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Greek food is not for the gourmet, rather it is plain wholesome cooking that goes with the climate and the Greek idea that a meal is as much a social occasion as a culinary experience, but it’s really enjoyable. You will like the unadulterated flavors of charcoal grilled fish with a squeeze of lemon over it, or a salata horiatiki, the ubiquitous mixed salad swimming in olive oil and peppered with feta and black olives – the simplicity of the combination of ingredients brings out the best of them.
The principal meal in Greece is the midday meal and most oven-cooked dishes are prepared in the morning for this meal. In the evening these dishes will simply be partially re-heated and served up as an over-cooked luke-warm mess.
Restaurants in Greece are categorized as either an Estiatirio (a restaurant), a Taverna (a simple tavern), or a Psistaria (a restaurant specializing in fresh prepared food, mostly grilled meat).
A typical Greek meal will be a starter and main course with other side dishes ordered at random. Dessert is not normally served in a Taverna you may get fresh fruit or yoghurt.
When ordering don’t order everything at the same time as it will arrive at once or sometimes you will get the main course first and the starter second. Often the food will be warm, it having been set aside to cool as Greeks believe hot food is bad for you, a belief that has some backing from the medical community.
Below there is a list of the common dishes you will come across though obviously they vary in finesse and taste from tavern to tavern according to the skills of the cook.

Soups, salads and starters:

Avgolomeno – Egg and lemon soup, often with a chicken and rice broth
Fakes – Lentil soup
Fasolada – Bean soup
Hortosoupa – Vegetable soup
Psarossoupa – Fish soup
Tzatziki – Yoghurt and chopped cucumber with garlic dip
Taramasalata – Fish roe dip
Melizanasalata – Aubergine dip
Patatasalata – Potato salad
Skordhalia – Potato and garlic dip, sometimes accompanies other dishes as a piquant sause
Salata horiatiki – Mixed salad, usually tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, green pepper, black olives and feta
Domatasalata – Tomato salad
Salata marouli – Green salad, usually lettuce
Horta – Spring greens, often including rocket and spinach
Rizospanaki – Rice mixed with spinach
Piperies psites – Baked peppers
Melitzanes tiganites – Fried aubergines, delicious if freshly fried
Kolokithakia tiganites – Fried courgettes
Fasolia yigandes plaki – Giant or butter beans in a tomato sauce
Tiropita – Cheese wrapped in filo pastry, mini-versions of the large snack tiropitas

Main courses:

Brizola khirino – Pork chop, normally charcoal grilled
Brizola mouskhari – Beef chop, normally charcoal grilled
Paidhakia – Lamb chop, normally charcoal grilled
Souvlaki – Kebab, usually lamb or beef
Keftedhes – Meatballs in a sauce, usually tomato but may be an egg and lemon sauce
Bifteki – A burger, but usually homemade
Kotopoulo – Chicken, may be oven roasted, or spit-roasted
Kokoretsi – An offal (liver, kidneys, heart, tripe) kebab charcoal grilled. Can be excellent
Moussaka – Aubergine and mince with a bechamel sauce not unlike a Greek version of shepherds pie
Stifadho – A meat (usually lamb) and tomato stew
Pastitsio – Pasta with a mince and cheese sauce, baked in the oven
Makaronia – Spaghetti, may be with a meat or tomato sauce
Domates yemistes – Stuffed tomatoes
Piperies yemiste – Stuffed peppers
Kolokithia yemoste – Stuffed courgettes
Melizanes imam bayaldi – Aubergines baked with tomatoes – a dish left over from the Turkish occupation that literally means: “The imam fainted”

Fish and seafood:

Ohtapodhi – Octopus, may be charcoal grilled or cooked in a wine or ink sauce
Kalamaria – Squid, normally coated in a light batter and deep fried
Soupia – Cuttle-fish, normally deep fried
Psaria – Fish, normally fried or grilled
Barbouni – Red mullet
Fangri – Bream
Sfiritha – Grouper
Tonnos – Tuna
Xsifia – Swordfish
Marithes – White bait normally deep fried, you eat them head and all
Garidhes – Prawns, normally fried or grilled
Astakos – Crayfish

Dessert:

Normally desserts and sticky sweets are found in a Zakharoplasteia (patisserie) and in some of the up-market cafes.

Baklava – Honey and nut mixture in filo pastry
Kataifi – Honey and nut mixture in a sort of shredded wheat
Rizogalo – Rice pudding
Galaktobouriko – Custard pie
Loukoumadhes – Small doughnuts in honey

Pagota – Ice cream