Food retains a special place in the city of Thessaloniki, as it is renown for a wide variety of tastes in the dishes served here. The quality and the uniqueness are also standard in the recipes prepared in tavernas and restaurants in the city.
Prior to referring to the local cuisine and dishes, it would quite helpful to give general information on the tendency prevailing in the cooking of the city.
As there is a large number of refugees originating from the Minor Asia and Pontos, settled in the city, the local cuisine carries mostly characteristics of the Oriental cuisine. As result the dishes served are rich in oil, with a quite strong taste of spices that are mainly used in Oriental kitchen.
This cuisine pays great attention to the sequence of dishes and the taste followed by each one of them (Politiki Cuisine- Originated in Konstantinoupolis). This succession dictates a number of starters (binelikia), followed by the main course that should be quite filling.
There is also a variety of meat dishes, or meat prepared on the spit like steak (mprizola), lamb, kontosouvli and kokoretsi. The famous gyros, served in regular way, or in sandwiches, should not be missed out.
An outstanding characteristic of this cuisine is that it takes care to serve dishes with distinctive taste, avoiding the mixing of flavours.
A sweet treat in chocolate, or cream with dried fruits (walnuts, nuts, almonds) and syrup, completes any decent lunch or dinner.
Talking about syrup, it’s worth saying a few things about some very special sweets, namely siropiasta. These are small parts of pastry submerged in syrup, including walnuts, or pistachios. Do not miss the chance to try some of them, carrying quite strange names as, kourkoumpinia, rox, mpaklavadakia, kantaifakia.
Taking a short tour to the world of taste in the city, the very first in this line is the quite famous mpougatsa. It is as good in sweet flavour, as in salted and it comes with cream, minced meat, cheese and spinach. It serves well both the breakfast and lunch. The tradition says that it was originated in a neighbouring city, Serres, but mpougatsa became famous in the city of Thessaloniki. Special shops serve mpougatsa and a number of pies throughout the city.
Next, comes the super weapon of the city in the war of taste. Any drink, ouzo, tsipouro, wine or beer must always have as a companion a variety of starters.
Starters vary depending on the drink served. So, the starters for ouzo, or tsipouro are mainly fish dishes like, chtapodaki, gavros, sardine (sardela), marida, atherina, mussels, calamari and a variety of ointment-like salads, as tzatziki, eggplant salad (melitzanosalata), cheese with pepper (tyrokafteri), taramosalata.
There also dishes made of cheese (tyrokroketes, mpougiournti, saganaki)
In the case the beer, or the wine are chosen as a drink, the starters are dishes of meat, as fried meat balls (keftedakia), tigania, mpekri meze, kavourmas, sausage (loukaniko), or even a variety of salami or cheese.
The main course includes many different and tasty dishes as, kokkinisto, stuffed chicken, pork cooked with celery, veal, or lamb cooked in the oven, fried meat balls, pasticcio, stuffed wine leaves with minced meat, or rice (gialantzi), imam, papoutsakia in the oven (eggplants stauffed with minced meat or tomato).
The cataloque of dishes in the various menus seems to have no real end. In many cases the menu depends to a great degree on the weather, or the season. As an example consider a lunch in winter time that could include giouvarlakia (soup with meat balls), while during the summer season a strapatsada (egg omelette with tomato and cheese), is an ideal dish.
The main course may include a variety of grilled meat like, steaks (mprizola), hamburger (mpifteki regular or staffed with cheese), souvlaki, home made sausage (loukaniko).
Finally, dishes with meat cooked on the spit, like mprizola on the spit, lamb, lamb heads, kontosouvli, exochiko, kebab, are very popular among the local population.