Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia Restaurants

Traditional Thracian and Macedonian cooks adapt to the seasons: in winter, rich game such as boar and venison is served; in summer, there are mussels and other seafood from the Aegean, as well as fruits and vegetables from the fertile plains. The relatively cooler climate here is reflected in rich chicken soups, roast chicken, stuffed vegetables, and stewed lamb and pork.

Small plates (mezedes) are a fundamental part of the Thessaloniki dining experience. Specialties include medhia (mussels), which come from farms outside the bay and are served in styles that include saganaki (sauted in a pan with tomatoes, peppers, and feta) and achnista (steamed in broth with herbs). Also look for soutzoukakia (Anatolian-style meatballs in tomato sauce, seasoned with cumin). Peinerli (an open-faced boat of bread filled with cheese and ham) is a Black Sea specialty brought here by the Pontii, Greeks who emigrated from that area.

Meals are complemented by generous amounts of wine, ouzo, and tsipouro, the local version of grappa. Try the excellent barrel or bottled local wines, especially reds under labels such as Naoussa or Porto Carras or a little bottle of Malamatina retsina, considered the best bottled version in Greece. Throughout the city, little shops and cellars specialize in a Macedonian treat called a submarine (or ipovrihio), a spoonful of sweets such as visino (black) cherries in syrup, dipped in a glass of ice water. As for dinnertime, you can arrive around 8, earlier than most Greeks like to eat dinner (many places do not open before then)—but it's much more fun to come at 9 or 10 and mix with the locals.

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  • 1. 7 Thalasses

    $$ | Kentro

    One of the better and most creative seafood restaurants in Thessaloniki offers a menu that maintains the delicate flavors of its ingredients but also manages to add a modern twist. For instance, the marinated sea bass tartare, seasoned with fleur de sel, lemon, and olive oil, is then covered with a sprinkling of roe, bringing to mind a wave gently breaking against your tongue. The only thing better than the delightfully light scallops in saffron sauce with caviar and mushrooms may be the restaurant's signature dish, mithopilafo (mussels with rice), an old favorite. As for the desserts, try its take on halva, with loukoumi (Turkish delight) ice cream, toasted pine nuts, and marinated raisins or the sumptious toasted almond millefeuille. It's a perfect way to end one of the memorable meals here. The attractive dining room is breezily decorated in light blue and gray hues, with exposed chrome accents and cream-color wood tables and chairs.

    Kalapothaki 8–10, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54624, Greece
    2310-233173

    Known For

    • Elevated dining in a modern setting
    • Supremely fresh seafood
    • Good desserts

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential
  • 2. Ap’Allou

    $

    With mouthwatering dishes inspired by Asia Minor and Greece, and ingredients from both the land (seasonal vegetables and quality meats) and the sea (fresh shellfish and seafood), this place is a satisfaction-guaranteed stop for lunch or dinner. The menu changes with the season, but luscious desserts, such as the delicious profiteroles and homemade ice cream are a must-try year-round. Whether you visit during the hot months, when white tables with colorful mats are laid out along the pedestrianized Old Town street, or during winter, when tsipouro-sipping locals huddle over loaded platters, Ap’Allou can best be described as cozy, jovial, and a joy (with a gourmet twist) for the tastebuds.

    Patriarchi Ioakim 5, Vergina, Central Macedonia, 59132, Greece
    23310-20199

    Known For

    • Good prices for high-quality food
    • Friendly service and familial ambience
    • Excellent selection of regional wines
  • 3. Duck Private Cheffing

    $$$ | Aerodromio

    A gourmet dining experience based on fresh, seasonal ingredients with an ever-changing menu, Duck offers the opportunity to sample an array of local seafood prepared in contemporary ways. You might be served fish carpaccio or shrimp kritharoto (barley pasta cooked risotto-style); as it should be, the duck with a fig sauce and carrot puree is exceptional. Desserts are indulgent and inspired, including the chocolate biscuit log, chocolate ganache, or strawberry mille feuille. In summer dine in the decked garden and in winter inside where the decor is reminiscent of a French country house. This place offers an intimate dining experience, with only 40 guests per night. Reservations are required.

    Chalkis 3, Patriarchika Pileas, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 57001, Greece
    2315-519333

    Known For

    • Fresh, seasonal ingredients
    • A wine list with more than 50 labels
    • Reservations-only dining

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
  • 4. Gastrodromio En Olympo

    $$

    Self-taught and ever evolving chef Andreas Gavris creates seasonal delights fit for the gods in his justifiably popular restaurant. Standouts include the melon soup with prawns and mint; bourani, a rich rice dish with nettles, wild mushrooms, and a Gruyère-like cheese from Crete; and black pig of Olympus stew and mountain lamb, cooked with mushroom and wheat puree. People travel from far and wide to enjoy Andreas' creations, which help make the superb location become even more enticing. The wine list has more than 500 labels on offer.

    Agios Nikolaou 36, Litochoro, Central Macedonia, 60200, Greece
    23520-21300

    Known For

    • Tastefully elevated Greek cuisine
    • Professional and friendly service
    • An extensive wine list
  • 5. Mourga

    $ | Kentro

    A successful cooperative venture that has been delighting locals with their delicious seafood and veggie innovations for a few years now. Apart from the regular table seating there is a stainless steel bar in front of the open kitchen where you can watch the chefs strut their stuff up close as you chow down. Every tantalizing dish is well thought out and is interestingly presented. Why not start with the cheeses, served with pickled fern and nettle, a myrtle jam and a sprinkling haroupi crumbs? Moving on, the black bean cassoulet with smoked swordfish and cod roe or the pan-fried crayfish finished with a garlic goat butter are outstanding. The house wine is fine but the drink of choice is raki.

    Christopoulou 12, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54635, Greece
    2310-268826

    Known For

    • Excellent seafood
    • Good value
    • Great atmosphere
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  • 6. O Kritikos

    $$

    Want sublime seafood pasta or risotto? Head to a place like this one, where the owner is a local fisherman and everything served is the catch of the day. Here the family cooks traditional village recipes and Macedonian specialties, such as melitzana horiatiki (an eggplant, tomato, feta, garlic, and olive oil salad). The kolokithokeftedes (zucchini-and-potato croquettes) are enormous. The owner's efforts have received gourmet awards for dishes like his lively tuna carppaccio, yet the place remains unpretentious and reasonably well priced for a seafood restaurant. They even produce their own wine and tsipouro. Don't confuse this modern, cream-hued restaurant with the snack bar with the same name up the road.

    Main road, away from the tower, Ouranoupolis, Central Macedonia, 63075, Greece
    23770-71222

    Known For

    • Fresh fish and seafood
    • Excellent service
    • It's busy (reservations strongly recommended)

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 7. Art de Cuisine Brasserie

    $$

    An alternative to the classic Greek taverna can be found at this boutique-style restaurant. Owner and chef Dimitri Doxakis harnesses his experience working in kitchens in England, France, and Switzerland to create a fusion of French, Italian, and Greek cuisine, with dishes like chicken leg crusted in Parmesan, beetroot risotto, and a signature salad with green apples, avocado, and a lemon-honey vinaigrette. For dessert, few can resist the chocolate croquettes and mandarin slices in a vanilla cream sauce. The seating area is a modern cubist design highlighted with purple and green wall lights.

    El. Venizelou 29, Kavala, East Macedonia and Thrace, 65302, Greece
    2510-837048

    Known For

    • Elevated and innovative Mediterranean cuisine
    • Stylish presentations
    • Central location

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun., No credit cards
  • 8. Bakaliarakia Tou Aristou

    $ | Ladadika

    Serving Thessaloniki's most well known fish-and-chips since 1940, this is a classic hangout where you can get your fingers greasy as you dig into crispy fried cod and fresh-cut fries. Your fish-and-chips are always accompanied by pungent skordalia garlic dip and casually served on grease-proof paper. Drink it down with a glass of tsipouro on ice, and if you are still hungry, try the stuffed eggplant or shrimp and feta saganaki as well.

    Katouni 3 and Fasianou 2, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54625, Greece
    2310-548668

    Known For

    • Locally sourced fish
    • Historical atmosphere
    • Casual and affordable food
  • 9. Dionysos

    $

    Excellent food and true Greek filoxenia (hospitality) await at the combination tourist shop, café, and three-meal-a-day restaurant. Recommended are the loukanika (sausages); rolled, spiced, and spit-roasted meat; and the excellent yemista (stuffed tomatoes and peppers) and papoutsakia (eggplant halves baked with cheese, spiced ground beef, and garlicy tomato sauce). If you want to try the specialty of the area, katsikaki sti souvla (roasted goat on a spit), order at least a day ahead. The krasi hima (house barrel wine) is locally produced, and the owners also serve homemade tsipouro (the Greek version of grappa) in a small carafe served with snacks.

    Village center, Dion, Central Macedonia, 60100, Greece
    23510-53730

    Known For

    • Quick, ready-made food
    • Grilled meats
    • Hima krasi (homemade wine) and tsipouro (Greek grappa)

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No credit cards
  • 10. O Loutros

    $ | Kentro

    Diners at this side-street Thessaloniki institution rub shoulders with lawyers, students, out-of-towners, and workers from the Bezesteni market. Complete with an outside terrace, this family-run taverna sits opposite an old Turkish bath (loutra means "baths"). Try grilled koutsomoura (baby red mullets), grilled eggplant, mussels in rice pilaf, or smelt or shrimp sautéed in a casserole with cheese and peppers (saganaki). Do sample the owner's own retsina from the barrel and check if they have the exquisite kazan dipi, a marvelous flan with a slightly burned top, sweetened with a hint of rose water. For extra atmosphere, there's the bouzouki music every Friday and Saturday night.

    M. Kountoura 5, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54624, Greece
    2310-228895

    Known For

    • Fresh fish and other seafood
    • No frills
    • Traditional taverna

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 11. Omikron

    $ | Ladadika

    This lovely, unpretentious little restaurant in the trendy Ladadika district has become a local favorite. Delightful Greek-Mediterranean dishes are tastefully presented to reflect the chef-owner's culinary stint in France. As one would expect, the menu, written in chalk on a blackboard at the front of house, varies according to what's been netted at the local food market. The grilled fish is succulent and well-seasoned, showing a delicate touch, and the seafood risotto with a tomato pesto is a staple that keeps people coming back again and again. The great prices ensure Omikron always stays busy.

    Oplopoiou 3, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece
    2310-532774

    Known For

    • Popular locally
    • Good prices for well-prepared dishes
    • Seafood risotto

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
  • 12. Ouzeri Agora

    $ | Kentro

    Low-key and extremely popular, this ouzeri in the art-grungy Bezesteni neighborhood has good food, great service, and a friendly atmosphere typified by Thessalonians relaxing over lunch or dinner. The fish soup is highly recommended, as is the braised monkfish and any of the hearty salads. Wash it all down with the distilled spirit made from grapes called tsipouro, and top it off with the dessert or fruit that is offered on the house.

    Kapodistriou 5, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54625, Greece
    2310-532428

    Known For

    • Cheap food
    • Cheerful atmosphere
    • Traditional ouzeri

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed 2 wks mid-Aug., Credit cards accepted
  • 13. Ouzeri Melathron

    $ | Kentro

    "Ouzo's Mansion," established as Greece's first ouzeri franchise in 1993, attracts a mainly young crowd. The chefs here are trained in a style that is essentially Mediterranean and focused on meat, with some French and Turkish influences. Pick from irreverently named items, such as "transsexual lamb" (it's chicken) or "Maria's breasts" (cones of fried phyllo filled with ground meat) on the exhaustive but inventively twisted menu. Don't forget to order from the eclectic choices of ouzo.

    Karipi 21, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54624, Greece
    2310-275016

    Known For

    • Irreverently named dishes
    • Popular and buzzy
    • Friendly service

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 14. Panos - Zafira

    $$

    Being one of the older restaurants in Kavala means that this establishment nets the freshest fish in town, so it comes as no suprise that most diners come for the ultra fresh seafood. Apart from the catch of the day why not try the seafood dishes like shrimp saganaki, lakerda (pickled fish), and sun-dried octopus grilled on charcoal. The seats out front are by far the most popular, with views of the water just across the street. Nevertheless, the authentic experience sometimes means achingly slow service, which frustrates many foreign tourists.

    Dimitriou 20, Kavala, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece
    2510-227978

    Known For

    • Good locally sourced seafood
    • Sea views
    • Perfectly cooked fresh fish
  • 15. Philippion

    $

    Choose from traditional foods such as moussaka or try the highly recommended fresh local pasta. The regional vegetables are especially delicious, and fresh frozen yogurt is made with local fruits. Self-serve cafeteria-style lunch is available, but this is also a taverna-restaurant. Reservations are not necessary, but be warned: tour buses do stop here.

    Vergina, Central Macedonia, 59031, Greece
    23310-92892

    Known For

    • Quick bites before or after visit to Royal Tombs
    • Self-service
    • Decent Greek fare

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 16. Ta Nissia

    $$ | Kentro

    The food may be costly, because as the name (which means "the islands") hints, fish is king here. However, when you discover the quality, Ta Nissia doesn't seem overpriced thanks to the freshness of ingredients and artful preparations by owner-chef Yiannis Alexiou. You're in the city here, but the lightness and decor of this place may make you feel as if you've been transported to some Cycladic island. Dishes can be exquisite: taste sensations include squid stuffed with cheese and herbs, veal with smoked eggplant puree, and artichokes in saffron sauce. On the extensive wine list, check out the very pleasing house rosé

    Proxenou Koromila 13, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54622, Greece
    2310-224477

    Known For

    • Offering three decades of fine dining
    • Fish and meat with Mediterranean flavors
    • Good wine list

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner Sun. Closed Jul. and Aug., Credit cards accepted, Reservations essential
  • 17. Thess Bao

    $ | Ladadika

    Award-winning chefs Dimitri Pamboris' and Yiannis Ziagas' new project is this street-food eatery centering around their hand-made bao buns. Pork belly, beef, and chicken fillings doused with secret sauces will tickle even the most discerning tastebuds. Thre are some good choices for vegeratians and vegans, too.

    Kalapothaki 3, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54645, Greece
    2310-235225

    Known For

    • Latest project from award-winning chefs
    • Delicious bao buns
    • Vegan options
  • 18. To Full Tou Meze

    $ | Ladadika

    Ordering your meal at this establishment in the heart of the bustling Ladadika district is quite an experience. The waiters bring their own eccentric individuality to this often mundane ritual, and the menu is printed on a "newspaper" with photos from old Greek films and articles heralding the dishes you're about to munch on. The taverna itself is done up as a deli (as a matter of fact you can buy Greek charcuterie and cheeses), which gives a rough idea of the fare served. There is a wide array of cheeses, smoked meats, and fish (served either straight up or cooked in spicy sauces). It's food that goes great with a beer or an ice-filled glass of ouzo on a hot summer evening.

    Katouni 3, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece
    2310-524700

    Known For

    • Eccentric (but somewhat erratic) waiters
    • Tasty traditional Greek mezedes
    • Deli-style decor

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations not accepted
  • 19. To Meteoro Vima Tis Garidas

    $ | Kentro

    This casual, friendly place in the midst of busy Modiano Market is known for great garides (prawns), served in many different ways, and its humor: the name translates as "the meteoric step of the prawn." The locals also come time and again for the tamaras (white cod roe), butter beans with chestnut, and homemade dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves). Order your ouzo and a selection of mezedes, and take in the bustle of market life.

    Irakliou 31, Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, 54624, Greece
    2310-279867

    Known For

    • Fresh seafood straight from the market
    • Charming old-school taverna atmosphere
    • Mezedes menu

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed mid-July–mid-Aug; dinner only on Thurs., Fri., and Sat., No credit cards
  • 20. To Pazari

    $

    This homey restaurant is known for its outstanding seafood—it's always fresh, artfully prepared, and surprisingly cheap. The grilled meats are good, too, as are the fresh bread and the dips—especially the kopanisti (the punchy spiced cheese dip) and the melitzanosalata (lovingly made from roasted eggplant and garlic). The fish soup in winter is also a specialty. Follow the signs 100 yards up from the main square and to the left around the corner.

    Martiou 25, Litochoro, Central Macedonia, 60200, Greece
    23520-82540

    Known For

    • Old-style taverna
    • Traditional Greek fare
    • No-frills but well-prepared food

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted

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