We didn’t get to go on many food tours in the past, but after our recent one in Athens – we might go on many more in the future. We booked our tour through Alternative Athens. I’ve seen several companies offering food tours, but the length (4 hours) and number of culinary stops (8 stops) seemed an extremely worthwhile deal considering this tour’s price.
The choice turned out to be an excellent one – Our guide Andreas was charming and knowledgeable; his English was very clear and his stories were a joy to listen to. We finished the tour full and very satisfied. I think any foodie who likes to try new dishes, learning about the city and its cuisine all the while, will really enjoy this one as we did.
The food tour
We were a small group of five, along with our lovely guide Andreas. We met in the morning hours at a central location and our first stop was a local café for some traditional coffee. This was already a good start, as I didn’t have the time to get coffee beforehand. To be honest, we didn’t have breakfast either since we wanted to save room for the tour – and a lucky thing we did, as the tour definitely offers an impressive amount of food.
The tour included many food stops, but a lot of walking as well – we got to see all of Athens’ central areas. Additionally, the guide had many riveting stories to tell us about the city. We got to learn of the Greek culture and of Athens in particular through the local cuisine.
I don’t want to go into specifics when it comes to each dish we had, so as not to spoil the surprise for you – But I will mention some things and show a few pictures so you can get a feel for the culinary experience. We got to try a plethora of local foods and Greek-made products. The food was of really high-quality. And although at one point I was already tipsy and stuffed (Yes, wine was included in the tour), I couldn’t help but try every dish.
I liked that we were a small group and got to converse during the tastings. We had a couple from England with us and a guy from Sweden, who turned out to be a photographer who’s been travelling the world for the past 19 months and is planning to travel the whole globe in about 4 years. How crazy is that? Tours are a great way to meet new people from all over.
If you have an allergy or food intolerance you’re welcomed to let the organizers know ahead of time, and it will be taken into account during the tour. I recommend wearing comfortable shoes for this tour, as you do quite a bit of walking – and of course come on an empty stomach since the amount of food is staggering 🙂
The Greek food is delicious and the tour was very diverse. I felt that meticulous thought was put into the choice of dishes and the tour’s fun route. We usually take a walking tour at each new destination, but the food tour encompassed a lot of historic information about the city and took us through it’s important locations
We finished the tour satiated and extremely pleased. I think that if you’re a foodie who likes trying new things and learning about the city and the cuisine all the while, you’ll have a great time as well.
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