What to eat in Thessaloniki
What Thessaloniki eats and what it costs — and why the story that it is cheaper than Athens no longer holds.
- Breakfast
- Bougatsa with custard or cheese
- Midday
- Souvlaki or gyros in pitta, €4.20–5.30
- Evening
- Mezedes for the table, with tsipouro
In Thessaloniki the morning is bougatsa, midday is souvlaki or gyros wrapped in pitta, and the evening is mezedes for the whole table with tsipouro. The pitta wrap costs more here than in Athens, and to finish there are trigona from Panorama, the suburb on the hill above the city.
Which and when
The commonest is filled with semolina custard and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon; the savoury one has cheese — feta or mizithra — and it also comes with spinach or minced meat. It bakes for half an hour, is cut into small pieces and served hot on a little plate, for breakfast or a snack before noon. Today's version comes from northern Greece, from Serres and Thessaloniki, though the dish itself goes back to the Greeks of Byzantine Cappadocia.
The pitta wrap and what it costs
A tylichto — souvlaki or gyros wrapped in pitta — costs €4.20–5.30 in Thessaloniki and €3.80–5 in Athens. The story that this is cheaper to eat in Thessaloniki than in Athens, still repeated, does not hold at either end of the range.
What else to order
- Trigona — filo folded into a triangle, filled with custard and dipped in syrup flavoured with vanilla, lemon and cloves. Their story goes back at least fifty years and starts in Panorama, where people from the city went for them on Sundays.
- Koulouri — the Thessaloniki sesame bread ring, from street carts.
- Mezedes — small plates ordered for the whole table rather than a dish each.
- Tsipouro — pomace spirit, with or without aniseed; drunk with mezedes.
Where
- Modiano — a covered market built in 1922–1925, after the fire, on the site of the Talmud Torah synagogue; restored and reopened on 5 December 2022. Inside are fishmongers, butchers, tavernas and bars.
- Kapani — a market in the lanes of the same quarter, around Aristotelous, with stalls and eating places between them.
- Ladadika and Valaoritou — for the evening: you dine in Ladadika and drink on Valaoritou.
- Panorama — the suburb on the hill above the city where trigona come from; patisseries in the centre sell them too.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What is bougatsa, and when is it eaten?
A filo pie with semolina custard, cheese, spinach or meat. It is eaten for breakfast or before noon, hot and cut into pieces.
Is food in Thessaloniki cheaper than in Athens?
Not for souvlaki in pitta: the price range in Thessaloniki is higher than in Athens at both the bottom and the top.
Where do you eat trigona?
In Panorama, the suburb above the city where they come from, or at patisseries in the centre.
Ready for Thessaloniki?
Where to next
The best time to visit Thessaloniki
→Thessaloniki sits on the sea, which keeps its winter milder than its latitude suggests — summer still tops…
Meteora · 151 km
→Monasteries built on rock pillars, as if floating
How well does Thessaloniki suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.