16 Drool-Worthy Dishes That Showcase Why Greece Might Have the Best Cuisine on the Planet
Ah, Greek food. One of the most delicious cuisines on the planet—and honestly, I’d go back to Greece just for the food alone.
Mealtimes are always a highlight when traveling, but in Greece, they were an absolute treat. I don’t think we ate a single bad thing the entire trip.
Greek cuisine is delightfully light and fresh, full of the classic Mediterranean ingredients you’d expect. Olives, olive oil, feta, cucumbers, or yogurt show up in just about every meal, and somehow it never gets old.
What I loved most was how simple everything was, but still so full of flavor. The ingredients really spoke for themselves. Grilled meat, just-caught seafood, tomatoes tossed with herbs and feta—nothing felt fussy, and everything tasted amazing, whether we were in a quiet back street in Athens or a waterfront table in Milos.
If you’re planning a trip to Greece and wondering what dishes to try, here’s a roundup of the Greek foods we loved most (and think you will too).
Delicious Greek Foods
1. Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki sauce might just be my favorite Greek food ever, and you can tell—we ordered it with literally every meal.
The sauce is made with strained yogurt and shredded cucumbers, along with olive oil, garlic, and other spices. It’s traditionally served with pita bread, although you can also put it with your meat or gyros as well. It’s light and creamy and oh-so-refreshing.
I loved how each restaurant had a slightly different recipe for tzatziki: some were saucier, others were creamier, and everyone had differing proportions of cucumbers. My personal favorite used a wilder type of garlic that gave a stronger flavor—absolutely delicious.
2. Pita Bread
Pita is a delicious flatbread that is a staple of Greek meals. It is served as a side to accompany the myriad of delicious Greek dips available, and is also used for gyros. Simply tear off a chunk and dip directly in your sauce of choice.
3. Dolmades
Sometimes called dolmadakia, this dish is made by stuffing grape leaves full of a savory mixture of rice, lemon, onions, and fresh herbs. Some variations have ground meat included, while others might include minced vegetables like eggplant.
4. Greek Yogurt
One of the best things to enjoy for breakfast in Greece is a bowl of smooth, creamy Greek yogurt, topped with different fruits and nuts. And bonus! You can often order this as a dessert as well.
One thing we loved about Greek yogurt in actual Greece was creamy it was. Now, Greek yogurt is always thick and creamy, that’s the whole point. But the yogurt in Greece was so much smoother, thick but not too thick, perfectly light while still feeling rich and full. It was amazing.
5. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Another delightful part of dining in Greece was the abundance of fresh squeezed orange juice. We loved enjoying a glass with breakfast, or as a refreshing drink in the hot afternoon sun—many snack stands offered orange juice as an option.
6. Mousakas
Moussaka is a warm, comforting Greek classic that felt very similar to shepherd’s pie in the US. It’s made with layers of ground meat, zucchini, and eggplant, all topped with a creamy mix of mashed potatoes and béchamel sauce.
It’s a type of dish that feels hearty and cozy, like something you’d eat tucked into your grandmother’s table.
7. Ryzogalo
Ryzogalo is a yummy Greek rice pudding with a rich, smooth, creamy texture. The rice, of course, gives it some chewiness, but the ryzogalo isn’t overly thick and glides right over your tongue. Ours came with a beetroot-apple compote on top, which added a perfect amount of lightly sweet flavor to the pudding.
8. Tiropita
Tiropita is essentially a little cheese pie, where feta or other Greek cheeses are baked in a flaky phyllo pastry crust, and then drizzled with honey and sesame seeds. The cheese inside is soft but still holds it shape, and the combination of flaky dough, creamy cheese, and sweet honey is perfection. We ordered this multiple times on our trip and just couldn’t get enough.
Pro tip: Eat the tiropita as soon as it gets to the table—its much better hot.
9. Gyros
Gryos, pronounced (yee-rohs), is a very popular Greek street food that is also available as an option in many sit-down restaurants.
This delicious and beloved dish is a pita bread wrap filled with pork or chicken that’s been sliced off a large vertical rotisserie. Other fillings, like tomatoes, onions, or fried potatoes are often added, and its customary to also serve it with a drizzle of tzatziki.
All together this creates an incredible marriage of flavors, with the juicy, flavorful meat, the chewy pita, the fresh veggies, and the creamy sauce. It’s unbelievably delicious and an easy and cheap lunch to enjoy between sightseeing.
10. Souvlaki
Souvlaki is another popular street food in Greece, consisting of small pieces of grilled meat served on a skewer. You’ll often find it plated with sides or wrapped in a pita with toppings like tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki, which makes it easy to confuse with a gyro.
The main difference? Souvlaki is made with whole chunks of meat, while gyros are usually shaved from a vertical rotisserie.
11. Baklava
Baklava, a common Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dessert, is also extremely traditional in Greece. And lucky us, because fresh baklava in Greece is absolutely divine. Baklava is made of with many layers of filo pastry, chopped nuts (in Greece, walnuts are most commonly used) and honey.
It’s usually made in a large pan and then cut into squares. The different components give baklava a chewy texture that is a little sticky yet so satisfying. It’s very fun ordering baklava around Greece, as each establishment prepares it slightly differently!
12. Greek Salad
A Greek salad is a great complement to any meal in Greece, and is known as Horiatiki locally. Big chunks of tomato, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, olives, and feta make up the salad, which is then drizzled with a light olive oil vinaigrette.
13. Fresh Fish
With its long coastline and countless islands, in Greece you’re never far from the sea—which means fresh fish is always on the menu. You’ll find a wide variety of local fish, often simply grilled and served whole.
If you’re dining near the coast, chances are the catch is fresh and the flavor speaks for itself. Quality seafood is a staple of Greek cuisine, and it’s almost always a good choice.
14. Olives
Greece is the third largest producer of olives (after Spain and Italy), and they are an integral part of Greek cuisine. You’ll often see olives integrated into dishes or put out in a little bowl to nibble on, and of course, olive oil is used ubiquitously in Greek cooking.
Kalamata olives are the most famous variety of Greek olives and have a distinct dark purple hue, but there are dozens of types of olives grown and used throughout the country.
15. Melitzanosalata
Literally translates to “eggplant salad,” melitzanosalata is a savory dip made with roasted eggplant, onions, garlic, olive oil, and some other herbs. We had this dip a couple of times, but when we ate it on our boat cruise in Milos (pictured above), it was sprinkled with a heavy dose of red pepper flakes, which was a nice addition.
While I certainly prefer tzakziki, this sauce is still a great Greek classic. At one restaurant in Santorini, it was served as one of 4 dips in a sampler—a format I quite enjoyed.
16. Local Cheese
Feta is definitely the most iconic Greek cheese, and eating it fresh in Greece is such a treat. But cheese-making has been around since ancient times here, so there’s a whole lineup of other local cheeses to try—most made from goat or sheep milk.
You’ll see them in small cheese pies, as part of a dish, or even served on their own as a little cheese plate. Besides feta, a couple of common ones to look out for are kefalotyri (a firmer, saltier cheese) and graviera (mild and a little nutty).
The Wrap Up
Greek food is such an integral part of the experience of traveling in Greece, and we loved eating our way around the country. We found ourselves dreaming about the next meal almost before we even finished the one in front of us!
The variety, simplicity, and fresh flavors make Greek food something you’ll crave long after your trip is over.
