Tavernas in the Thessaloniki centre

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Category: Eating

Created on Monday, 04 April 2011 15:00

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The taverna is essential to the greek way of life, especially during summer. Here we have a small list of places in the centre of Thessaloniki were you will find some of them clustered together.

Don’t forget to have a look at our articles “The greek taverna” and “Taverna food” in order to have an idea of what tavernas are and what to expect to eat there!

Athonos Sq.

Well, at Athonos Sq. it’s not about the food itself, but rather about the atmosphere. The tavernas are located in the marketplace area west of Athonos Square and are at your right as you walk Aristotelous St. uphill before you reach Egnatia St. It is usually a very loud, cheerful place full of young people and university students having a great time. Tavernas over here are not considered to be anything exceptional, but the place is highly recommended to anyone visiting Thessaloniki, although it is considered to be a tourist trap. There’s live bouzouki music in many tavernas on Friday and Saturday nights – avoid them if you don’t fancy. Lunchtime is much quieter, and extremely pleasant during summer. There’s not any particular taverna that we may recommend, as they are more-or-less all the same. We usually choose to go to Katsamakas for his fantastic pork kebab, at the fountain of Athonos Sq., but he’s not a typical taverna.

Bit Bazaar

This used to be the antiques’ market of Thessaloniki, and still is, to some extent. It’s a popular place with university students, which they prefer here to drink more and eat less. Do as the Romans do and order lots of mezedes (appetizers) with your cool beer or retsina. It’s not easy to find, as it is a walled marketplace tucked between Venizelou St. and Olympou St., but you will manage. The first taverna to open here was the homonymous Bit Bazaar (ΜΠΙΤ ΠΑΖΑΡ), which is nice and classy.

Navarinou Sq.

This square is next to the ruins of Galerius’ palace. It is full of student cafés and eateries, and because it’s a square with a very minimal traffic, it’s really pleasant and peaceful outside. There are a few tavernas on the square, of which none is bad. Dia chirós (Διά χειρός, “by the hand”) offers meats by the piece and it offers a supposedly more casual atmosphere. Liopesi (λιόπεσι) on the opposite side of the square is a more traditional taverna, which specializes in meatballs. Our (recent) favourite is the Bakalikon (Μπακάλικον), which is a taverna, but a bit upgraded.

You may find tavernas scattered all around the city, and if you have a friend that has a favourite place that can recommend, go for it! Generally, have a walk and don’t forget that if you see a taverna (or any place) full of people, they can’t be wrong!

Well, this is one single taverna that opened in 1993, which grew and grew and now occupies a whole alley by itself! It’s one of the classic places to take any visitor of this city, because it’s really cheerful, has a great service and it’s tucked in a very cool alley. You will find it at Venizelou St., opposite the Lambrakis statue (the head with the pigeon) at Ermou St.

The possible disadvantage is that it offers a menu that fuses classic taverna dishes with more modern ideas – yielding plates with rather mysterious names. Taste experts don’t really appreciate their kitchen, because it’s based in any possible combination of 10 basic ingredients – which is true, but it doesn’t really bother anyone.

Obviously, the service staff will guide you through and might make a good choice if you tell them “bring us whatever you think is best”. An additional advantage of this place (and a reason for their success) is their prices, which are kept low, below their fancy taverna status.

We visited this taverna at Navarinou Sq. by luck one Saturday afternoon and we were very pleasantly surprised! “Bakálikon” means “Grocery shop” and the place is decorated like an old grocery, with shelves with tin cans, pasta packs and mustard bottles. They have classic taverna dishes, a bit upgraded though. Great salads, hot flat homemade bread and nicely done meats. Practically, we only had an objection about the house wine, as the bottled variety was better. Service was excellent, prices were moderate and the flavours were better than expected!

Bakalikon, Navarinou Sq. 7, open noon till late. Tel. 2310227676.