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Greek starters and meze

Meze (small dishes) can be eaten as a whole dinner. Order several small dishes that everyone around the table shares and eat together with bread. Or order a starter and eat it as just a starter, or have it as a side dish to a main course. The dishes included here naturally come in different variations, and there are also local differences. So don't be angry if our descriptions don't match yours. This is Greek food as we see it.

The menus are in 999 cases out of 1000 in English, and usually also in Greek. In large tourist resorts there are also menus in other languages. We have chosen to use both English and Greek. The names are first in English, then in Greek (with Latin letters.)

 

V means vegetarian, M means meat and F means fish & seafood.

 

Greek salad - Choriatiki (V)
Classic farmer's salad that usually includes tomato, cucumber, paprika, red onion, olives and feta cheese. Sometimes the creamy cheese mizithra is used instead of feta.

Black eye bean salad - Mavromatika salata (V)
Boiled black eye beans with chopped onion and parsley. Spices and olive oil can be added when serving.

 

Greek salad - Choriatiki - comes in many different varieties and is the most common salad in Greece

Greek salad - Choriatiki - comes in many different varieties.

 

Potato salad - Patatosalata (V)
Boiled potatoes with either a vinaigrette or mayonnaise. Onions, tomatoes, peppers, carrots and capers can also be included in the salad.

Octopus salad - Oktapodi (F)
Boiled octopus marinated in vinegar, lemon, olive oil and oregano. Served cold.

Tzatziki - Tzatziki (V)
Cold sauce consisting of yogurt, cucumber and garlic. Sometimes seasoned with dill. Eat it with bread or use it as a sauce for, for example, souvlaki.

Eggplant salad - Melitzanosalata (V)
A cold dip consisting of mashed baked aubergine flavoured with vinegar, onion and garlic. The dip can vary a lot: sometimes it is creamy, sometimes it is chunky and sometimes it taste smoky. Good to eat with bread.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Green beans - Fasolakia - with olive oil, lemon and spices.

Green beans - Fasolakia - with olive oil, lemon and spices.

 

Green beans - Fasolakia (V)
Green beans in tomato sauce. Or you are served a plate of boiled green beans, i.e. without tomato sauce. You put spices and olive oil on the beans yourself, as well as the lemon wedge that is on the plate. Often also includes potatoes and carrots. Sometimes it's mangetout instead of green beans.

Tarama salad - Taramosalata (F)
Cold dip consisting of fish roe mixed with bread or potatoes and lemon. Good to eat with bread.

Hot Cheese dip - Tirokafteri (V)
Dip made with feta cheese and chilli pepper. Strength can vary from mild to strong. Good to eat with bread.

Garlic sauce - Skordalia (V)
Cold puree consisting of, among other things, potatoes and garlic. Served with fried salted cod-like fish and sometimes with boiled beetroot, fried eggplant or fried zucchini.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Fava with red onion and lemon.

Fava with red onion and lemon.



Split pea puree - Fava (V)
Cold or lukewarm puree of peeled yellow split peas. Served with chopped red onion and olive oil drizzled over. Good to eat as is or with bread.

Artichokes with peas - Agkinares me arakas (V)
Artichokes and peas in a dill and lemon sauce.

Baked giant white beans - Gigantes (V) (M)
Large white beans in a sauce of tomato, onion and sometimes dill cooked either in the oven or in a saucepan on the stove. May also contain pork belly, but this is rare. Sometimes you get the canned alternative and it's nowhere near as tasty as the homemade one.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Baked giant white beans - Gigantes - with tomato, onion and dill.

Baked giant white beans - Gigantes - with tomato, onion and dill.

 

Boiled greens/Spinach - Chorta (V)
Boiled wild or cultivated greens, such as amaranth (vlita in Greek), dandelion or wild onion. Some types are bitter in taste. Serves cold or lukewarm. You yourself drizzle over olive oil and squeeze over the lemon wedge you get on the plate. Season with salt and pepper. Good as a salad or as a side dish.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Boiled greens - Chorta - with olive oil and lemon.

Boiled greens - Chorta - with olive oil and lemon.

 

Beetroot - Pantsaria (V)
Boiled fresh beetroots. Both beets, stalks and leaves can be used and all parts are equally tasty. Served both cold and lukewarm. Vinegar, olive oil and spices can be added as desired. Sometimes beets are served with skordalia (see above). In exceptional cases, you can get canned beetroots, so just to be safe, ask if the beetroots are fresh. A good combination is beetroots and feta cheese.

Stuffed vine leaves - Dolmades (V) (M)
Cooked stuffed vine leaves. As a rule, the filling consists of rice seasoned with onion and dill, but sometimes there is also minced meat in the filling. Canned dolmades are often served, but they cannot be compared to homemade.

Stuffed peppers - Peperi me tiri (V)
Oven-baked or fried long peppers stuffed with cheese.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Stuffed zucchini flowers - Kolokithokorfades - with yogurt on top.

Stuffed zucchini flowers - Kolokithokorfades - with yogurt on top.

 

Stuffed zucchini flower - Kolokithokorfades (V)
Zucchini flowers stuffed with either rice, tomato and herbs (me risi) or with cheese (me tiri).

Fried zucchini - Kolokithakia tiganita (V)
Fried sliced zucchini. Sometimes the slices have been tossed in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper before frying, and sometimes they have been dipped in a deep-frying batter. In the latter case, the zucchini is covered by a thicker and crispier coating. Best eaten warm and preferably with some tzatziki or skordalia.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Fried Calamari and fried zucchini.

Fried Calamari on the left and fried zucchini on the right.

Fried eggplant - Melitzanes tiganites (V)
Fried sliced eggplant. Sometimes the slices have been tossed in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper before frying, and sometimes they have been dipped in a deep-frying batter. In the latter case, the eggplant is covered by a thicker and crispier coating. Best eaten warm and preferably with some tzatziki or skordalia.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Saganaki is a fried cheese from the Greek cheeses Graviera and Kefalotiri.

Saganaki.

 

Saganaki - Saganaki (V)
Fried cheese that can also be flambéed - sometimes in ouzo - after it has been fried. Different cheeses with different taste and texture are used, for example Graviera and Kefalotiri, even feta is sometimes used. The coating varies in thickness, from a thin coating of flour to a thick batter. Served with a lemon wedge that is good to squeeze over.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Baked feta - Feta sto fournou - with pepper, tomato, onion, oregano, chili and olive oil.

Baked feta - Feta sto fournou - can be served in different ways.

 

Baked feta - Feta sto fournou (V)
A slice of feta cheese topped with paprika, tomato, onion, oregano, chilli and olive oil baked in the oven. Can be served in different ways. The most common is in a foil packet, but sometimes you get the dish in a small clay pot. Good to eat with bread.

Cheese balls/croquettes - Tirokeftedes (V)
Fried balls of different kinds of cheese. Best eaten warm.

Zucchini balls/croquettes - Kolokithokeftedes (V)
Fried balls of a batter with, among other things, grated zucchini, cheese (often feta) and herbs.

Chickpea balls - Revithokeftedes (V)
Fried balls of a batter with, among other things, chickpeas, cheese and herbs.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Cheese balls - Tirokeftedes - can contain different types of cheese.

Cheese balls - Tirokeftedes - can contain different types of cheese.

 

Spinach pie - Spanakopita (V)
Pie made from phyllo dough filled with spinach, feta cheese and dill. The size of the pies varies from a cut out piece from a roasting pan (-pita) to small pies (-pites/-pitakia). In restaurants, home-made pie is usually served, while in fast food stands, a factory-produced version is sold (the former is of course the tastiest).

Tomato Balls / Tomato fritters - Tomatokeftedes (V)
Fried balls or patties of a batter with, among other things, tomato, feta cheese and herbs.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Tomato Balls - Tomatokeftedes - fried with feta cheese and Greek herbs.

Tomato Balls - Tomatokeftedes - with feta cheese and herbs.

 

Cheese pie - Tiropita (V)
Pie made from phyllo dough filled with feta cheese. The size of the pies varies from a cut out piece from a roasting pan (-pita) to small pies (-pites/-pitakia). In restaurants, home-made pie is usually served, while in fast food stands, a factory-produced version is sold (the former is of course the tastiest).

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Fried rolls - Bourekakia - reminiscent of small Greek pies.

Fried rolls - Bourekakia - are reminiscent of small pies.

 

Fried rolls - Bourekakia (V) (M)
Fried pastry filled with either just cheese, with cheese and ham or with meat. Reminiscent of small pies. Appearance can vary, everything from rolls, squares to triangles.

Cretan Rusk - Dakos (V)
Moistened barley rusk covered with tomato, feta cheese and oregano.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Cretan Rusk - Dakos - is moistened barley rusk covered with tomato, feta cheese and oregano.

Cretan Rusk - Dakos - is moistened barley rusk covered with tomato, feta cheese and oregano.

 

Small fish - "The name of the fish species" Tiganites (F)
Different species of fish in different sizes that are fried and eaten whole with bones and all. Some have their heads on and some don't. When serving, squeeze lemon over the dish. Examples of fish species: Gavros, Gopa and Marides.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Small fried fish - Tiganites - eaten whole with bones and all.

Small fried fish - Tiganites - eaten whole with bones and all.

 

Grilled octopus - Oktapodi psito (F)
Grilled octopus, usually served only together with a piece of lemon, but sometimes with a sauce of olive oil, lemon and oregano. Good with ouzo.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Grilled octopus - Octapodi psito - is very good together with ouzo.

Grilled octopus - Octapodi psito - is very good together with ouzo.

 

Marinated anchovies - Gavros marinatos (F)
Raw anchovy fillets marinated in lemon/vinegar, oil, garlic and parsley/oregano. Good with ouzo.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Marinated anchovies - Gavros marinatos - are raw anchovy fillets marinated in lemon oil, garlic and oregano.

Marinated anchovies - Gavros marinatos - are also very good with ouzo.

 

Mussels saganaki - Midia saganaki (F)
Cooked mussels in tomato sauce baked in a oven grill with feta cheese.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Mussels saganaki - Midia saganaki - are oven-grated mussels with tomato sauce and feta cheese.

Mussels saganaki - Midia saganaki - are oven-grated mussels with tomato sauce and feta cheese.

 

Shrimps saganaki - Garides saganaki (F)
Baked prawns with tomato sauce and feta cheese. As a rule, the prawns are unpeeled.

Snails - Salingaria kochli (F)
Boiled snails.

Fried snails - Xoxlioi Mpoumpuristi (F)
Fried snails with rosemary and vinegar. Goes well with both raki and ouzo.

Symi shrimps - Simiako garidaki (F)
Locally caught tiny shrimps that are quickly fried in olive oil. Eaten whole with shells, tails and heads. Usually eaten with ouzo.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Symi shrimps - Simiako garidaki - eaten whole with shell, tail and head.

Symi shrimps - Simiako garidaki - eaten whole with shell, tail and head.

Sea squirts - Fouskes (F)
A marine animal looking like a little sponge, quite ugly in my opinion. It is served raw with a little lemon and it goes well with ouzo. Very unusual in a restaurants. The best chance to get acquainted with Fouskes is on smaller islands where the local fisherman sell their catch directly to the ouzerias.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Fouskes is a marine animal looking like a little sponge. The are served raw with a little lemon and you drink ouzo with it.

Fouskes are served raw with a little lemon and you drink ouzo with it.

 

Noble pen shell or fan mussel - Pinna (F)
A large clam served raw with a little lemon and it goes well with ouzo. The shells from Pinna are oval and very long and usually hang as ornaments in many tavernas. Very unusual in restaurants. The best chance to get acquainted with Pinna is on smaller islands where the local fisherman sell their catch directly to the ouzerias.

Fresh sea urchin - Archinoos (F)
A marine animal with nasty spines that you don't want to bump into when swimming. But despite the frightening appearance, it is a real delicacy. Served raw and split, with lemon that you squeeze over and it goes well with ouzo. It is unusual for sea urchins to be found in restaurants, but it occurs more often than for e.g. fouskes and pinna.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Fish and shellfish plate with, among other things, sea urchins archinoos.

Fish and shellfish plate with, among other things, sea urchins (archinoos on the left.)

 

Meatballs - Keftedes (M)
Fried beef meatballs. The seasoning varies but often contains spearmint, parsley and garlic.

Kokoretsi - Kokoretsi (M)
Offal, such as lung, heart, kidney and liver, from goat or lamb that is wrapped in intestines and then grilled on a large spit. Served in slices. Traditional Easter dish.

Fried liver - Sikoti (M)
Fried beef, sheep, goat or pork liver served with lemon.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Meatballs - Keftedes - are like Swedish meatballs but with other spices.

Meatballs - Keftedes - are like Swedish meatballs but with other spices.

 

Loukaniko/Sausages - Loukaniko (M)
Sausages are available in all possible varieties and are, at best, locally produced. If it says loukaniko on the menu, it is usually a large sausage, and if it says loukanika, it is usually several small sausages.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Sausage - Loukaniko - is available in all possible varieties and is, at best, locally produced.

Sausage - Loukaniko - is available in all possible varieties and is, at best, locally produced.

 

Seftalia  - Seftalia  (M)
Grilled small oblong minced meatballs seasoned with herbs and surrounded by peritoneum. The meat can be from either pork, beef or lamb. It may not sound very tasty, but it is. Served with lemon.

Pikilia - Pikilia (V) (F) (M)
A platter with a selection of small dishes. A good way to try a few different starters or if you want to eat a bit of everything. Most often, the plate includes different dips, balls, dolmades and some vegetable. A pikilia can come in different sizes, and they can even be enough for a dinner for two. Pikilia also appears as a main course with either seafood or meat.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Pikilia is a platter with a selection of small dishes.

Pikilia is a platter with a selection of small dishes.

 

Starters and appetizers from Greece. Greek honey is used in many Greek dishes and tastes great with Greek yogurt.

Greek honey is not a dish, but it is used in many dishes and tastes good on yogurt.

 

Read about Greek main dishes here »

 

Read more about Greek food here »

 

Read about Greek menus here »

 




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