Greece has given us a lot, the foundations of our civilization, that’s nothing, but like any good Mediterráneo country, its cuisine is the center of its culture. That’s why the flavors of most Greek restaurants in Madrid resonate with us, but we are not always fully familiar with them. Because, although they are among the most popular cuisines in the world, they have expanded much less than those of their neighboring country: Italy.
Eggplant, cheese, oregano and olives have a thousand combinations and the Greeks are experts at them.
1. Periplo
Periplo is something between a café and a tavern. It’s very small, so it’s not easy to find a table, but the lack of space – and the charm of its owners – create that cozy and friendly atmosphere. Here you can have orzo -a semolina pasta shaped like rice- with tomato and veal, and for dessert order a galaktoboureko (if you can pronounce it right): it is a dessert that in English could be defined as a milk or cream cake that is made in Greece, Turkey and Syria.
💶 Average price: 20-30 € per person.
📍 Calle de Modesto Lafuente, 4 (Chamberí)
2. Kritikos
Kirtikos is a Greek restaurant in Madrid that meets all the requirements of a good Mediterranean cuisine. Its menu combines vegetables, fish and meat, and while you choose you can let yourself be carried away by the music and order some of the classics of this gastronomy: to start a dolmadakia, vine leaves stuffed with rice, the following would be the mousaka, cheese and eggplant do not fail, and to finish a yogurt cake, that is to say a yiaurtopita.
A perfect balance, too, between light and hearty dishes.
📍 Calle San Gregorio, 11 (Chueca).
💸 Around €25 per person.
3. Aegean
The famous souvlakis are, together with gyros, the star dish of Greek street food, and they certainly are in Aegean. This Greek restaurant in Madrid has two locations (one in Malasaña and the other one in Lavapiés). They have pitas stuffed with meat skewers, Greek sausage, pumpkin meatballs, mushrooms and many more options at less than 6 euros, most of them. They also serve the most typical beers of the Hellenic country.
💶 Average price: 10€ per person.
📍 Calle Barco, 41 (Malasaña) and Calle San Carlos, 17 (Lavapiés)
4. Vira Vira. The Gyro’s
Vira Vira is the place to go when you want to try Greek street food, especially gyros. The appearance of this dish could be confused with that of a kebab, but unlike the kebab, the gyros is wrapped in pita bread and topped with cucumber and yogurt tzatziki sauce, which perfectly defines the most typical taste of Greek gastronomy.
💶 Average price: 12 € per person.
📍 Run. Alta de San Pablo, 1, (Malasaña)
5. Dionysus
For a Greek restaurant to be called Dionysos is like a Spanish restaurant to be called Casa Paco: it gives confidence, you are on the safe side. East of Chamberí does not belong to the chain of restaurants with this name that are spread throughout Madrid and Barcelona – in case Google has confused you, they have confirmed it to us.
Here you could try the slightly more sophisticated culinary side of traditional dishes: gemista – roasted tomatoes with peppers and rice -, exohiko, the typical meat dish, either lamb or chicken, and never missing the mousaka.
💶 Average price: 20 per person.
📍 Calle Eloy Gonzalo, 21 (Chamberí)
6. Milos
Milos is from the same owners as Kritikos, but they wanted to give this restaurant a different approach. This Greek restaurant specializes in charcoal cooking. That is to say, its star dishes go through the grill and it is one of the few in Madrid that includes this side of Greek gastronomy.
In Milos, they serve seven different grilled meat dishes and seven different grilled and baked seafood and fish dishes. They also serve Greek tapas, where they give a modern twist to the most well-known classics.
average price: between 25 and 30 € per person.
📍 Calle de Francisco Silvela, 30 (Guindalera).
7. Zorba
At Zorba as an appetizer they serve tirokafteri, a cream cheese accompanied by pita bread for dipping, which goes very well with wine or Greek beer. But if you get hungry and your body asks for more hearty dishes, you can start with the espanakopita, a puff pastry filled with spinach and feta cheese, and continue with their Greek meatballs, thesoutzoukakia, which are stuffed with veal with mint and tomato.
It is one of its star dishes and probably one of the best in Madrid, in its many variants.
average price: between 40 and 50 € per person.
📍 Calle del alcalde Sainz de Baranda, 18 (Ibiza)