sousouras's daily-supply seafood restaurant in Ladadika earned an FNL Best Restaurant Award star in 2025 and is one of the most admired fish.
Taverna tou Oikonomou in Ano Petralona is the Athens mageirio that has cooked home-style food since 1930, with 15 to 20 daily dishes brought out of the pan.
OrderAsk what came out of the pan today; the daily stew with a glass of the house red.
TipNo microwave and no menu; you point at the trays. Closes when the pans run out, often by 22:00.
Erganos is the taverna Heraklion locals default to, a 1986 dining room beside Kazantzakis park with goat, keftedes and honeyed sfakianopites.
OrderBite-sized sfakianopites with cheese and honey
TipThe taverna sits beside Kazantzakis park, a short walk uphill from the Archaeological Museum.
Mezen's never-ending relay of small seafood plates arriving until you stop them has made it one of the most imitated formats in Thessaloniki.
SinTrofi's zero-waste kitchen and biodynamic wine cellar in Ladadika represent one of Thessaloniki's most principled dining propositions. At Doxis 7.
Clochard's monthly-changing menu and exceptional Greek wine list make it the most wine-forward bistro in Thessaloniki. Kitchen leans french-greek bistro.
Founded in 1926, Mavri Thalassa in Kalamaria is Thessaloniki's most storied seafood institution. The wine cellar holds over 300 labels. For a casual visit.
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.
OrderThe siglino with handmade pasta and a half-litre of the rosé from the Peloponnese.
TipClosed Mondays. Sunday lunch from 14:00 is the easiest service to find a window seat.
Atlantikos in Psyrri Athens is the central seafood pick: Avliton 7 fires the daily catch on the grill from lunch through to past midnight every day.
OrderThe grilled octopus, sea bream carpaccio and a chilled assyrtiko by the glass.
TipThe annex across the lane opens at 18:00 weekdays and 13:00 weekends; book the original room.
Ouzeri tou Terzaki is a 1978 port-alley ouzeri in Heraklion where the mezedes arrive in waves and the raki keeps arriving alongside them all night.
OrderA spread of mezedes, then the grilled fish
TipThe alley off Plateia Agiou Dimitriou is easy to miss. Aim for the port end of Lochagou Marineli and look for the chairs.
Ippokampos is the pavement ouzeri on the Heraklion waterfront, all grilled fish, octopus and shrimp eaten a metre from the passing seafront traffic.
OrderWhatever came in that morning, grilled whole
TipTables spill across the promenade opposite the water, and the seafront ones go first on a summer evening.
Apiri Greek Eatery is a good-value Heraklion dinner, grilling octopus and sea bass and charring its wild greens pie over open coals every night.
OrderThe char-grilled wild greens pie
TipSmall room, so book for dinner. Lunch is quieter and the same kitchen is running the grill from 13:00.
Chef Manolis Papoutsakis's no-reservation meze room in Ladadika brings Cretan ingredients to a walk-in format. Kitchen leans cretan meze. Booking recommended.
Small, intimate, and reservation-only even at the casual price point, Iliopetra near Ano Poli was the most talked-about opening in Thessaloniki in early 2025.
The Sotiroudis brothers' seafood table in Pylaia has been one of Thessaloniki's most important fish restaurants since 2008. Kitchen leans creative seafood.
Open September to May only, Maitr and Margarita brings a genuinely seasonal approach to Ladadika. Kitchen leans seasonal natural wine bistro.
Klimataria on Theatre Square in Athens has poured taverna food since 1927, the Psyrri institution where giant barrels line the wall and rebetiko plays most.
OrderGigandes plaki, slow-cooked lamb and a half-kilo of the house red from the barrels.
TipLive music runs most evenings from around 22:00; book a fortnight ahead for the weekend.
Athali is an easy all-day Cretan taverna in central Heraklion, cooking wood-oven meats and wild greens from lunch until one the following morning.
OrderWhatever the wood oven is holding that day
TipKydonias meets Kapetan Charalampi here, two minutes from Peskesi, so it is a useful fallback when that room is full.
Ligo Krasi Ligo Thalassa is the Heraklion harbour table for a long seafood lunch, with mezedes, lobster spaghetti and the Venetian fortress in view.
OrderSeafood mezedes, then lobster spaghetti to share
TipThe terrace looks over the harbour to the fortress, which is worth waiting for an outside table in summer.
Granary is the all-day eatery and espresso bar in central Heraklion, pouring Taf Roastery coffee alongside Mediterranean plates and Greek wine.
OrderSpecialty filter coffee and whatever is on the day plate
TipNamed for the Venetian grain store that once stood opposite the Ducal Palace, and it keeps a wide Greek wine list.
Since 1967 Nea Folia near Ano Poli has served the old Thessaloniki dishes: kavourmas of Xanthi beef, smoked mackerel with samphire, soutzoukakia of buffalo.
Ergon Agora combines a grocery-deli marketplace with a full-service restaurant across two floors on Pavlou Mela. At Pavlou Mela 42. Booking recommended.
Athinaikon on Themistokleous is the Exarchia ouzeri of record in Athens, an institution opened in 1932 that moved to its current corner in 1989 with vintage.
OrderThe shrimp saganaki, a plate of marides and a carafe of tsipouro from Tyrnavos.
TipThe Mitropoleos sister room is the modern outpost; the Themistokleous original is the destination.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Discover the flavors of Thessaloniki on a guided food tour. Taste local delicacies, sip on ouzo or wine, and learn about the culinary history of the area.
1 day
“Cooking classes for Foodies” are the best way to experience the Greek culinary treasures and learn about the local culture. A seminar from an approved culinary school.
2 - 3.5 hours
Learn to make authentic Greek dishes in a hands-on cooking class in Thessaloniki. Prepare dishes like dolmadakia, Greek salad, and moussaka, then enjoy your creations ...