All the culinary delights which the Mediterranean has to offer as summarised by the intrepid explorer.
Note: This is a work-in-progress blog post. Every new city or place I visit will result in additions.
I have been travelling through Southern Europe for the last 3 months and I thought it might be a good idea to collate my favourite places to eat out and to also share my experience tucking into the Mediterranean cuisine, starting with Greece. This blog post is split into 5 sections.
Breakfast
Quick Bites
Lunch & Snacks
Dinner
Dessert & Treats
1. Breakfast
LOCATION: Naxos Island, Greece
I tried my first traditional Greek breakfast when I was on the island of Naxos. In the Chora (old town), there is a pretty hip cafe/bar called Zio which serves a breakfast menu which should satisfy those who enjoy a substantial breakfast (I guarantee you will not leave hungry).
I walked past this cafe the previous evening and thought it was pretty trendy, there was lively music playing and a chilled out vibe. However as it turns into a cafe in the morning the vibe was much more chill, with chilled out tunes and the large plasma screen displaying underwater sealife.
The cafe had a few different breakfast items and a couple of set menus, initially they both looked very similar until I realised one was vegetarian friendly (and possibly vegan if they removed the butter and eggs). As I was largely sticking to vegetarian food I opted for No 2.
I found it interesting the way that they served breakfast. Each plate arrived at different times so the meal gradually built up until the final hot plate. This was the first up:
Toasted bread with butter and honey, plus freshly squeezed orange juice - a strong start. The bread was fresh and springy and I decided to have one with butter and one with honey, having never tried this on toast before. It was quite good actually and I have become accustomed to seeing honey being served hot drinks and other dishes.
The next to arrive was the black coffee and fruit salad - the coffee brand was filtered, the brand Hausbandt, I had not heard of it before arriving in Greece but it is very popular here. Now I am no coffee connoisseur, but to me it tasted pretty good. The fruit salad consisted of Apple, Banana and Strawberry, the greek twist was the dressing - honey and cinnamon. For me, it worked, there was not too much honey to make it sickly sweet and the cinnamon was a nice addition. Definitely better than just drizzling orange juice over the fruit.
I wasn’t sure whether more would arrive, although I knew there was at least one more element left and so was caught unawares when they brought the final plate. The dish which arrived was an authentic Greek breakfast meal called Kayanas (scrambled eggs with tomato) served with more toast and topped with melted Naxian gruyere cheese. Alongside the Kayanas, there was a salad consisting of cherry tomatoes and rocket.
At this point I was really struggling, feeling quite full having finished the toast and fruit salad - all the portions were extremely generous.
My verdict?
Very good. It was a satisfying breakfast and service was also excellent too. I would recommend some tactical eating to make sure you can get through all the plates
OVERALL RATING: 8/10
2. Quick Bites
LOCATION: Athens, Greece
One evening I was looking for a quick bite and I was wandering around downtown Athens when I spotted this place on Aioulo street.
Disclaimer: I didn't take this picture, I forgot to get one at the time. So this image is from the interwebs :)
Aioulu street is a very busy street which runs from Xayteia to Plaka. I noticed that even during the winter months there are so many restaurants and bars vying for attention, the proprietors outside trying to attract passersby and tourists, so it would be easy to miss this unassuming cafe/restaurant sandwiched between a large restaurant and a lively cocktail bar. I thought it was worth a try though, and I can say I was not disappointed at all. The staff were very friendly and they had excellent options for all appetites. They offer breakfast, hot and cold plates, vegetarian dishes and of course authentic Greek and Mediterranean-influenced food with the usual staples such as Hummus, Falafel, Zucchini, etc. They also have a small outdoor area if you prefer to dine within the buzz of central Athens. I went for the Falafel plate which included Hummus, Warm Pita, Olives and Greek salad.
I considered the vegetarian platter initially, but they said that it might be too much for one person. Speaking to the staff afterwards, I found out they had only just opened up a store here last year are still trying to make a mark in this location. If they keep up the high standards they should have no problems attracting more customers!
OVERALL RATING: 8/10
3. Lunch & Snacks
4. Dinner
LOCATION: Santorini, Greece
The only place I had a proper sit down meal in Santorini was Pelican Kipos. This is a very popular restaurant in the main town (Fira) and can be found near the Fira Theotokopoulos (main square). I turned up on a Tuesday at around 7:30pm and it was very busy already. I asked for a seat inside and after a few minutes they were able to accommodate me. The decor inside is very impressive, they have made it look like a vinyard and the use of glass screens is also a nice feature, which allows you to observe the bustle of the main square from within the restaurant.
My research had indicated this was a good place for a vegetarian meal and so it turned out to be the case, very helpfully they indicate the vegetarian meals using green ink so its easy to spot on the menu. I have found that you should never make assumptions in Greece, I ordered scrambled eggs for breakfast the other day in a cafe and it came with bacon!
There was some good options for starters, but I decided to try the Fennel Pie (as I had not sampled any of the pastries in Greece yet) and then selected Tourlou (roasted eggplant) as my main dish.
It took a while for the starter to arrive but when it did, the pie did not look like I was expecting:
The triangle shaped pastries looked more like samosas and the filling was packed with flavour due to the fennel, onion and spices. They were like little parcels of goodness, the onion came through strongly and I didn’t think the fennel was too overpowering but I do quite like to use fennel in my cooking. It wasn’t the most filling and they could have also provided more salad - a greek salad would have gone down nicely.
The next dish didn’t take quite as long to arrive and I was also a little underwhelmed when I saw the size, this however was a traditional santorini dish served in a ceramic bowl. Suffice to say it was piping hot and although they provided many options to attack it with, I wasn’t quite sure what was the best way - Fork, Knife or Spoon? In the end I tried a bit of both, using the fork and knife to cut through the eggplant pieces.
I am not a fan of eggplant, but this version, which was roasted, did have a nice texture and I enjoyed the flavours. The melted feta on top of the tomato and garlic sauce was really good and overall it was a very tasty dish.
The one observation I made towards the end was it was a bit oily and you can see this in my empty pot:
As I was still hungry I decided to go for a third course (dessert) and ordered the Chocolate Souffle with ice cream:
This was a more satisfactory portion and was actually pretty decent.
So my verdict?
Good, but I was expecting more. It was also a bit on the pricey side for what you get, but the atmosphere is really good and in terms of vegetarian / vegan mediterranean cuisine, it was miles better than the vegan restaurant (5senses)
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
5. Desserts & Snacks
Loukamedes
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