Greece - Korina Miller [223]
Me…Nou ( 2310 886 444; Petrou Sindika 25; mains €3-6) This inexpensive spot near the Backpacker’s Refuge specialises in nourishing mayirefta (ready-cooked meals).
Ouzou Melathron ( 2310 275 016; Karypi 21; mezedhes from €4.50, mains €6-11) This side-street ouzerie (ouzo bar) near Plateia Aristotelou is a bit touristy but still popular with locals. Occupy yourself with ouzo and mezedhes (appetisers), then dig into heartier fare such as lamb in sweet wine sauce.
Panellinion ( 2310 567 220; Salaminos 1; mains €6-10) This friendly taverna has traditional Ladadika decor, with its wooden floors and walls lined with olive-oil bottles and tins of produce. Panellinion’s varied choices include a world of ouzos and cheeses to delicious seafood mezedhes; only organic vegetables are used.
Myrsini ( 2310 228 300; Tsopela 2; mains €7-10) The only sad thing about Myrsini is that it’s usually closed in July and August. Hearty portions of authentic and delicious Cretan dishes are served here, from rusks topped with tomato, Cretan olive oil and dakos (Cretan rusks) and flavourful wild horta (greens) to roast rabbit, pork and – crucially – myzithropitakia (flaky filo triangles with sweet sheep’s milk cheese). Decor is simple, with worn wood floors and traditional accoutrements enhanced by Greek music.
Dore Zythos ( 2310 279 010; Tsirogianni 7; mains €7-12) Grab a table outside when the weather’s warm and watch the White Tower across the way while savouring imaginative Mediterranean cuisine. Sister establishment Zythos ( 2310 540 284; Katouni 5; mains €8-12) in Ladadika has great architecture and equally fine food.
Kitchen Bar ( 2310 528 108; Warehouse B, Thessaloniki Port; mains €7-13) This perennial favourite offers both drinks and artfully prepared food, in a lofty, sumptuously decorated, renovated warehouse, with outdoors waterfront tables too. The salads and risotto are as bright as the flames in the open kitchen, where the chefs, like the style-conscious clientele, are always on display. However, if you wouldn’t usually expect an omelette inside your chicken tortilla, say so.
Parakath ( 2310 653 705; Konstandinoupoleos 114; mains €8-13; dinner) Thessaloniki’s only Pontian restaurant does rich, traditional pasta-based dishes with old Black Sea flair. Frenetic Pontian live-music performances occur on weekends (book ahead). It’s out of the centre, so take a taxi.
Molyvos ( 2310 555 952; cnr Ionos Dragoumi & Kapodistriou; mains €8-15) Molyvos’ refined setting elevates Greek cuisine to fine dining; nearby Molyvos Ethnik ( 2310 555 952; cnr Ionos Dragoumi and Papadopoulou; mains €6 to €10) is its freewheeling companion eatery, with high ceilings and polished mirrors, imaginative almost-fusion cuisine and Latin music.
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SWEET INDULGENCES
For a quick breakfast or sinful dessert, Thessaloniki’s zaharoplasteia (patisseries) are hard to beat. Although classics such as baklava or chocolate profiterole are available throughout Greece, Thessaloniki’s historic ties with the mores and populations of the Ottoman East have bequeathed it with an especially rich tradition of sweets – and a discerning local population to enjoy them. While tasty places are found everywhere, the following well-polished zaharoplasteia are particularly famous. Most prices are by the kilo (usually around €1 to €4 per piece).
Just above the Rotunda, the classic Kokkinos Fournos (Apostolou Pavlou 1, Rotunda) bakery does Thessaloniki’s best koulourakia vanilias – crunchy, slightly sweet golden cookies perfect for dipping in Greek coffee.
Since 1908, when Thessaloniki was still Ottoman, local legend Hatzis ( 2310 968 400; Egnatia 119) has been replicating the tastes of old Constantinople. After Hatzis, you’ll never ask for a simple ‘baklava’ again. The veritable symphony of sweets served here includes vezir parmak (politika syrup cake with cream filling), hanoum bourek (handmade pastry with raisins, peanuts and cream) and malempi mastiha (cream from milk and rice porridge, flavoured with mastiha, a sweet liquor from Chios, and