You are going to the place of birth of democracy, a place where civilization was born, a place with long history of ups and downfalls, but also a place with a great kitchen. Greek people are known to be great gourmets, and you haven’t dined well in your life if you haven’t ate it with a Greek, that’s a long and joyful experience, and just like the food, it cannot be described by words.
Walking through Athens can be tiring, especially during summer, the hills can make it harder to find all the places you want to visit, and there are a lot of places where they serve the finest Greek cuisine has to offer. And we are talking only about traditional food and specialties, like Greek pastries, tzipuro (Greek schnapps), cheese, tzatziki, souvlaki, giro, fish specialties, wine, olives and olive oil and much much more.
Food in Athens is more than just eating, it is about socialization, spending quality time with friends or family, and the thing about Greek food is there is always plenty and usually there are many people on the table… the more the merrier is a rule in Greece.
The best thing about having a private food tour guide is the option to customize your tour. Maybe you are a person who wishes desert before lunch, or appetitive after the main dish, or maybe you just want to visit vegan places, whatever you wish you can arrange with your tour guy / girl! But if you don’t have any special desires, the tour guides have a perfect menu prepared.
The best start is visiting a pastry, and try Koulouri, sesame covered dough which is a regular in Greek breakfast. Continue onward at olive and cheese tasting, and wash the taste in between with Greek wine. Then you can visit an Athens local market, were you will meet friendly faces giving you tastes of smoked meat, fish prepared in countless ways, fresh Greek veggies and fruits.
Then visit a local café, and try the Greek coffee while enjoying the architecture from millenniums ago till today. While touring you’ll be tempted to drink a glass of ouzo or tzipuro, Greek national drink, which can be quite strong for some stomachs, so easy on the drinks, leave place for later.
You’ll be able to visit a local olive oil production plant, where they extract the oil like the old days, cold pressed using simple traditional machines, and you can learn about the process and why olive oil is the healthiest oil you should be using.
Finish the tour with a visit to a local tavern, where you will have the chance to see the whole picture. Bread with olive oil and butter, followed by ouzo and olive and cheese, all backed by the famous Greek salad. Continue your meal with souvlaki, or with some other meat course (Greek people eat a lot of meat, pork, lamb, beef and chicken), or even better, try fresh fish specialties. After all, Athens lies by the sea and has one of the biggest ports in Europe, so there is no absence of fish and sea food restaurants where you can try the traditional cuisine.
Finish the day with a glass of red wine and the world famous Loukumades, dough desert there are basically small doughnuts, covered with sweet sauce, or chocolate, or caramel, or even fruit sauce.
Whatever you decide to take the route, be assured that you will have a wonderful time, Athens is incredibly friendly and open and leaves you with a great desire to always come back.