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I think we may have been to that one last time 😂
I was thinking more like kleftiko, stifado, upmarket kebabs maybe!
Even when I worked in Greece forty years ago, Greek cuisine had progressed beyond those clichés which still exist today but sounds a bit like looking for stuffed mushrooms, brown soup or grapefruit with a cherry on top in the UK today! Greek wine has also come on incredibly but is oddly expensive.
That’s a shame, @JDB, because I really enjoyed that kind of traditional, slow-cooked food when visiting the Greek islands in the 90s and early 2000s. It was nothing like those English delicacies you cite!
No matter, I have seen a few intriguing suggestions in Time Out.
Resurrecting the Athens bit of this as we’re off there in a couple of weeks, staying at the Pallas Athena hotel next to the town hall.
We have more than enough things to see and do but would welcome some restaurant suggestions as our last visit was 14 years ago with a 5-year-old!
OH is not keen on – fish/seafood, cheese, mushrooms.
Suggestions within a short walk of the hotel especially welcome!
Kuzina
Cookoovaya
Ta Karamanlidika Tou Fani
Varoulko (if you wish to go a little further away for a nice michelin restaurant)Have a good time 🙂
Thank you! I saw Cookoovaya reviewed and liked the look of it.
Also booked Nyn Esti which seems to be a modern twist on Greek cuisine with great views of the Acropolis.
We went to Dionysos Zonar’s a couple of nights ago and the food was excellent. Great view of the Acropolis too if that’s your bag while eating. It happened to be close to where we’re staying, but it’s a bit further for you.
I can also recommend Aleria in Metaxourgeio. It doesn’t have views and is a little off the beaten track. In the summer dining is in the courtyard at the back. I’m not sure when they switch to inside, so it may already have happened, depending on the weather.
I’ve been going there for years – most recently in January. It’s a modern take on Greek cuisine that’s consistent and with friendly staff. It is also curiously underpriced (not cheap) for a restaurant of its quality.
@northernlass – I’ll be out there in 10 days for work. I travel out a couple of times a year so have found a few gems:
City centre
For traditional food , your best option is Karamanlidika (this is a butchers but doubles as a restaurant and has a full menu of classic Greek dishes).For a more modern take, in a very stylish building, Ergon House is worth a visit.
For fancier dishes (more elegant presentation), try Nolan.
In the surrounding neighbourhoods:
Ama Lachei – beautiful restaurant to eat outdoors at, in a quieter part of townRakor – well away from the tourist traps and popular with locals, simple food done extremely well, and good choice of drinks too. Plenty of bars in this area too
Re-resurrecting this thread! After 3 fantastic days in Athens we’re yearning to go a bit further, preferably taking in Delphi, Thermopylae, Mycenae and Corinth (we’ve previously been to Marathon and explored that stretch of coast).
Can anyone recommend a tour operator who offers such an itinerary? It would be nice to just be transported around and not to have to think too much about it, especially as I’m not a Greek speaker (I get us by in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal but my limit is Romance languages!)
We had a hire car picked up in Athens and drove down via Corinth to Kosta from where we took the ferry across to Spetses. There is a separate ferry crossing to Hydra.
We don’t speak Greek apart from the basic greetings, ordering Greek coffee etc but didn’t have any problems.
We’d just rather not drive for once!
I did an organised day-trip to Delphi from Athens at Easter with an operator I found on AirBnB Experiences. Tour guide was very good, but I think they only do Delphi, not the others you mentioned. It was a pretty long day but I reckon you could combine it with Thermopylae if you could find an operator to do both, and then do Corinth and Mycenae together on another day
I did an organised day-trip to Delphi from Athens at Easter with an operator I found on AirBnB Experiences. Tour guide was very good, but I think they only do Delphi, not the others you mentioned. It was a pretty long day but I reckon you could combine it with Thermopylae if you could find an operator to do both, and then do Corinth and Mycenae together on another day
It’s actually much nicer to stay nearby so that one can visit the key sites early when there are far fewer people and it’s cooler. There are also just so many other great sites to visit for which there isn’t time on day trips from Athens, Tiryns, Epidaurus and Olympia is too far for a day trip. I would want to be going to Sparta and Mystras as well. Quite a lot cheaper to stay and eat in nice countryside places than in Athens.
@NorthernLass – I could have helped you with this 40 odd years ago as it was my job! It makes a big difference to have a driver who can drop you right at the entrance, not have to worry about parking and often to pick you up in a different place and to plan an itinerary to take account of peculiarities. Good for organising picnics en route in great locations as well! Allows one to partake of some retsina and ouzo as well. Good guides will also get you into sites out of hours etc.@JDB Yes I couldn’t agree more. We did this on a trip to Turkey about 12 years ago pre-child. Made a huge difference to be up and in early to Ephesus. Our Athens mini-break earlier this year was with our 8 year old who wanted to go after reading a book about Greek gods. He managed the morning up at the Acropolis, but I wanted to squeeze in a bit more so did a solo dash to Delphi. Would like to see some more of the ancient sites but will have to work around our different travel style at the moment!
We’ve been to Athens twice now so probably wouldn’t want to be based there for this kind of trip. There are a couple of companies online with names like “Greece Tours” but of course personal recommendations are preferable.
@JDB, I can imagine any trip you organised being like a latter-day Grand Tour, complete with a stop to paint a watercolour! (We enjoyed the Dodwell exhibition at the Agora)
@tootsci, we took our son when he was four; we reached the base of the Acropolis and he folded his little arms and announced “I am NOT walking up there”, so OH and I did it on consecutive days, taking turns to entertain the boy!There was a fair amount of grumbling about achey legs on the way up that miraculously disappeared with the suggestion that there may be ice-cream at the bottom of the hill for those who made it all the way to the top!
Re-resurrecting this thread! After 3 fantastic days in Athens we’re yearning to go a bit further, preferably taking in Delphi, Thermopylae, Mycenae and Corinth (we’ve previously been to Marathon and explored that stretch of coast).
Can anyone recommend a tour operator who offers such an itinerary? It would be nice to just be transported around and not to have to think too much about it, especially as I’m not a Greek speaker (I get us by in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal but my limit is Romance languages!)
I would not recommend Thermopylae, simply there is only a statue of Leonidas with the sign. Not much to see there. Also if you would like to go to Delphi and then wish to go to Thermopylae, brace for some very steep roads up in the mountains and you will need at least a 2 hour drive from one place to the other.
On the other hand, Mycenae, Epidavros and Corinth are highly recommended.
Delphi along with Arachova, Itea and Galaxidi are also another one or two days well spent if you break it in smaller trips. Best time to go is April/May or late September/October.
I would definitely not recommend trying to get up in the ancient stadium of Delphi in the summer, expect a steeper climb compared to the Athenian Acropolis.
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