Dining in Athens (Part II): Ice Cream, Sorbet, Gelato and Gyros

The warm weather that we so enjoyed in Athens was also the cause of curbed appetites due to the liters of water we gulped down while walking on the warm streets. Having climbed up the Acropolis and after having explored the Plaka in one afternoon, we weren’t up for any big dinner plans. We opted to take this opportunity to have our very first taste of gyros, these are pita breads filled with roasted meat, onions, tomatoes and tatziki sauce. Honey opted for the chicken gyros while I sampled the pork version. I found the pork version much better than the chicken one. These snacks are really good, not to mention very filling and gives good value for money.


After the very light dinner, the warm weather and the display of ice-cream in each of the scoopery we passed by were calling on to me. We decided to have our dessert on one of the ice-cream shops. Now this is where we haven fallen into the deep pit of tourist traps. The prices for the ice-cream were displayed on the scooping station, so we decided to order two scoops for each of us, according to the price matrix, two scoops costs €3.50. Honey ordered an additional glass of iced-tea and I ordered a bottle of coke light. The waitress gave us the bill even before the ice cream arrived and my eyes popped out, the total charge amounted to €18.50. Being the accountant that I am, I rechecked the bill and belatedly I realized that the soda and iced tea were a complete rip-off, totally overpriced. We were charged €5.50 for a bottle of cola light that costs €1.30 in a stall a couple of meters away from this ice-cream parlor and €6.00 for the glass of very bland iced tea. When I looked around, I noticed that none, as in none, of the diners ordered any drinks aside from the complimentary water. This definitely has nothing to do with money but more of the fact that I never liked the feeling of being ripped-off, it lingered with me while I was trying to enjoy the ice-cream. Oh well, charge to experience.



The following day for our snack, we decided to try gyros from another restaurant. Having armed with the ice-cream experience from the previous night, we knew better, we browsed through the dine-in menu and saw that they charge €8.50 for a gyro but when we looked at the vertical rotisserie where the meat was being grilled, there was a sign saying “Gyros for take out: €2.30”. Huh, what on earth was that? So a tip to all of you who are planning to visit Greece soon, try the gyros from the quaint shops (more like hole on a wall type of establishments), they will charge you far less than what a fancy restaurant would charge and they’re by far better.

True to our mission of finding the best Saganaki, for lunch, we decided to dine in another taverna in the Plaka, and ordered the fried cheese dish but to our surprise, there Saganaki was different, instead of fried cheese that we have been accustomed to, we were served with a tomato salad with chunks of white cheese of sorts. It was good but we craved for “real” Saganaki. And the entire meal was nothing to be raved about.


The most interesting meal that we had in the Plaka would have to be our last dinner. Honey chose this quaint traditional Greek restaurant, initially, I wasn’t too thrilled with dinner because in our entire stay and apart from the Saganaki, we didn’t make any food discoveries on this trip. But as the dishes were being served to us, three ladies stood at the center of the dining area and started to dance a traditional Greek dance. It was really entertaining. Apart from the unexpected entertainment, we have found in this taverna, the best Saganaki that we’ve tasted during our entire stay here in Athens.



Later on, as we waved goodbye to our server in this quaint restaurant, that Greek food is truly very simple but what makes Greek dining an unforgettable experience is the ambiance, the view and the conversation.