Eat & Eat, You are in Greece 🍽️🇬🇷

In Greece, you eat and eat and eat and eat. 😂 Somehow, though, I never feel the same way I do after eating a huge meal at home. The food feels fresher, simpler and less complicated. There is so much grilled meat and fish, fresh vegetables, olive oil, lemon, herbs and ingredients that actually taste like what they're supposed to taste like. We can sit at a table for HOURS, try a million different things, and I don't walk away feeling like I need to be rolled back to the hotel. 😂

And here's something that surprises a lot of people: eating out in Greece can be incredibly reasonable, especially once you get away from the most touristy areas. Obviously, Santorini and Mykonos can be a completely different story, particularly in the popular tourist areas and restaurants with those incredible views. You are sometimes paying for that view!

But throughout much of Greece, we've had amazing meals for prices that would be almost impossible at home. You can sit down for a full three-course dinner, order multiple dishes for the table AND a bottle of wine, and sometimes still come in around €80 or less for two people. Of course, prices vary depending on where you are and what you order, especially with fresh fish, but overall I think the quality and value of eating in Greece is incredible.

And the FRESHNESS is such a huge part of it. The tomatoes taste like tomatoes, the lemons taste like lemons, the herbs smell amazing, and the olive oil isn't just something they cook with—it is part of the meal. On the islands, seafood can be incredibly fresh, and in smaller towns you'll find restaurants using local vegetables, meats, cheeses and whatever is available that day. Greek food doesn't always need a million ingredients because when the ingredients themselves are that good, you don't need to do much to them.

The best way to eat in Greece, especially with a group, is ORDER FOR THE TABLE AND SHARE EVERYTHING. This is not the time for everyone to order one entrée, guard their plate and eat only their own food. 😂 Get a horiatiki salad, tzatziki, feta, olives, bread, vegetables and a bunch of different dishes. Put everything in the middle of the table and let everyone try everything. If you love something, order another one! We always end up ordering way too much, but that's part of the fun.

TRY ALL THE GREEK FOOD. Don't go all the way to Greece and eat the same things you eat at home. Order moussaka, with those layers of eggplant, potato, seasoned meat and creamy béchamel that somehow make you want to take a nap immediately afterward. 😂 Try the stuffed grape leaves, or dolmades. Get the lemony avgolemono soup, especially when you see a homemade version on the menu. Order lamb chops, grilled chicken, gyros, souvlaki and slow-cooked or braised beef. Some of the best beef we've had has been the kind that has been cooking forever and practically falls apart when your fork touches it.

Try the local cheeses and olives, too. Feta is completely different when you're eating a beautiful big piece of it in Greece instead of sprinkling a little container of crumbles over something at home. You might get it baked, grilled, drizzled with honey, covered in sesame or simply served with olive oil and herbs. Order saganaki when you see it too, because fried Greek cheese at the table is never a bad decision. 😂

And then there is the fresh local fish and seafood. When you're sitting on a Greek island looking at the Aegean, this is the time to order whatever came out of that water. Ask what's fresh that day. Don't be afraid to ask to see the fish or ask the server what they recommend. One important thing to know, though, is that some restaurants price fresh fish by weight rather than giving you one flat price on the menu. ASK what the actual fish you're choosing is going to cost before agreeing to it. You don't want the bill to arrive and discover you accidentally ordered a €100 fish. 😂🐟 There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking the price first.

Try things even if they sound a little unusual. Our family even tried rooster in Greece, and they LOVED it. That's part of traveling. If a restaurant has a local specialty you've never had before, give it a chance. You may discover that your favorite meal of the entire trip is something you never would have ordered at home.

And here's another one of my biggest Greece food tips: ASK THE LOCALS. Almost everywhere we've traveled in Greece, the food has been good, which actually makes choosing a restaurant harder because there are SO MANY choices. Ask someone who lives there where they eat. Ask your hotel. Ask the person at the little shop you were just talking to. Ask your driver. Ask, “Where would YOU go for dinner?” Not necessarily, “What's the most famous restaurant?” I want to know where they would actually take their family. That usually helps narrow things down, and it can get you away from the restaurants designed entirely around tourists.

Also, DO NOT RUSH DINNER. Nobody needs your table back in 45 minutes. 😂 Sit down. Talk. Eat. Try the local wine. Order another plate. Then have another glass of wine. Let everyone pick at what's left on the table. Greek meals are social, and one of the things I love most is that dinner can actually BE the evening instead of something you hurry through before going to do something else.

You're in Greece.

SIT DOWN AND EAT. 🇬🇷❤️

And We HAVE to Talk About the Tomatoes 🍅😂

I don't know what Greece is doing differently, but Greek tomatoes are the best tomatoes in the world. You finally understand why tomatoes are FRUIT. 😂 They're sweet, juicy and so flavorful that the first time you eat a really good traditional Greek salad, or horiatiki, you suddenly understand why it doesn't need lettuce and a bottle of dressing dumped all over it.

Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion, olives, feta and olive oil. That's basically it, because when the ingredients taste that good, they don't need anyone messing with them.

And please don't expect the little container of crumbled feta you get at home. 😂 A proper horiatiki can arrive with a beautiful big piece of feta sitting right on top. Break it up, mix it around and let it get into all that tomato juice and olive oil. DO NOT LEAVE THE JUICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL. Take a piece of bread and soak up that mixture of tomato juice, olive oil, feta and herbs. That may actually be the best part.

And eat the olives! You're in one of the greatest olive-producing countries in the world. The olives and olive oil can taste completely different depending on where you are in Greece, so try them. We have family roots in the Peloponnese, where olives and olive oil are basically part of life, and once you've had really good Greek olive oil, you start understanding why they put it on EVERYTHING.

Fair warning, though: Greece may permanently ruin tomatoes for you. You'll come home, cut into a supermarket tomato, take one bite and think... Well...this is disappointing. 😂🍅

I will say this: you are going to have an amazing culinary experience in Greece. The food really is that good. Try everything, share everything, ask the locals where to eat, don't be afraid to order something you've never heard of, and leave plenty of time for dinner.

Some of our favorite memories in Greece have happened sitting around a table. 🇬🇷❤️