Travel planning


Meals in Greece

Hotel breakfasts in Greece are usually quite substantial with a good variety of fruit, cheese, cured meat, and eggs. Coffee in most cafés will include your choice of Espresso, Cappuccino or Greek coffee – a strong, black roast typically brewed with sugar.  Follow these tips when ordering coffee or tea in Greece:

  • Ellinikos Café – Greek coffee, boiled with sugar and served with the grounds. If you take sugar in your coffee ask for “glyko” and then add “metrio” for medium sugar, “sketo“ for black coffee.  Once brewed, don’t stir Greek coffee or it will be full of grounds!
  • Gallikos – percolated European and American style coffee.
  • Tsaii – black tea available with milk or lemon
  • …horis zahari – without sugar
  • …me gala – with milk

The main meal in Greece, as it is throughout most of Europe. For Greeks, lunch is a plentiful meal eaten between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Tavernas and restaurants offer a variety of dishes and specialties for lunch, ranging from seafood to barbecue-style meat cooked on a spit. Greek Salad (Horiatiki Salata) is a favorite of our customers and comes served with tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese and olives. Add some bread, and it’s a full meal in itself.

We encourage you to explore the local cuisine. Try shopping at the market or grocery store to create a fantastic picnic!

Like other Mediterranean countries, dinners are served later and it behooves the hungry walker or cyclist to take advantage of mezedes  (appetizers) before dinner.  Try toasted sandwiches and olives, Gyros with dip, or sweet Baklava for a wonderful and sticky dessert.

In Greece, dinner can be another full course meal or just a light fare of snacks. Dinner is usually served between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., but you can find restaurants that serve earlier than this if you look around or ask at the hotel desk.