Quite a few gifted individuals driven by devotion to their tasks have established superb tavernas at Greece’s high mountains, fully preserving, at these eateries, the meat-eating tradition of Greece’s mountain areas. Many of these restauranteurs own herds, some even taking care of the livestock farming duties themselves. Others grow their own vegetables, while some go foraging for mushrooms and wild greens used at their eateries. Fresh sourdough bread is typically baked in wood-fired ovens at these mountain tavernas.
Their food offerings are based on local recipes, usually accompanied by delicious cheeses made by local producers. The range also includes pies with handmade filo pastry as well as wine from small-scale wineries.
Andreas (Skopia, Serres)
At first sight, Andreas, located virtually at the heart of Skopia, a picturesque village in the wider Serres area, close to Drama, northern Greece, looks a normal taverna with a small yet well-kept yard. But once inside, the finer qualities of this spot become apparent. It is stylish, decorated with artistic finesse, has a fireplace, and plays good music.
Andreas Stavridis is a third-generation restauranteur and livestock farmer who picked up additional skills concerning livestock farming, meat cuts and grilling whilst based at number of international meat-eating hotspots – Argentina, Tuscany, New York, Toronto, Scotland and Ireland. At some point, following his extensive travels, Stavridis decided to return to Skopia and apply this accumulated knowledge to the family taverna.
Any meat ordered here, be it steak, fillet, spit-skewered goat, t-bone steak, tomahawk, steak tartare, even soutzoukakia (spicy oblong meatballs), bifteki (seasoned mince patty) or sausage, is skillfully cut or prepared and grilled. The restauranteur also grows vegetables and aromatic herbs used at the eatery in his own garden, directly behind the taverna.
Info
Skopia, Serres, tel. +30 2324023520
Visitors are advised to reserve tables.
Kottani (Kottani, Xanthi)
Besides offering good food, this taverna, named after the village Kottani, one of the Pomak villages in northeastern Greece, offers a complete experience in terms of aesthetics and tradition, deeply impacting visitors. The taverna’s founder, Tzemil Haliloglou, used the top level of an old, 100-year-old in hosting his venture to create a replica of a traditional Pomak home.
The village Kottani, in the Xanthi area, is a gorgeous place built 250 metres above sea level. It offers a lovely and relaxing view of the lush mountain slopes.
Haliloglou, who launched his venture after gaining considerable hospitality experience at eateries in Xanthi, is in charge of the grill, his wife, Mouskyen, makes pies, and cooks, and their son Hasan serves.
Definitely order the slow-baked local goat or lamb with potatoes. The shish kebab, chops, liver, sausages and various other grilled meat choices, all local, as well as the kebab yiaourtlou and sweetbreads, are all recommended. The taverna also serves salads with homemade pickles, bean soup, pie with greens, patatnik (a type of potato pie), as well as eggplant with feta grilled in a clay pot.
A road from Xanthi leads to the village Kottani. The route cuts through lovely nature. Its last 5 kilometres are a dirt road, easily crossed by any type of vehicle.
Info
Kottani, Xanthi, tel. +30 2544023520
Paradeisos (Evrytania)
Situated between two villages, Mikro Horio and Megalo Horio, in the Evrytania region, central Greece, the taverna Paradeisos manages to instantly attract attention, courtesy of its towering plane trees and stone-paved yard. Its interior space is high-ceilinged with beams, while large windows offers a relaxing view of nature. The fireplace is constantly lit.
In the kitchen, Panagiotis Kalyvas prepares a series of recipes, including casserole dishes. Selections include wild boar stew, roast lamb topped with olive oil and oregano, rooster in wine sauce, beef stew with hilopites (pasta), pork with cabbage, amazing egg-and-lemon chicken soup, pies, including with greens or cheese, bean soup, as well as baked eggplants in tomato sauce, a heavenly recipe.
All meat used at Paradeisos – for chops, steaks, sausages, biftekia and other meat dishes – is local. Meat orders are grilled as desired by each customer. The place also serves skewered meats – lamb, kokoretsi, kontosouvli – and tops off meals with a homemade dessert of the day.
Info
Evrytania, 11th km along the Karpenisi-Prousos road, at the intersection for Mikro Horio and Megalo Horio, tel. +30 223704132
Dolopes (Karitsa, Karditsa)
Dolopes, a family taverna at the village Karitsa, 1,150 metres above sea level in the wider Karditsa area, central Greece, is virtually self-sufficient, producing just about everything used in the kitchen. Dishes here are prepared with expertise. The beef, goat and pork meat used all comes from the family livestock farm. The dining space with a fireplace is warm and hospitable, and a veranda at the front, offering a great view when the weather is clear, is above a ravine. The view takes in the wider area, Lake Plastiras figuring in the background.
All the dishes at Dolopes are prepared by the Kerasiotis family, a five-member team.
Besides using its own meat, the taverna also uses homegrown potatoes. In addition, family member Eleni produces the feta cheese, and fellow family member Giorgos, a hunter, brings back wild boar. The family also makes its own sweet preserves, using seasonal fruit.
The pan-fried pork, sausages with lots of onion, goat cooked in a ceramic pot, fried pluck, skewered goat, pie with greens, meatballs (made with wild boar mince), as well as the wild boar stew, are all terrific selections.
Info
Karitsa, Karditsa, tel. +30 2441094993
Zerzova (Markos, Arcadia)
Zerzova, an exceptional taverna at the village Markos in the Peloponnese’s Arcadia region, has become a destination in itself. The taverna relocated from the nearby village Panagia to a lovely stone building at the top of a hill, whose peak is 900 metres above sea level. This Markos location offers an amazing view towards Dimitsana, in one direction, and the Megalopoli plain, in the other.
This spot uses fresh local products, many cultivated or foraged by the taverna’s owner, Giannis Aggelakopoulos, also a livestock farmer, cheese producer and mushroom collector. His mother, Eleni, produces feta cheese, and his wife, Vaggelio Mavriki, cooks, makes pies and bakes sourdough bread in a wood-fired oven. Most of the vegetables come from the family vegetable garden. This venture also keeps its own roosters, rabbits, goats and lambs.
The hilopita pasta sautéed in butter and myzithra cheese, the spot’s specialty, generated a reputation for the eatery twenty years ago. Other culinary delights here include wild boar, roast ewe, rabbit, roast lamb topped with olive oil and oregano, omelette with cured meat, pie with wild greens, and fried wild mushrooms. For dessert, the spot serves hot galaktoboureko (semolina custard in filo), baked in the wood-fired oven, also used for all the cooking. The wine selections, from all over Greece, are also very good.
Info
Markos, Arcadia, 5km from Dimitsana, tel. +30 6932847358
Sta Riza (Vitsa, Zagorohoria)
This charming taverna, housed at a stone building in Vitsa, central Zagori, is situated amid greenery and offers an incredible view of Papingo through its big window. The tables are covered with white tablecloths, the fireplace is classy, and the service is extremely polite. The taverna’s menu has virtually all of the local cuisine covered. All food selections are well prepared and made with fresh local ingredients.
Delicious lamb with spinach and yoghurt, butter beans with wild greens, pies with handmade filo, carrot salad with cheese, baked ewe, beef bifteki with chilli flakes, roast lamb fillet with potatoes, and lamb stew with orzo, are among the culinary delights here.
The homemade bread, served hot, is also exceptional. The wine list, including bulk wine produced with local grape varieties, is interesting. The local beers on offer are a bonus feature.
Info
Vitsa, Zagorohoria, tel. +30 2653071550, +30 6937037544
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