Vegetarianism in Greece?

sweet-rasmus

So, I'll be heading to Greece at the end of May and was wondering what people's experiences were with visiting and being a veggie/vegan (I myself am a vegan)? I may spend a day or two in Athens or Thessaloniki, but will be spending a week in Porto Carras. It's for a scientific conference and I shall be staying in a hotel, so I shall be forewarning them in advance of my food requirements

I imagine that dishes of Mediterranean vegetables (cooked with olive oil) are going to be traditional foodstuff that I am going to live on

I have also looked at a phrasebook and I have to say that the Greek language is so different to English/Irish/French/Italian etc. that it is going to be difficult! Though I imagine many menus will be in English also...

I look forward to your advice!

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

I was there when I was fifteen, it was quite good for veggie stuff (tzatsiki (sp?), greek salad etc) but I can't imagine it'd be amazing for vegans. There's a big focus on fish and a lot of traditional dishes are meat-based, like a kind of shepherds' pie yoke, kebabs etc. I think it very much depends on the region though! And if you're at all inclined to break your veganism, Greece is definitely a good place to try cheese, the feta is frikkin amazing from what I remember

sweet-rasmus

Aliya Freezing Hijacker wrote: »

And if you're at all inclined to break your veganism, Greece is definitely a good place to try cheese, the feta is frikkin amazing from what I remember

lol! I won't be shifting. But I shall recommend it to my companions Thanks for the info.

taibhse

I was there during the summer and you have nothing to worry about really. I was travelling through Europe and Greece was actually one of the best places for veggie fare. (Spain was awful)

I did a bit of island hopping and was in Athens and Patras and I have to say, the Greek people were so friendly and most people could speak some English. All menus were in Greek and English even signposts and roadmarkings also had English on them.

I had some of the tastiest stuffed peppers and tomatoes which feature on most menus and some places even did vegetarian gyros which are similar to kebabs.

Hope you have a ball! I'm kinda jealous

Parnassia

sweet-rasmus wrote: »

So, I'll be heading to Greece at the end of May and was wondering what people's experiences were with visiting and being a veggie/vegan (I myself am a vegan)? I may spend a day or two in Athens or Thessaloniki, but will be spending a week in Porto Carras. It's for a scientific conference and I shall be staying in a hotel, so I shall be forewarning them in advance of my food requirements

I imagine that dishes of Mediterranean vegetables (cooked with olive oil) are going to be traditional foodstuff that I am going to live on

I have also looked at a phrasebook and I have to say that the Greek language is so different to English/Irish/French/Italian etc. that it is going to be difficult! Though I imagine many menus will be in English also...

I look forward to your advice!

I've only got experience of Athens and some of the islands nearby, but I had no problems as a vegan. Most menus are also in English, and the traditional mezze (sp?) are usually vegan friendly - you might lack variety, but there are very tasty dishes such as favas gigantes (giant beans - butter beans in a tomato sauce), a yellow pea puree (just called fava or something?), salads, grilled vegetables, chips etc. Lots of places also served spaghetti with tomato sauce. Athens is a big city so you can find plenty there - there are a few places on Happy Cow, but there are also a lot of spots that sell falafel. Try souvlaki - it's usually a meat/salad in a pita, but they usually do a vegetarian one (chips and salad), which is delicious! Just ask for no sauce (not sure what's usually in the sauce, but looks mayonnaisey).

Did you know you can get a 'vegan passport' - http://www.vegansociety.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=231 It could by handy if you get stuck. I bungled my way through by picking items that looked ok and trying to say 'no dairy, no eggs' - seemed to work!

The vegan thing isn't such a huge surprise for most Greek people, as Orthodox Greeks eat mostly vegan for Lent.

Anyway, I hope that helped, enjoy your trip!

sweet-rasmus

Thanks for the advice taibhse and Parnassia. I do indeed intend to buy the vegan passport I'll be interrailing from France, throught to Italy and across to Greece, so it will be very useful. My French isn't too bad (reading ingredients anyhow), but my Italian and Greek are non-existant. I can't wait to try all the food Whoohooo!

Mentalmiss

http://www.happycow.net/europe/greece/athens/

This is The Happy Cow page for Athens.

sweet-rasmus

Yes, I had seen those restaurants, but after looking up Athens on Google maps I was startled to find all the streets in Greek! So finding out where those places are might be interesting... Plus, I'm not even sure if I'll be staying there are just passing through.

I am very interested to hear more about the common Greek dishes served, as mentioned above It's good to know what to expect beforehand. Once I figure out which hotel I'll be in in Porto Carras I hope to find a restaurant menu on the net

Emerald Lass

look up some traditional Greek cuines websites, and then you will recognise the names. I spend a lot of time in Turkey, and the area of Turkey I visit has a lot of similar foods to Greece. Here are some:

Large Butter bean type beans in tomato and onion sauce - no dairy at all. Like a home made baked beans, and very filling and tasty with bread. They call this barbunya in Turkey, but it will be different in Greece.

Dolmades (or as the Turkish say, Dolma) - stuffed vegetables - vine leaves, tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes and bell peppers. they are stuffed with rice which is cooked in a mild tomato sauce, with herbs and occasionally garlic. Just make sure you ask if there is meat in or not, as often the Greeks stuff them with minced lamb, so just be safe.

Beetroot and garlic salad - this is just SO delicious. The beetroot is fresh, so not pickled so its quite sweet. When its warm you just chop it up, mix with some olive oil and finely chopped garlic and lemon juice. I make this all the time at home, its so tasty.

Hummous - makes anything delish! lol

I've been to greece a few times - I'm veggie, not vegan, so found it easier cos I LOVE Feta. But I am sure it is as in Turkey (given their cuisine can be quite similar) - it is quite easy for them to make you something once you ask. They are really accommodating like that. If you tell them what you want they will make it if its possible.

In turkey they make Kofte, and I think they are called keftes in Greece. They are basically fried dumpling balls things - usually a meat ball but they do them in veg too. Ive had (in Greece and Turkey) tomato kefte (fried tomato balls), chickpea balls (basically falafels), and ones made with courgette and leek.


Another thing I get a lot in Turkey is okra, which is cooked in a tomato sauce with garlic, and believe it or not whole bunches of unripened grapes. Again its really nice, and I believe it is also served in Greece. So even if you just go for several meze type dishes, with bread, olive oil and fresh salad you will be full up.

and the salads are great - I know as a veggie it can be boring to be alwasy offered a salad, but these are not salads by Irish standards! lol they are so fresh and tasty - even their basic green salad of cucumber, tomato and lettuce with olive oil and lemon juice is just so much more fab when the ingredients have been ripened by the Meditteranean sun! And even just the roasted peppers and aubergines which they serve in olive oil are lovely with bread.

They (Greeks and Turkish) also serve in winter 'greens' which are basically any edible green leaved foods in the area! they are boiled, mixed with chopped herbs, and then olive oil and occasionally garlic.

Oh and then theres the stuffed courgette flowers - yummy. And they do this nice potato thing, baked in the oven in tomato and olive oil. I think they call then potates sta furno in Greece. It is usually an accompaniment to meat, but lovely on its own.

One last thing - just be careful if the sause is oil only, or has egg. there is a sauce they make in greece (begins with an 'a' - can't remember the exact name) that is olive oil and egg - similar to mayonnaise, but not creamy, so its not obvious that there is egg in it. So check that too.

So go look online, and have the names of some dishes to hand and I'm sure you'll be fine! If you know the names of a few safe things to ask for then you will be fine - and its nice as well to show the staff that you have an interest in Greek cuisine - always a benefit when you are asking them to make something not on the menu!

Enjoy your hol - so jealous! I so want to go back to Greece on holiday.

sweet-rasmus

wow! I want to eat greek food now after reading all them

MadgeBadge

I lived with Greeks for a while in Uni. They made me some delicious things including dolmades, tzatziki, hummous, a veggie variation on moussaka and many delicious salads. I'm really quite envious of you.

Oh and Greeks love it when you make an effort with the language and I found they are more than willing to (nay, delight in) teach you a few words.

Emerald Lass

I agree - all the things you mention are yummy, but alas, no good for OP as Sweet rasmus is vegan, so anything with cheese is out, as is Tzatziki as it is yougurt based. But for those of us who eat dairy, very yummy! You should try the Turkish version of Tzatziki - its called Cacik (pronounced Ja-jick). Its more liquid than the greek counterpart, but so refreshing and yummy.

Peanut

I had an excellent simple veg. dish in a restaurant in the tourist area below the Acropolis in Athens at "Byzantino" (more info here).
Anything with aubergine and olive oil should be worth a shot.

I went to some of the places listed on Happy Cow. This pic, I think, is from Panepistimiou, (well somewhere near Omonia anyway), it was pretty bad though, food was cold etc. -



(looks ok there, but wasn't really.. maybe it was just a bad day lol)


I also travelled a bit further out to Diavlos. You get off at the Syngrou metro station just past the Akropolis stop, then I think it's nearby on this Drakou st. off the main road. I think this is the pitta sandwich with seitan & yoghurt sauce, was pretty decent if I remember correctly! (this was about 2 years ago) -




Some other options - there's a fast food chain called "Goodys" which do a pretty decent Spaghetti Napolitana, you just might have to explain that you don't want cheese on top.

Pizza Hut might have a good salad bar and Starbucks have very tasty granny apple caramel slices, not so Greek, but if you're stuck.. Anyway it shouldn't be too difficult to find a decent Greek restaurant and get a veg dish there.

There are a good few health food shops and you can buy stuff like Alpro soya drinks in some of the supermarkets too.

Thessaloniki... hmmm don't think there are any specific veg. places, there is a "Goodys" and a few other places near the White tower, there's also a pretty big supermarket up from the intersection here (I think), and there's a shopping mall with a big Carrefour supermarket a few blocks past the train station and left here. Alcohol and spirits are extremely cheap if that's any interest, even imported ones.

Thessaloniki is a nice city, it hasn't got as much of the rough edge that you may see in Athens. The waterfront is very pleasant, especially when the sun's shining. There's also quite a few museums and cultural exhibits etc. to see.

sweet-rasmus

Thanks for all the advice you guys! Unfortunately I'm not going to Greece after all. Planning it all by intertail was very stressful and myself and my friend decided it was too much to undertake. Oh well!

I do hope to go to Greece one day though and at least I'm extrememly prepared at this point As will any other veggie/vegan who comes to this forum looking for information about this very topic!

Thanks again

If anything, reading this thread makes me hungry