Greece Travel Blog

Fortunately, for those on a budget, there are many bakers in Athens, all selling delicious and cheap savoury snacks. You can choose to grab a snack from one of these places for one of your meals each day, and enjoy the cheese pastry made with feta, the sausage roll, made from traditional spicy kebab meat, the spinach and feta tart, and small pizza breads. It’s not difficult to enjoy your snack on the hoof, and it saves a fortune over a few days. When you do go for the splurge and eat at a restaurant, it’s important to factor in paying a couple of Euro extra for the bowl of crusty bread and water served at each table as standard. On the plus side, tipping isn’t necessarily expected in Athens, and so you do not need to go overboard with leaving the obligatory 10% tip. As you have a considerable amount of bread, you can get by with ordering something like a simple Greek Salad, or a plate of calamari for a filling meal. If you do order a main course, it is worth checking what the meal comes with; some restaurants provide chips, rice or salad (or a combination) with the main course, others will just serve a meal of meat and sauce. Of course, in those situations, that bread can come in handy, so don’t eat it all while you are waiting for your meal to arrive. What about drink? Look out for places that serve house wine by the half litre or litre. These are wines purchased direct from a local farmer, and stored in a large barrel rather than a separate bottle. The wines are of variable quality, and it’s a very bad sign when your red wine arrives chilled! However, even the best Greek wine isn’t particularly special, so is it worth paying out extra for what can only ever be an average wine? Beer is expensive in Athens, and you can see some prices north of 4.50 Euros for a small bottle in the nicer bars. Obviously, the local beer tends to be cheaper – there is the slightly strong tasting Mythos and the softer and subtler Alpha generally to chose from. Look for restaurants serving large 500 cl size bottles, as these are better value. If you like Ouzo, this can be also a good choice. Many restaurants serve Ouzo in 20cl bottles, which equates to approximately nine units of alcohol – a handy amount for 2 or 3 diners. This will work out cheaper than a couple of beers will. Your Ouzo will arrive with a bowl of ice cubes and water. Pop the ice cubes into your glass, pour over the Ouzo and watch the clear liquid become cloudy. Add water to get your preferred strength. Ouzo has a strong aniseed taste, so most Greeks dilute their drink quite heavily.