The Best Athens Food Tour with Greeking.Me

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Going on an Athens Food Tour with Greeking.Me will help you find the many Greek specialties that are part of the wonderful food culture of Greece that you may have difficulty discovering on your own. With the help of an expert food guide, you’ll be taken to neighborhood gems to taste all the wonderful foods you have to try in Greece.

Greeking.me is an award-winning tour operator in Athens that put together bespoke experiences that are designed to help you experience Greece in the most authentic way possible. Their Athens for Foodies tour is one of many other great Athens tours they offer.

For me, it’s the most fun tour because you can combine a city walking tour with a culinary adventure. What’s better than that?

athens restaurant

On this tour, you’ll visit a variety of eateries and discover culinary gems that are favorites of the locals,. You’ll experience daily life and start to understand why Greece is famous for its delicious cuisine. The tastings make up a very generous meal and it pays to start the tour on an empty stomach.

You’ll also make a stop at the Athens Central Market, bakeries, traditional taverns and restaurants, and explore historical sites that few tourists see.

Are you planning your trip to Athens?

Where to Stay in Athens:

  1. The Pinnacle Athens (5-star luxury hotel, amazing views from rooftop terrace)
  2. MET34 Athens (In Syntagma Square, breakfast included)
  3. Athens Gate Hotel (Opposite the Temple of Olympian Zeus, free breakfast)

Best Tours and Experiences in Athens:

  1. Acropolis Museum + Acropolis tickets (Skip-the-line entrance to the museum)
  2. The Athens Pass (Acropolis museum, Acropolis & Archaeological Sites: Combo Ticket, and city tour audio guide included)
  3. Tickets for Athens Bike Tour: Ride and Bite (2.5 hour bike ride, including food)

» See our Athens essential travel guide, and read about the foods you must try when you’re there. Check out this guide for Mykonos.
» Check out these other stunning places to visit in Greece.

athens bakery items

Discover Athens Through Its Food

Athens, like many ancient cities, is somewhat confusing to walk around, with many small neighborhoods clustered together. There are so many restaurants that it would be impossible to choose, if you didn’t know the lay of the land.

If we’d tried to find amazing food in Athens on our own, there’s no doubt it would have been difficult and we wouldn’t have tried nearly as many Greek specialties as we did with the help of Greeking.me and their awesome 4-hour Athens for Foodies tour.

The tour starts at Syntagma Square. A short history lesson is in order to start the tour off right, with some knowledge of the past that has defined the culinary landscape in Greece. Early migration introduced various cuisines to the area and defined the spices and techniques that make Athens’ food unique.

Arrive Hungry!

You absolutely must arrive at the tour with an empty stomach and be ready to eat, eat, eat. They don’t mess around. The time allotted for the tour is used to the maximum, with as many as 15 food samples, as you walk through popular areas and up-and-coming neighborhoods with dining options lining the streets.

By the time the tour ends, you’ll feel like you’ve begun to conquer the list of things you must eat in Greece.

Psiri neighborhood in Athens
Psiri neighborhood in Athens (Photo by Savored Journeys)

Foods You Might Try on the Tour

Below are just a few of the foods we tried on our tour. We don’t want to give away all the secrets or spoil the fun for you. The food and places you visit on your tour may differ.

1. Koulouria

Koulouria
Koulouria

One of the first foods you see upon arriving in Athens is koulouria, the pretzel-like bread rings with sesame seeds being sold by vendors all over the city. This breakfast and snack food is a must-try in Athens. It’s slightly sweet and heightened by the taste of the sesame seeds.

2. Cured Meats and Dolmades

Dolmades and cured meat
Dolmades and cured meat

One of my favorite stops was at a cured meat shop that has been around since 1922. Famous for its pastrami and charcuterie, this incredible meat shop also has cheese and finger foods like dolmades that it serves to customers who wish to take a seat at the few tables scattered throughout the store. The pastrami was delicious and unique.

3. Loukoumades

Loukoumades
Loukoumades

For the sweet tooth, the tour features some of Athens great pastries and puddings. We tried an incredibly creamy baked rice pudding and a crispy honey-drizzled donuts called loukoumades that are from an original recipe used as far back as the first Olympic Games in 776BC, when they were given as a prize to the victor.

4. Pork Ribs

Pork chops and fries
Pork chops and fries (Photo by Savored Journeys)

Once we had the sweets out of the way, we got on to more serious eating with some of Athens best grilled pork chops and fries, which came along with some really good garlic bread. This would be one of the trays of food you’d serve at a family dinner in Greece, along with other platters of traditional foods.

5. Baked Tomatoes & Feta Cheese

Greek Bouyourdi
Greek Bouyourdi

This bouyourdi was one of my favorite things I ate in Greece. The tomatoes were slow cooked with feta cheese and olive oil. It was perfectly seasoned and just incredibly tasty. It was served with garlic bread. This dish is often made in a slightly different way, with cherry tomatoes and a block of feta in the center. You really can’t go wrong with these flavors.

5. Moussaka

No foodie tour is complete without a walk through the Athens Central Market – which in Athens is a very local, fresh meat butchery and fish market.

Athens Central Market
Athens Central Market

There is a restaurant tucked away inside the meat market that sells all sorts of traditional dishes, like Moussaka, which is a meat pie that is topped with béchamel and mashed potatoes, then grilled on the top.

Moussaka
Moussaka

6. Soutzoukakia me Hilopites

Soutzoukakia me Hilopitakia

Soutzoukakia is similar to a meatball or kofta. They are oblong cumin-flavored meatballs and they’re served with hilopites, which are little pieces of noodles and a tomato sauce. This is the perfect comfort food.

7. Greek Coffee & Frappe

Greek Coffee
Greek Coffee (Photo by Savored Journeys)

Our last stop was at a sidewalk eater in the popular Psiri neighborhood, where you’ll find a bunch of attractive-looking restaurants and bars. It was here that we had our first cup of Greek coffee, much like Turkish coffee, but less roasted. They also – like most of the coffee shops in Athens – have an iced Frappe (iced blended coffee) that’s very popular.

Booking a Tour with Greeking.me

The tour lasts at least 4 hours and when you sit down for coffee, you’ll realized how full you’ve gotten over the last few hours. Dinner won’t be necessary. When in Athens, we highly recommend setting up a tour with Greeking.me and getting to know the shops and areas for yourself.

They also offer many other tours (including city tours and even dancing lessons). They offer both group tours and private tours.

(We were invited by Greeking.me to experience their tour, however all opinions expressed here are our own.)

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food tour in athens
The Best Athens Food Tour with Greeking.Me

25 thoughts on “The Best Athens Food Tour with Greeking.Me

  1. Natalia says:

    Koulouria looks very much similar to simit in Turkey)) it goes very nice on breakfast with tea or coffee) I would be also interested trying donuts. Thank you for sharing)

    • Laura Lynch says:

      It is basically the same thing. We tried simit in Turkey last year and the only difference to us was the name 🙂

  2. Carol from Wayfaring Views says:

    Wow- all of that food looks great. But I think that my sweet tooth would win out with those fried sweet thingies.

  3. Susan Aksu says:

    My mouth is watering! Koulouria is my favorite type of bread when toasted with some basturma or sujukh and some tea. ^ Ha! Natalia wrote the same thing. My background is Armenian from Turkey so our foods are similar/the same with different names. I did not know that the loukmas were given as a prize during the original olympics, that is awesome. It looks like you had a delicious food tour!

    • Laura Lynch says:

      There are so many similar foods between those countries. We were in Turkey a year ago and tried many of the same foods there. They’re clearly on to something with the koulouria. It’s so good.

  4. Christina says:

    I spent a day in Athens recently and loved wandering around Psiri. Greek food is delicious and Athens is a fabulous spot for a foodie holiday. Those loukoumades look yummy. Were they really sweet?

    • Laura Lynch says:

      We loved the Psiri neighborhood too. The loukoumades were really sweet – lots of honey. I would order them with the honey on the side next time.

  5. Kerri says:

    I loved eating my way around Athens and the Greek Island. NOt a fan at all of the Greek desserts but there’s a lot of other stuff to love. The freshness of the food really appealed. Did you eat saganaki? I was addicted to it….that and fetta.

    • Laura Lynch says:

      It’s funny – the one time we tried to order saganaki the waitress told us to order something else because we could get that everywhere, and we forgot to order it again. I agree about the desserts – too sweet for me.

  6. Arzo Travels says:

    Oh, what a coincidence. I am visiting Athens soon and the tour sounds interesting (even as a vegetarian) – I think I will not have any time to do a tour but at least I have some more insight now.

    • Laura Lynch says:

      That’s cool! I’m sure you’ll love it there. Keep this tour in mind in case you find some time.

  7. Tamara Elliott says:

    That tour sounds like heaven! I have to say, I had a souvlaki in Athens in 2005 that I still think about to this day, so I can image the other food you came across was just as good!

    • Laura Lynch says:

      Souvlaki is so good! I have a recipe for it here on the blog that turns out so delicious every time. You should give it a try!

  8. Christopher says:

    Oh what a great idea. I wish I did this when I was in Athens. In Toronto I live in the Greektown part of the city and I quite love their Greek culture and their food and lamb (it gets its own cause it’s my favourite) Great Post. The only thing I didn’t like was the washroom situation…

    • Laura Lynch says:

      Oh man, I went into a WC that had no lights and no lid on the toilet. Squatting in the dark is a whole new low for me!

  9. Nathan says:

    I love food tours and this one looks awesome! I haven’t had authentic Greek food but it looks amazing!

  10. Darlene says:

    Wow! You had me drooling. Joining a food tour really gives you more insights than just going around on your own. I would like to try the koulouria!

    • Laura Lynch says:

      It definitely does. We wouldn’t have known about half of these things if we hadn’t taken the tour.

  11. James says:

    That looks amazing! We had SUCH a good time in Athens, absolutely loved the city. A food tour would just set the trip off perfectly!

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  14. Nancy Hawthorne says:

    I’m trying to book for 2 adults, but the site is forcing me to pay for 2 adults AND 2 kids (which we don’t have). That’s pretty sketchy. I don’t trust it one bit. NO OTHER food tour does this.

    • Laura Lynch says:

      Nancy it was likely just a glitch in their website. If you contacted them directly, they could book you correctly. It’s not a sketchy company, I can assure you.

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