Food in Athens

During my time in Greece, I was lucky enough to enjoy not just one but two meals at Michelin-starred restaurants. Accompanied by foodie friends Thomas and Thomas, we ate at Hytra and Varoulko. This photo is one of the dishes served at Hytra, which was my favorite restaurant of the two. This dish features beets prepared in multiple ways (that pink thing in the middle is beet mousse with a sugar-glass cap) and goat cheese. We were served multiple courses at Hytra, including a delicious pork loin and some lovely amuse-bouche of smoked aubergine/eggplant.

This dish was served at Varoulko. There were two really good dishes from this restaurant: this fish dish, and a cuttlefish ink and mozzerella soup. The rest of the meal was a bit unimpressive, though. Fortunately, they had a nice selection of decent Greek wine. And at 40€ for a 4 course dinner, I guess I can't complain too much!

We also enjoyed the 'common' food, like these giant beans, cooked in a tomato sauce with plenty of thyme and oregano.

We also enjoyed many different types of souvlaki, which is small pieces of meat cooked on a skewer. From the left you have a spicy sausage, ground lamb, chicken, and pork. The sausage and lamb were my favorites.

There was also plenty of seafood, like this grilled octopus.

And what trip to Greece would be complete without tzatziki? I lost count the number of times I ordered this; I simply can't get enough!

I was quite surprised at the size of the portions. This steak Thomas ordered was bigger than his head! I thought it was an America thing to have big portions.

Aside from tzatziki and Greek salad, the main staple of our day was a few frappes. Made from instant coffee and condensed milk, this iced coffee not only helped us to cool down from the warm sunny days, but it also kept us on our toes from the caffeine!

Last but not least, ouzo. This anise-flavored aperitif is dangerously tasty, refreshing, and far too easy to drink.