
Greece
Giouvetsi
Γιουβέτσι
Greek baked dish of lamb (or beef) with kritharaki (orzo pasta) in a tomato-garlic sauce, baked until tender. A Sunday and festive classic, hearty and savory, served from a clay pot.
southern-europe
Explore 233 foods connected to Greece, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.

Start with Giouvetsi →
The local shortlist
15 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
Open the guide →
The full directory
233 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.

Greece
Γιουβέτσι
Greek baked dish of lamb (or beef) with kritharaki (orzo pasta) in a tomato-garlic sauce, baked until tender. A Sunday and festive classic, hearty and savory, served from a clay pot.

Peloponnese, Greece
Γουρνοπούλα
Roast suckling pig slow-cooked in a wood oven until the skin crackles, the centrepiece of Arcadian village feasts and Easter tables.

Crete, Greece
Γραβιέρα
Greece's second most popular cheese: a hard, nutty, slightly sweet cheese from Crete, Naxos, or Agrafa. Aged for months, served as a table cheese or for saganaki, a PDO cheese.

Crete, Greece
Γραβιέρα Κρήτης
The Cretan PDO version of graviera, made from sheep milk, nutty and slightly sweet. Aged for 3+ months, a table and saganaki cheese, a Cretan specialty, savory and firm.

Greece
Ελληνικός καφές
Greek coffee, brewed in a briki (small pot), served in a cup with grounds at the bottom. A daily and social ritual, strong and aromatic, a national drink, served with a glass of water and a sweet.

Greece
Χωριάτικη
Greek village salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, olives, and a thick slab of feta, dressed with olive oil and oregano. The national salad, fresh and tangy, a summer staple.

Greece
Ελληνικό γιαούρτι
Greek strained yogurt, thick and creamy, made from sheep or cow milk. A national breakfast and dessert staple, served with honey, walnuts, or fruit, a healthy and iconic dairy.

Greece
Γύρος
Greek street food: meat (pork or chicken) roasted on a vertical spit, sliced and wrapped in pita with tomato, onion, fries, and tzatziki. The national fast food, juicy and savory.

Cyprus
Χαλλούμι
A Cypriot-origin cheese popular in Greece, made from sheep and goat milk, with a high melting point. Grilled or fried until golden, a meze and salad staple, salty and chewy.

Thessaly, Greece
Χαλβάς Φαρσάλων
A Greek halva from Farsala, made of rice flour, butter, and sugar, with a gooey, chewy texture. A regional specialty, sweet and rich, a café and market treat, a Thessaly tradition.

Greece
Χαλβαδόπιτα
A wafer-thin crisp pastry sandwiching sheets of tahini halva and almonds, the signature sweet of Kythnos island, packed whole as gifts.

Greece
Χαμάλια
Sweet pastry parcels from Chios filled with chopped walnuts and cinnamon, soaked in light syrup, made in batches before holidays.

Greece
Χυλοπίτες
Greek egg-and-flour pasta, cut into small squares or strips, served with meat sauce or cheese. A home and taverna classic, a rustic and comforting pasta, a national staple, a homemade tradition.

Greece
Χόρτα βραστά
Greek boiled wild greens with olive oil and lemon, a simple, healthy side or main. A national staple, bitter and herby, served with bread and feta, a Lenten and home classic.

Epirus, Greece
Χορτόπιτα
Greek wild greens pie: phyllo filled with wild greens, herbs, and feta, baked golden. A taverna and home classic, herby and savory, a national and Epirus specialty, a spring and Lenten dish, a rustic pie.

Greece
Χταπόδι ξιδάτο
Greek octopus marinated in vinegar and olive oil, served cold as a meze. A taverna classic, tangy and tender, a seafood appetizer, served with bread, a summer favorite.

Greece
Χταπόδι στη σχάρα
Greek grilled octopus, tenderized and char-grilled, dressed with olive oil and vinegar. A meze and taverna classic, smoky and tender, a seafood icon, served with lemon.

Greece
Κακαβιά
Mixed-seafood fisherman's soup.

Greece
Καλαμαράκια τηγανητά
Greek fried calamari: squid rings dredged in flour and fried until golden, served with lemon. A meze and taverna classic, crispy and tender, a seafood staple, served with tzatziki.

Peloponnese, Greece
Ελιές Καλαμών
A named Greek table olive, usually almond-shaped and deep purple to black when ripe. Elia Kalamatas has protected designation status for olives produced in the recognized Kalamata area.

North Aegean, Greece
Καλαθάκι Λήμνου
Lemnos PDO basket cheese.

South Aegean, Greece
Καλόγερος
A Santorini dish of eggplant slices layered with cured pork fat and tomato and baked, the "monk's" comfort food of the caldera villages.

Crete, Greece
Καλτσούνια
Cretan small sweet or savory pies of phyllo filled with mizithra, herbs, or honey. A Cretan specialty, crispy and creamy, a meze or dessert, a regional and festive tradition, a handmade pie.

Greece
Καπάμα
A Greek dish of meat (veal or rabbit) simmered in a tomato-cinnamon-clove sauce, a regional specialty. A rustic, aromatic, sweet-savory stew, a taverna and home classic, a festive dish, a traditional stew.

Rhodes, Greece
Καπαμάς
Rhodes wedding dish of lamb braised with tomato, cumin and chickpeas until falling off the bone, ladled over rice pilaf for the whole table.

Greece
Καρυδόπιτα
Greek walnut cake, spiced with cinnamon and cloves, soaked in syrup, a café and home dessert. A moist, nutty, sweet cake, a national treat, served with ice cream or cream, a winter favorite.

Greece
Καρπουζόπιτα
A Cycladic sweet bread of watermelon pulp bound with flour, sesame and walnuts, baked in slices — born of using every part of the melon harvest.

Greek Macedonia, Greece
Κασέρι
A Greek semi-hard PDO cheese from Thessaly, Macedonia, or Lesbos, made from sheep milk. Stretchy and mild, used in sandwiches or grilled, a table and breakfast cheese, a national staple.

Greece
Καταΐφι
Greek dessert of shredded phyllo (kataifi dough) wrapped around a nut filling, baked and soaked in syrup. A café and celebration dessert, crispy and sweet, a national treat, similar to baklava.

Central Greece, Greece
Κατίκι
A Greek soft, spreadable PDO cheese from Domokos, made from sheep or goat milk, mild and creamy. Used on bread or in pies, a regional specialty, a delicate and fresh dairy.

Greece
Κεφαλογραβιέρα
A Greek hard cheese between kefalotyri and graviera, made from sheep and goat milk. Used for saganaki (fried cheese), a PDO cheese, firm and nutty, a taverna staple.

Greece
Κεφαλοτύρι
A hard, salty Greek cheese of sheep or goat milk, aged for months. Grated over pasta, fried as saganaki, or served in slices, a national staple, a versatile table cheese.

Cyprus
Κεφτέδες
Greek meatballs of ground pork or beef with herbs, onions, and bread, fried until golden. A meze and family classic, served with tzatziki and bread, a national staple.

Cyprus
Κλέφτικο
Lamb on the bone sealed with garlic, lemon, bay and cinnamon in a wood-fired clay oven and left overnight until it falls apart.

Greece
Κοκκινιστό
Tomato-braised meat (beef or lamb).

Greece
Κοκορέτσι
Easter offal-and-lamb-gut sausage.