food-tours-nd
Athens Food Tour
Keramikos Calling: Market Day in the Backstreets
Tuesdays
Quick bite: On this walk through Keramikos, on the day of the vibrant weekly street market, we’ll get a taste of the creativity and tradition that reside here, visiting neighborhood institutions, both old and new. From Cretan homecooking to classic Northern-style pastry, spankingly fresh seafood to souvlaki al fresco, it’s a miracle that Keramikos remains a neighborhood under the radar.
Located just a ten-minute walk from Athens’ buzzing historic center, the laid back Keramikos neighborhood seems to live in a magical world of its own. It’s a place where old and new, Greece’s storied past and often turbulent present, tradition and forward-looking creativity, all coexist happily together. There are few other places like it in the Greek capital and on the day of the weekly street market, the neighborhood comes alive in a riot of sights, smells and flavors.
Famed in ancient times for its pottery – hence the area’s name – made from mud collected on the banks of a sacred river that once ran through it, in the last few decades Keramikos was better known as a run-down working-class neighborhood of closed factories and abandoned properties. The neighborhood’s struggles have paradoxically proven to be its savior. In recent years Keramikos’s low rents and old-time Athens feel have lured creative young Athenians to the area, where they have opened up inventive restaurants, bars and cafés along with galleries and theaters. Joining Keramikos’s rich trove of existing old-school establishments, these new spots have helped create one of the Athens’ most exciting dining and cultural scenes.
On this walk through Keramikos, we’ll get a taste of the creativity and tradition that reside here, visiting neighborhood institutions both old and new. As the streets fill with stands and shoppers, our day will begin nearby with coffee and fresh pastries. We will then continue our way through Keramikos, dropping by neighborhood stalwarts, from an old bakery that sells bougatsa – a type of savory phyllo pastry – to a hole in the wall run by two friends whose tiny kitchen turns out superb renditions of Cretan dishes rarely found on the mainland. We’ll also stop by some of the area’s enticing newer spots, including a cozy food shop that procures artisanal products from across Greece, where among other things we’ll taste goat’s milk yogurt drizzled with wild thyme honey, and a meze restaurant where classic Greek regional recipes are being both lovingly revived and cleverly updated. We’ll also walk through the neighborhood’s lively weekly open-air market, tasting what’s on offer from the vendors and getting a sense of the seasonality of Greek produce and how that shapes neighborhood menus.
Over the course of our walk we’ll also explore the cultural and historical side of things, visiting two of the area’s defunct 19th-century industrial landmarks, an old gas works and a silk factory, which have been turned into vibrant arts centers and neighborhood gathering spots. And, as we work our way through a few of Keramikos’s small back alleys, we’ll even stop by some still-functioning ceramics workshops, which serve as a living link to the neighborhood’s – and Athens’ – ancient history. Things may be changing in Keramikos, but at its heart, the neighborhood remains firmly rooted to its past – which is just how both the old-timers and newcomers here like it.
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Fee includes everything consumed on the walk. Some special features:
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Best route for gluten-free diets |  |
Children welcome |
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Samples fish, can be altered for pescatarians |  |
Includes market visits |
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Can be altered for vegetarians, but not for vegans |  |
Terrain fairly flat/ Stroller – friendly |
OUR TOURS IN THE PRESS
There’s a yellowy crust, a puddle of honey and a scattering of walnuts, and it’s quite the most delicious yoghurt I’ve ever tasted. … A trained chef, Carolina is passionate about Greek cuisine and expertly weaves a path through the Central Market, pointing out the best fish, pork and tomatoes, before leading us to a tiny stall selling herby sausage patties with salad, olives and a glass of tsipouro (a pomace brandy). Read more
Culinary Backstreets’ in-the-know guides know where to find the creamiest yogurt, juiciest souvlaki, and sweetest baklava. Along the way, they’ll point out the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman traces evident in the local architecture and culture… Read more
Greece may be plagued by financial woes but it is also in the middle of a culinary renaissance, and this has wide-ranging ramifications for travelers.”The culinary scene has been influenced by the crisis as many Greeks have retreated from global culinary trends to the comfort of Greek cooking,” says Despina Trivolis, who runs the Athens branch of the global network Culinary Backstreets . Read more
Carolina knows nearly everything about each product we taste. … Yoghurt? She can make her own, and knows that different breeds of cows and sheep produce different kinds of milk, which all affect the taste and texture. The sourdough that is set on the table? She has a recommendation for a great bakery in the centre of Athens where we can get one just like it. Read more
Un nouveau monde de fromage Vous le savez sûrement déjà, j’adore faire une visite guidée culinaire quand j’arrive dans une nouvelle ville pour me donner une petite idée de la scène gastronomique locale. J’ai fait la même chose à Athènes avec Culinary Backstreets pendant la Culinary Secrets of Downtown Athens Tour. À part plus de six heures de bouchées exquises, ai-je besoin de vous dire pourquoi je recommande la visite avec eux? C’est d’ailleurs pendant la tournée que j’ai découvert qu’il existe plusieurs sortes de fromage feta et que c’est un monde à part entière qui m’était jusque-là totalement inconnu. Attention, c’est cochon! Read more
MULTIMEDIA
“Greek cuisine generally is simple, but not simplistic. It’s rich in ingredients… Every Culinary Backstreets walk is a great opportunity to go deep into the Greek culture, explained through food.” Listen to our walk leader Constantine on Destination Eat Drink here.
ROUTE
