Last updated on .
Thessaloniki is the culinary capital of Greece, but where can you eat? There are plenty of options in the city center for every budget and taste. My favorite place to eat and be entertained is at Ladadika, which is covered in a separate post.
Tavernas
Lots of tavernas are hidden in some of the backstreets near the market areas of the city. I ate a couple delicious traditional meals sitting outdoors near the Bezesten. I also found a few around Athonos Square (Plateia Athonos) that I didn’t visit.
Nikis Avenue
A great thing to do is sit at one of the cafés or bars along Nikis Avenue (Leoforos Nikis) with a view of the sea. There are countless. Some are posh, some are casual, but all seem to be full of life at night and on weekends.
There are also a few restaurants serving good traditional Greek food along Leoforos Nikis. I ate twice on two separate trips at Balkonaki. I’ve had the soutzoukakia smyrneika (Smyrna meatballs) and horta (greens). Both meals were excellent.
Fast Food
If you want cheap fast food, you can’t go wrong with the souvlaki or pizza shops scattered throughout the city. You can get a souvlaki pita for €2 or a slice of pizza for €1. I usually stopped at the ones across from the Arch of Galerius on the pedestrian street Dim. Gounari.
Breakfast
For breakfast, you can find numerous little bakeries and cafes selling frappe, coffee, bougatsa (famous in Thessaloniki), tiropita, traditional Greek desserts, and other pastries. There are also a few located on Dim. Gounari that I would usually stop at.
