Slow-Roasted Greek Lamb Shoulder: The All-Day Method
The Greek all-day lamb shoulder — low heat, lemon, garlic, and patience. Here's why it works and how to get it right every time.
⏱ 7 min read
Essential Dishes
The dishes every curious cook should know — a starting point, not a complete list.
The Philosophy
Greek cooks know that olive oil is not a fat — it's a flavour. Everything is cooked in it, dressed with it, dipped into it. A dish's quality often comes down to the quality of the oil used, which is why Greeks are so particular about where their oil comes from.
Michelin Recognition
Where the guides point — and why these restaurants matter beyond the stars.
Funky Gourmet
⭐⭐ 2 stars
📍 Athens
Greek ingredients deconstructed and rebuilt — olive oil spheres, feta air, taramosalata reinvented. The most technically ambitious restaurant in Greece.
Nolan
⭐ 1 star
📍 Athens
Greek-Asian fusion that shouldn't work but absolutely does — the intersection of Greek produce and Japanese technique
Spondi
⭐⭐ 2 stars
📍 Athens
Classic French-influenced fine dining using the finest Greek ingredients — the wine list is one of the greatest collections of Greek wine assembled anywhere
Local Favorites
The places locals actually go — no guide required, just a willingness to queue.
Diporto
Taverna📍 Athens
No menu, no written prices, cash only — Barba Mitsos cooks what he feels like that day. Revithia (chickpea soup) on Fridays is the stuff of legend.
Klimataria
Taverna📍 Athens
Traditional Athenian taverna since 1927 — live rembetiko music on weekends, grilled meats, and barrel wine that's always exactly right
To Steki tou Ilia
Grill📍 Athens
The definitive Athenian lamb chop — paidakia grilled over charcoal, served with bread, chips, and nothing else. Two locations, equally excellent.
Chefs Worth Knowing
The people who shaped this cuisine — and continue to define it.
🫒
Lefteris Lazarou
Chef of Varoulko, pioneer of modern Greek seafood cuisine
The first Greek chef to earn a Michelin star. Transformed Piraeus port into a dining destination and proved Greek seafood could be haute cuisine.
Find recipes & articles →🫒
Diane Kochilas
Greek-American food writer and cooking teacher
Her books "The Glorious Foods of Greece" and "My Greek Table" are the most comprehensive treatments of Greek regional cuisine in English.
Find recipes & articles →🫒
Yiorgos Hatziparaskeva
Chef at Funky Gourmet, one of Greece's most creative cooks
Takes the ingredients of his grandmother's kitchen and subjects them to the full toolkit of modernist technique — the results are unmistakably Greek.
Find recipes & articles →From the Cuvvo Kitchen
Recipes and techniques inspired by Greek cooking.
Stifado: The Greek Stew That Smells Like Winter
Stifado is a slow-cooked Greek beef and shallot stew perfumed with cinnamon and cloves. Here's how to make it properly at home.
⏱ 7 min read
Taramasalata: The Greek Dip Worth Making From Scratch
Real taramasalata — made from fish roe, not pink food dye — is creamy, briny, and nothing like the jar. Here's how to make it properly.
⏱ 7 min read