Athens Street Food: What You Need to Eat
So, let's talk street food.
Athens basically has street food everywhere. In a way, it's all street food here because just about every available space is filled with a little street cafe. The restaurants here have sidewalk seating in most places, so you can walk down just about any street in Athens and discover good stuff to eat.
Let's talk about some of the best street food places I'm going to recommend, and some general street food tips if you can't decide or don't know what to eat.
Getting Cheesy in Greece
Greece is known for cheese. Feta cheese is known around the world, but there are some awesome Greek cheeses. Most of them, I can't pronounce, but I can tell you where to get the best street food cheese pie in Athens.
Mam is known for tiropita, cheese pie, and it has been part of the Athens landscape for about 70 years. They use the same recipe from the 1950s and I can tell you, I loved it. It was creamy, it was flaky, it was amazing.
On the Menu in Greece
Speaking of flaky savory pies, you should definitely try spanakopida while you're in Athens. This is a spinach pie in a flaky crust and it's incredible.
Something else I highly recommend trying that you'll find on menus all over Athens is mousaaka. It's the Greek version of lasagna with eggplant and feta. I had a vegetarian version and it was absolutely sublime.
Something else you will find all over Athens and all over Greece is orange pie, which is called portokalopita, but you don't have to call it that. It actually looks more like cake and the texture is similar to a dense sponge cake.
It's very orangey and very sweet and it's everywhere in Greece, so if you want a cheap sweet street food treat, look for portokalopita.
Where to Go in Athens for Street Food
The next place I can recommend for street food is Kostas. Many people say this is where you can get the best souvlaki in Athens. It's meat on skewers that has been grilled and it's served inside a fluffy pita. It's a hugely popular street food in Greece, so if you're a meat eater you want to try it.
The Secret Life of Ouzo
And if you're going for a full culinary experience in Athens, you kind of have to try a shot of ouzo. It's the national drink of Greece, and it is highly alcoholic so you should definitely limit yourself to one shot. I was very much looking forward to trying ouzo because I've heard a lot about it, so I was very excited the night I slipped into a bar and ordered a shot of ouzo just like a sophisticated traveling lady.
It tastes like licorice. And not the delicious licorice. Not like Twizzlers. It takes exactly, and I mean exactly, like black licorice. In liquid form.
So be ready for that.
A Greek Love Affair With Food
I have to say that I loved Greek food. I didn't have one thing I did not like here, not one, and y'all, I ate everything, okay? I couldn't stop eating in Athens. Everything was amazing and most of the cafes and street food you find here is super affordable.
So any time you come across something that looks or sounds good, go ahead and try it. Try things you've never tried before. Food in Greece is really art. Everything is well prepared, carefully crafted and in some cases, they are working with recipes that are not just decades old, they are centuries old. So branch out in your own. Try things. Greek food is amazing and you are sure to find stuff that blows you away here.
Comment down below and let me know what you want to eat in Greece, or let me know what Greek food you already know you like.
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