6 Best Restaurants in Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia, Greece

One of the better and most creative seafood restaurants in Thessaloniki offers a menu that maintains the delicate flavors of its ingredients but also manages to add a modern twist. For instance, the marinated sea bass tartare, seasoned with fleur de sel, lemon, and olive oil, is then covered with a sprinkling of roe, bringing to mind a wave gently breaking against your tongue. The only thing better than the delightfully light scallops in saffron sauce with caviar and mushrooms may be the restaurant's signature dish, mithopilafo (mussels with rice), an old favorite. As for the desserts, try its take on halva, with loukoumi (Turkish delight) ice cream, toasted pine nuts, and marinated raisins or the sumptious toasted almond millefeuille. It's a perfect way to end one of the memorable meals here. The attractive dining room is breezily decorated in light blue and gray hues, with exposed chrome accents and cream-color wood tables and chairs.

Self-taught and ever evolving chef Andreas Gavris creates seasonal delights fit for the gods in his justifiably popular restaurant. Standouts include the melon soup with prawns and mint; bourani, a rich rice dish with nettles, wild mushrooms, and a Gruyère-like cheese from Crete; and black pig of Olympus stew and mountain lamb, cooked with mushroom and wheat puree. People travel from far and wide to enjoy Andreas' creations, which help make the superb location become even more enticing. The wine list has more than 500 labels on offer.

Want sublime seafood pasta or risotto? Head to a place like this one, where the owner is a local fisherman and everything served is the catch of the day. Here the family cooks traditional village recipes and Macedonian specialties, such as melitzana horiatiki (an eggplant, tomato, feta, garlic, and olive oil salad). The kolokithokeftedes (zucchini-and-potato croquettes) are enormous. The owner's efforts have received gourmet awards for dishes like his lively tuna carppaccio, yet the place remains unpretentious and reasonably well priced for a seafood restaurant. They even produce their own wine and tsipouro.

Don't confuse this modern, cream-hued restaurant with the snack bar with the same name up the road.