What to eat NorThern Islands Of The Aegean Sea? culinary specialties and gastronomy

The restaurateurs and owners of the taverns and ouzeries of the North Aegean must ensure the summer season to survive all year: they are therefore open every day from morning to evening, in continuous service, and the hours depend on the affluence. On average, the hours of service last fifteen hours, sometimes more. Some of the more upscale restaurants are only open in the evening for dinner. In the summer, waiters simply wait for the last customer to leave before closing, while in the off-season most establishments are simply closed.

Although restaurants(estiatório) are slightly more expensive than taverns or ouzeries, eating out is still very affordable in the North Aegean islands. Unless you go to a trendy or very chic restaurant - they are rather rare - you will have to count around 15-20 € per person for a complete meal with a carafe of local wine or raki/ouzo. Note, however, that fresh fish, sold by the kilo, is always expensive. To avoid unpleasant surprises at the time of the bill, go and choose your fish in the kitchen and ask for the price before ordering it, because the bill goes up quickly. Finally, it is quite common to order too much and ask for leftovers to take away. To pay, always bring cash as credit cards are not necessarily accepted everywhere, and leave a tip of about 10%.

Some taverns and restaurants charge an extra €1 for bread and cutlery, which is not always offered. Water in carafe is free, but on the islands, tap water is not necessarily drinkable, so you will often be served a bottle of mineral water.

The service can be very long: there's no need to get upset, but plan ahead and don't wait until you're starving to sit down, especially with children. Also note: dishes arrive as they are prepared, so don't expect to eat an appetizer first and then a main course. A small dessert or a glass of liquor is often offered at the end of the meal.

In Greece, you will never be pressured to leave the table or recommend that you do so once your meal is over. Unless you ask for the bill, they will let you enjoy your meal without necessarily clearing the table. However, you should be sensible: if you see people waiting when you have finished your meal for a while, leave your seat!

If you go to a restaurant with Greeks, pay the bill or have the meal offered to you, but avoid counting what everyone has eaten to pay only your share. This is not a common practice, if not downright rude. Also, if you are celebrating your birthday at a restaurant during your stay, it is your responsibility to invite, not the other way around.

In Greece, the attitude towards children in restaurants is radically different from ours: here, there is no separation of generations, no attempt to silence noisy children or to force them to remain seated. The children are invited to the adults' table and can go their own way, without trying to contain themselves and without the adults containing them. The result is a joyful - sometimes noisy! - hubbub. And in the evening, when dinner drags on, they can play in the streets until well after midnight, while the parents quietly finish their ouzo.

The law against smoking in public spaces has been in place since 2008, but had never been enforced in restaurants and cafes until 2019. It was the government of K. Mitsotakis that ensured that the law was enforced, shortly after his election. Today, smoking is effectively banned inside taverns, restaurants and other cafes. Smokers will be limited to the terraces.

This is not a tourist trap as such, it is rather an ignorance of the tourists that sometimes causes bad surprises and the feeling of having been ripped off: as we said above, fresh fish is (very) expensive and it is therefore necessary to choose the animal and validate the price before ordering.

Ask if it is really sea-caught fish or farmed fish, as there are fish farms on the islands. As for the "fresh" octopus that dries in front of the shops and taverns, it was probably caught a few months ago and then frozen because the fishermen cannot keep up with the demand in summer and the best season is around October. It is nevertheless delicious and fished locally.

The owners and managers of bars and cafes in the North Aegean have to ensure the summer season to survive all year round: they are therefore open every day from morning to night and the hours depend on the number of people. Some night bars only open from 6pm-7pm and stay open until the early morning. Some traditional kafeneia open early in the morning and again around 6pm but close a few hours after lunch. But most of the time, these places are open continuously: in summer, the waiters just wait for the last customer to leave before closing. In the off-season, however, the majority of establishments are closed.

Drinking coffee is an institution in Greece: you can stay for hours with a freddo or a frappé for a few euros, without having to reorder.

There is no legal age to consume alcohol in private in Greece. To drink and consume alcohol in a café or public place you have to be 18 years old, but this law is not very well enforced and no one will ask for an ID card from a young person who orders a glass of alcohol.

The traditional café, the kafeneio, is often the heart of local life in the islands. More exactly, it is often the heart of public life and therefore of men's life... Indeed, women still live largely within the home while men meet at the café to twiddle their thumbs and remake the world, well encamped in their armchairs... The kafeneio opens early in the morning, one comes to have his first coffee to see the village which wakes up slowly. Sometimes it stays open for lunch, but usually it closes between noon and 5pm, for the siesta. It reopens at 6pm for a last coffee or a game of tavli at the end of the day. Later, it turns into an ouzeri, where people drink ouzo, beer and raki while sharing small dishes, mezzes, with the background of rebetiko, the popular Greek music par excellence.

Children are accepted absolutely everywhere, accompanied by their parents.

The law against smoking in public spaces has been in place since 2008, but had never been enforced in restaurants and cafes until 2019. It was the government of K. Mitsotakis that ensured that the law was enforced, shortly after his election. Today, smoking is effectively prohibited inside cafes, bars and ouzeries. Smokers will be limited to the terraces.