12 Best Restaurants in Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia, Greece

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.

Excellent food and true Greek filoxenia (hospitality) await at the combination tourist shop, café, and three-meal-a-day restaurant. Recommended are the loukanika (sausages); rolled, spiced, and spit-roasted meat; and the excellent yemista (stuffed tomatoes and peppers) and papoutsakia (eggplant halves baked with cheese, spiced ground beef, and garlicy tomato sauce). If you want to try the specialty of the area, katsikaki sti souvla (roasted goat on a spit), order at least a day ahead. The krasi hima (house barrel wine) is locally produced, and the owners also serve homemade tsipouro (the Greek version of grappa) in a small carafe served with snacks.

Diners at this side-street Thessaloniki institution rub shoulders with lawyers, students, out-of-towners, and workers from the Bezesteni market. Complete with an outside terrace, this family-run taverna sits opposite an old Turkish bath (loutra means "baths"). Try grilled koutsomoura (baby red mullets), grilled eggplant, mussels in rice pilaf, or smelt or shrimp sautéed in a casserole with cheese and peppers (saganaki). Do sample the owner's own retsina from the barrel and check if they have the exquisite kazan dipi, a marvelous flan with a slightly burned top, sweetened with a hint of rose water. For extra atmosphere, there's the bouzouki music every Friday and Saturday night.

This lovely, unpretentious little restaurant in the trendy Ladadika district has become a local favorite. Delightful Greek-Mediterranean dishes are tastefully presented to reflect the chef-owner's culinary stint in France. As one would expect, the menu, written in chalk on a blackboard at the front of house, varies according to what's been netted at the local food market. The grilled fish is succulent and well-seasoned, showing a delicate touch, and the seafood risotto with a tomato pesto is a staple that keeps people coming back again and again. The great prices ensure Omikron always stays busy.

Low-key and extremely popular, this ouzeri in the art-grungy Bezesteni neighborhood has good food, great service, and a friendly atmosphere typified by Thessalonians relaxing over lunch or dinner. The fish soup is highly recommended, as is the braised monkfish and any of the hearty salads. Wash it all down with the distilled spirit made from grapes called tsipouro, and top it off with the dessert or fruit that is offered on the house.

Choose from traditional foods such as moussaka or try the highly recommended fresh local pasta. The regional vegetables are especially delicious, and fresh frozen yogurt is made with local fruits. Self-serve cafeteria-style lunch is available, but this is also a taverna-restaurant. Reservations are not necessary, but be warned: tour buses do stop here.

The food may be costly, because as the name (which means "the islands") hints, fish is king here. However, when you discover the quality, Ta Nissia doesn't seem overpriced thanks to the freshness of ingredients and artful preparations by owner-chef Yiannis Alexiou. You're in the city here, but the lightness and decor of this place may make you feel as if you've been transported to some Cycladic island. Dishes can be exquisite: taste sensations include squid stuffed with cheese and herbs, veal with smoked eggplant puree, and artichokes in saffron sauce. On the extensive wine list, check out the very pleasing house rosé

Ordering your meal at this establishment in the heart of the bustling Ladadika district is quite an experience. The waiters bring their own eccentric individuality to this often mundane ritual, and the menu is printed on a "newspaper" with photos from old Greek films and articles heralding the dishes you're about to munch on. The taverna itself is done up as a deli (as a matter of fact you can buy Greek charcuterie and cheeses), which gives a rough idea of the fare served. There is a wide array of cheeses, smoked meats, and fish (served either straight up or cooked in spicy sauces). It's food that goes great with a beer or an ice-filled glass of ouzo on a hot summer evening.

This casual, friendly place in the midst of busy Modiano Market is known for great garides (prawns), served in many different ways, and its humor: the name translates as "the meteoric step of the prawn." The locals also come time and again for the tamaras (white cod roe), butter beans with chestnut, and homemade dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves). Order your ouzo and a selection of mezedes, and take in the bustle of market life.

This homey restaurant is known for its outstanding seafood—it's always fresh, artfully prepared, and surprisingly cheap. The grilled meats are good, too, as are the fresh bread and the dips—especially the kopanisti (the punchy spiced cheese dip) and the melitzanosalata (lovingly made from roasted eggplant and garlic). The fish soup in winter is also a specialty. Follow the signs 100 yards up from the main square and to the left around the corner.

A tree shades the terrace and blue, multipaned storefront of the Tsinari Ouzeri, the last remaining Turkish-style coffeehouse (opened in 1850) and the only one to have survived the fire of 1917. During the 1920s it became the social hub for the refugees from Asia Minor who lived here. Now a café and ouzeri (a bar where appetizers are sold), it is especially popular before siesta time (12–2 pm) and gets busy again after 9 pm. Have an ouzo and share delicious appetizers such as melitzanonsalata (pureed eggplant salad), octopus, or charcoal-grilled sardines.