What to eat in Athens, from a sesame koulouri at breakfast to meze at night

What to eat in Athens, meal by meal: a Greek coffee and a koulouri for breakfast, a spinach pie warm from the bakery, souvlaki at lunch, then an evening of meze to share, from gigantes to calamari, with a glass of tsipouro. Spice Escapes runs Ancient Athens, a hosted small-group break that starts with dinner together and offers a morning food tour with more than eighteen tastings.

Below: each meal, the market and the food tour, with notes from This is Athens, the city's official guide.

Morning: Greek coffee, a koulouri and a pie from the bakery

A koulouri is a crunchy bread ring covered in sesame seeds, sold by street vendors all over the city. At the bakeries, look for spanakopita, the spinach pie, and bougatsa, both still warm from the oven.

Greek coffee is a thick little shot made in a briki, a tiny copper pot. Ask for it glykis if you want it sweet. Mokka, next to the central market's main entrance on Athinas Street, brews it on warm sand.

Lunch on the go: souvlaki, gyros and something sweet

Souvlaki, Greece's most popular street food, takes its name from souvla, the Greek for skewer: meat grilled over charcoal, usually wrapped in pita with tomatoes, onions and yoghurt. Gyros is pork or chicken stacked on a vertical spit, turned slowly and shaved thin.

For something sweet, try galaktoboureko (custard in crisp filo, drenched in syrup) or loukoumades, Greek doughnuts.

Evening: meze to share, with ouzo or tsipouro

Making a meal of meze, a table of little dishes meant to be shared, is a very Greek habit. Greeks rarely drink alone and almost never without a nibble, and the company, the parea, matters more than the setting.

Look for gigantes (giant beans cooked in tomato sauce), tzatziki with fried courgettes, fava (a split pea purée) and feta the way Greeks eat it, with olive oil and oregano. Ouzo turns white when you add water. Tsipouro is a grape spirit, close to grappa.

Where Athenians shop: the Varvakios central market

The Varvakios, the central food market, fills a block between Athinas, Sofokleous, Evripidou and Aiolou streets. At its heart is the fish market, which the guide calls Europe's largest.

Small eateries inside serve a midday ouzo with meze, or grill fish bought at the stalls. The guide lists the market open 8am to 6pm, closed on Sundays. For the weekly shop, most Athenians go to the laiki, the street farmers' market.

The Ancient Athens food tour: more than eighteen tastings in a morning

On Ancient Athens the food tour is an optional extra one morning, led by a food expert, in this order:

• a Greek coffee and a koulouri
• the bakeries, for spanakopita and bougatsa
• three Greek dips, olives and good olive oil
• Greek cheeses and yoghurt
• soutzoukakia, spiced meatballs in tomato sauce, with fresh bread
• meze at a taverna: calamari, courgette fritters with tzatziki, pan-fried pork and gigantes, with local wine or tsipouro

A host, a group, and dinner together on the first night

Ancient Athens is 4 nights, 10 Mar 2027 – 14 Mar 2027, from £579, hosted by Jackie Whyte. On the first evening the group walks to a local restaurant together, so your first Greek meal is a shared one.

Also optional: the Acropolis and Ancient Agora with a licensed guide, and an afternoon at Cape Sounion's Temple of Poseidon. The hotel is the Acropolis Select or similar, a five-minute stroll from Plaka, with a buffet breakfast.

To see the dates and book online, go to the Ancient Athens page. Every Spice holiday carries a single supplement or room-to-yourself cost, and our page for first-time solo travellers explains the rest. Or browse our hosted city breaks and short breaks for solo travellers over 50.

Cannot make that week? Crete or Croatia, both on half board

Crete Discovery is 7 nights, 5 Oct 2027 – 12 Oct 2027, from £1,499, hosted by Lauren Fawkes. It has half board throughout, a home-cooked lunch at a family taverna on the Lasithi Plateau, and the markets of Heraklion and Chania. More is on our Greece page.

Croatian Chillout is 7 nights, 1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027, from £869, hosted by Jackie Whyte, on the island of Lošinj. Half board at Hotel Punta means breakfast and dinner are taken care of.

Questions people ask

Is the food tour included in the price of Ancient Athens?

No, it is an optional extra. If you would rather explore on your own, that morning is free time.

What time do Athenians eat lunch and dinner?

Later than many visitors expect. This is Athens, the city's official guide, says restaurants start getting busy for lunch at around 2pm, and calls the dinner hour a very loose concept.

Is Athens good for vegetarians?

Yes. The official guide points non-meat eaters to gigantes and gemista (tomatoes and peppers stuffed with rice and herbs), and some souvlaki shops make a mushroom version. If you have a dietary need, ask us about the food tour before you book.

Will I end up eating on my own?

Ancient Athens starts with dinner together at a local restaurant, so you meet the group over your first meal. Meze is made for sharing, which suits a table of people you met the night before.

See the dates and book Ancient Athens online

If you want to eat your way round Athens with people to share the meze, see the dates and book online on the Ancient Athens page. Availability today: 16 places left.

Jackie Whyte hosts the break. For a question about the food tour or a dietary need, ask for her through our contact page, or ask Rosie, the chat on the holiday page. More hosted trips are on our solo holidays for over 50s page.