Food guide Greece
Greek Street Food: Gyros, Souvlaki, Koulouri and Loukoumades
Gyros, souvlaki, bakery pies, koulouri, loukoumades and iced coffee: what to order and how to make it at home.
Must try
Pita gyro
Breakfast
Spanakopita
Drink
Frappé
Recipes
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On this page: Gyros · Souvlaki · Bakery · Sweets · Coffee · Tips · Recipes · FAQ
Greek street food is gyros and souvlaki wrapped in pita, cheese and spinach pies from the bakery, sesame koulouri rings in the morning and honey-soaked loukoumades after dark, all washed down with an iced coffee. At Tone & Taste this is the food we ate between swims and sails: quick, cheap and better than it has any right to be.
This guide covers what to order, how to order it and the street food dishes you can cook at home. For the sit-down side of Greek food, start with our Greek Food Guide.
An ice-cold frappé on the beach, a late lunch of Greek salad with deep-red tomatoes, fresh feta and crunchy dakos, and after a few evening drinks, one cheeky gyros. That’s a Greek summer day for us.
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Gyros: The One Everyone Orders
Gyros means “turn”, after the vertical spit the meat roasts on. Thin layers of seasoned meat are stacked on the spit, cooked as it turns and shaved off to order. In Greece it is mostly pork, with chicken on almost every menu too.
Our best gyros: The Best, Gouvia
On Corfu, the best gyros of the whole trip came from a small place in Gouvia called The Best. It was also the cheapest. Pita, meat, tomato, onion, tzatziki and a handful of chips tucked inside.
If you are anchored in Gouvia Bay or staying near the marina, it is worth the walk.
How to order it
Pita gyro is the wrap: meat, tomato, onion, tzatziki and usually chips, rolled in a thick, soft pita.
Merida is a plate portion with pita, salad and chips on the side.
Me ola means “with everything”. Ask for horis (without) if you want to skip the onion or tzatziki.
Souvlaki and the Grill
Souvlaki is meat on a skewer, grilled over charcoal. It is the same shop as gyros: the menu board at a souvlaki place usually lists both. You eat it on the stick with bread and lemon, or slid off the skewer into a pita.
Souvlaki or kalamaki?
In Athens a skewer is often called kalamaki, and “souvlaki” can mean the whole pita wrap. Elsewhere, souvlaki usually means the skewer. If in doubt, point at the board.
Pork, chicken or kebab
Pork is the classic. Chicken souvlaki is everywhere, and many places also grill a minced-meat kebab. Our chicken souvlaki recipe uses thigh for the same juicy result at home.
What comes with it
Lemon wedges, bread or pita, often a small tomato and onion salad. Tzatziki is usually ordered on the side. Make it properly thick with our tzatziki recipe.
From the Bakery: Pies and Koulouri
The Greek bakery, the fournos, is a street food stop in its own right. Most Greeks grab breakfast from the counter on the way to work, and it is where you find the cheapest good food in any town.
Spanakopita and tiropita
Spinach and feta pie (spanakopita) and cheese pie (tiropita), sold by the slice or as triangles, wrapped in paper. Best warm, mid-morning, when the filo is still crisp. Our spanakopita recipe gives you a full tray.
Koulouri
A ring of bread rolled in sesame seeds, chewy inside and crisp outside. Sold from street carts and bakeries early in the morning, most famously in Thessaloniki. Cheap, filling and eaten walking.
Bougatsa
Filo pastry wrapped around a set semolina custard, cut into squares and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. There are cheese and mince versions too. It is strongly linked with Thessaloniki and northern Greece.
Something Sweet
Loukoumades
Small balls of yeast dough fried until crisp, then drenched in honey syrup and finished with cinnamon, walnuts or sesame. Some towns have shops that sell nothing else. Our loukoumades recipe is a simple batter you can fry at home.
Baklava in the bakery window
Not strictly street food, but most bakeries sell baklava by the piece. Walnut and honey is the classic Greek version. See our baklava recipe for the cold-syrup-on-hot-pastry rule that keeps it crisp.
Iced Coffee: Frappé and Freddo
Frappé at the beach
Frappé is instant coffee shaken with water and ice until thick and foamy, then topped up with cold water, sugar and milk to taste. It was invented in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair, and it became the drink of Greek summers.
This one was at a beach café near Kalamata.
How to order coffee in Greece
Sketos means no sugar, metrios medium and glykos sweet. Add me gala for milk.
These days many Greeks drink freddo espresso or freddo cappuccino instead: espresso shaken over ice, the cappuccino topped with cold milk foam.
Street Food Tips
Go where the locals queue
A busy souvlaki shop at 10pm is the best sign. Turnover keeps the meat fresh and the spit hot.
Eat late
Greeks eat dinner late, especially in summer. Souvlaki shops and loukoumades shops stay busy well after the tavernas close.
Bakery before noon
Pies are baked in the morning and the best ones sell out. By the afternoon the filo has softened.
Cook it at home
Cook Greek Street Food at Home
Every dish in this guide that we have a recipe for, tested in a home kitchen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular street food in Greece?
Gyros and souvlaki, usually eaten wrapped in pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki. Bakery pies like spanakopita and tiropita come a close second, especially for breakfast.
What is the difference between gyros and souvlaki?
Gyros is meat roasted on a vertical spit and shaved off in thin slices. Souvlaki is cubes of meat grilled on a skewer. Both are served in pita or on a plate, often at the same shop.
Is gyros in Greece pork or chicken?
Pork is the most common and the classic. Chicken gyros is on almost every menu as well. Lamb and beef gyros are much less common in Greece than abroad.
What do Greeks eat for breakfast on the go?
A slice of spanakopita or tiropita, a koulouri sesame ring or a square of bougatsa, with a frappé or freddo coffee.
Can I make Greek street food at home?
Yes. Our pork gyros recipe is roasted in the oven or air fryer, and our pita bread is cooked in a frying pan, so you do not need a spit or a grill.
Greek street food is the cheapest way to eat well in Greece, and most of it is easy to make at home. Start with gyros, pita and tzatziki, and build from there. For everything else on the Greek table, see our Greek Recipes collection.
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