Greek food - what to try

[sidekickdmr]

Hey, so I'm posting this from a currently rainy Crete

I LOVE Greek food, but Only been here a couple of days and I've had enough taziki, dolmaders, olives and pork Giros to last a lifetime, and fancy being a little more adventurous

What Greek dishes can you recommend? We are talking local family tavernas here, not 5* seafood restaurants.

Thanks

[Whoozit]

A few of my favourites - no guarantee you'll find them in Crete.

Feta saganaki (whole feta cheese baked in foil with tomatoes, olive oil and oregano). Other dishes are also called saganaki, ask what you're getting
Lamb or pork souvlaki (skewers)
Sheftalia - Cypriot pork and onion sausages wrapped in a caul (absolute heaven!)
Bulgouri (Bulgar wheat cooked with onions and tomatoes, eat it instead of rice for example)
Greek salad "Salata Horiatiki" - feta, cucumber, onion, pepper, tomatoes, with oil and oregano
Dakos (these are Cretan) Rusks topped with tomatoes, cheese and olive oil
Yoghurt - try it as a savoury with some salt on. Or spoon it over rice or bulgouri.

Pastries
- baklava (try it fresh, it's amazing)
- galatopourekia (kind of a custard and phyllo pastry pie)
- revani (semolina cake)
- Lokhmades or Loukoumades (small balls of fried dough in syrup- get them fresh and eat them hot)
- Kataifi - like baklava but made with a "shredded wheat" type of pastry instead of phyllo

[Tickle]

Kleftico, stifado, kokinsto, butter beans, pastitsio, stamnas dishes, rabbit is also usualy done well in Greece too.

Ask for local specialities too.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

If you like lamb give Kelftico a try.

[sidekickdmr]

Yes I've also had dakos, souvlaki and lots of Greek salad since I've been here

Proper Greek yogurt so thick it won't leave the spoon too, drizzled with honey and fresh fruit

I love lamb, so will try that, thank you

[JKRolling]

Where abouts in Crete are you staying?

[Sheetmaself]

As others have said, Kleftiko.

So nice i had it at my wedding!

[condor]

Ask at the taverna - stale bread,fresh fish and warm soggy chips otherwise

[55palfers]

Grilled lamb chops for me please

[sidekickdmr]

JKRolling said:

Where abouts in Crete are you staying?

Staying in Sissi, it's a lovely old town/fishing village, currently on the balcony enjoying the thunder and lightning

It's been good weather till now though, 26 degrees and sun last 3 days

[Tickle]

sidekickdmr said:

Staying in Sissi, it's a lovely old town/fishing village, currently on the balcony enjoying the thunder and lightning

It's been good weather till now though, 26 degrees and sun last 3 days

Go to Mikes or neromilos. Mikes is very authentic, one dish per day... but it's quality.

[otherman]

I recommend a Giouvetsi (pronounced, and sometimes spelled, Youvetsi). A casserole type pot dish with orzo and lamb or beef.

[JKRolling]

sidekickdmr said:

JKRolling said:

Where abouts in Crete are you staying?

Staying in Sissi, it's a lovely old town/fishing village, currently on the balcony enjoying the thunder and lightning

It's been good weather till now though, 26 degrees and sun last 3 days

A little far from where i was going to suggest then. It's unusual in that the second best meal i had on a holiday was in Malia. About half mile from the Main Street back up the hill you have a little chuch with a small cocktail bar and two restaurants. One of the restaurants is run by an old man and his wife. He gave us menus and we asked what he would recommend. He took the menus and said "I've caught the very best red snapper this morning, let us cook them for you" it was awesome.

[Murph7355]

jesusbuiltmycar said:

If you like lamb give Kelftico a try.

Kleftiko

All the suggestions on the thread are worth trying

[WillieSylvester]

Stifado you might try.

[sidekickdmr]

Tried the Kleftico, very nice!

[Whoozit]

Bit of trivia...Kleftico literally means "stolen". As in kleptomaniac. Supposedly comes from cooking the stolen meat buried next to hot coals, to avoid being found out.

[anonymous-user]

moussaka greek

Greek dolmades

bread and fresh olive oil

Skordostoumbi

[768]

Often labelled as Thieves' Lamb.

Haven't seen moussaka mentioned, I always find it much nicer in Greece than the UK. Try the lot though, I haven't had a bad meal out there.

A meze is well worth it too, especially if you're not sure what else to try. Enjoy.

[dazco]

Murph7355 said:

jesusbuiltmycar said:

If you like lamb give Kelftico a try.

Kleftiko

All the suggestions on the thread are worth trying

It takes a special kind of person to enter a thread just to correct somebody's spelling of a Greek word.