Culinary Backstreets of Plaka - Athens Food Tour

Informative, fun and delicious!

Constantine did a fabulous job of combining food culture with history, adding a little humor too. He explained things well and answered lots of questions. This was our third CB tour (Lisbon and Marseille before this) but the first for the other couple with us. They thought it was a great tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. We will continue to us CB on all our trips where they exist.

Fabulous food experience!

Fabulous experience. Constantine was great. He shared his knowledge and life long love of Athens food. Loved to visit where the locals eat. Highly recommend.

Best Tour We Have Ever Taken

Single best tour we’ve ever taken in all of Greece! Constantine is a pro! So knowledable about Athens, he shared his passion for food, culture, arts, backstrreets and took us to authentic places that we would never have discovered no matter how much research. Constantine was professional, prepared, fun, kind, and an expert guide. Highly recommend this company and this tour specifically. Come hungry.

Great food fun tour

Carolina made the tour so great as she knew areas we would never have found. The food was delicious, great little places/family owned that have been around for many years. Lots of walking, but we rested when needed. Highly recommend!

Athens Food & Culture with Constantine

Constantine was fun and knowledgeable. He not only introduced us to many Greek foods but included Greek history and fun facts about Athens and Greek life. We tasted and learned about many foods going to several local places. Culinary Backroads never disappoints! I highly recommend this tour.

Food tour and sightseeing all together! Doesn't get any better!

Natalie was amazing!! So knowledgeable and entertaining! All of the food we sampled was unique and delicious! This is my second tour with Culinary Backstreets. I have been on many food tours all over the world but Culinary Backstreets is my favorite.

Best food tour company by far - great value and very immersive

Culinary Backstreets tours are a class above other food tours. Our guide, Constantine, ensured we felt like we were visiting a friend in their home city. The group was small and developed a lovely dinner party atmosphere where we all learnt about Greek food and culture together. The tour is outstanding value - there is plenty of the best quality food and drinks. It really costs little more than a good breakfast, a good lunch, a bottle of wine and a self guided tour. But it gives so much more. I suggest booking one of these tours at the beginning of your holiday. You will want to go back to the restaurants and shops again and again.

Athens food tour

Natalie was very knowledgeable guide and a lot of fun. It was a nice small group. The places we went to were excellent and a nice variety of experiences.

Food for the thought

Constantine was the perfect guide. Thoroughly explained the cultural and historic reasons for the food we enjoyed on the tour but in an entertaining manner which was greatly appreciated. It was not a lecture but rather an explanation of the food. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in exploring this areas food!

Plaka food tour

Constantine was our awesome food guide. We did the Plaka tour. Great discussion about food and Athens culture. Would highly recommend.

Wonderful day in Plaka

The company consistently offers high quality tours and experiences. The Plaka walk was no exception. It offers plenty of stops to experience fresh baked goods, street food, olive oils, and sweet treats.

Absolutely delicious. And I forgot to mention the orange cake !

Constantine, our guide, believes in fresh, organic, local foods as the heart of traditional Greek cooking and he fed us well. Our favorite was the olive oil tasting, or was it the full dinner of small plates at a “tourist” restaurant? But maybe it really was the souvlaki at the end of the night when we were so stuffed we couldn’t eat anymore; but we did!

So much fun!

This was an excellent tour!! Our family of four loved learning about the foods of The Plaka…from the kholouris, to the meat pies, and souvlaki, the coffee, and baklavas, the olive oils and everything else we tried. Our guide, Natali, was incredible! She was so fun and informative. It took no time at all for us to feel comfortable and relaxed with her. Such a fun day! Thanks Natali!

Highly Recommemd

Constantine was a fantastic host - he went above and beyond showing us the food of Athens. Since it was the off-season it was just our group and he spent extra time with us - sharing the wisdom of his vast knowledge of Athens and the food of Greece.

The best bites, the best stories

Carolina provided us a tour with the perfect combination of food and history. Secret spots, amazing views, knowledge concerning the city's trees, fruits, communities, development, along with the best bites ever: coffee, savoury pies, sweet pies, sandwiches, cheeses, yoghurts, olive oils... I strongly reccomend it to anyone visiting Athens.

Stompin' Plaka!

The tour was incredible! I was a part of a special culture, taste food, and see things Ive read about since I was little.

Excellent culinary experience and a highlight of our trip to Athens!

Our family enjoyed this food tour experience with Constantine! He is an Athens food expert and outstanding guide! Our tour was a great mix of excellent food, interesting information about Greek food and culture, and great conversation. This tour was a highlight of our trip to Athens! We booked a private tour for our group of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) to ensure that our food allergies and dietary preferences were able to be accommodated. Constantine did a wonderful job in selecting a variety of items to try. After the tour, we went back to a couple of the places we visited on the tour to branch out and try more dishes from the menu!

We loved it.

Constantine was amazing! I highly recommend this tour with him. Very patient and explained the history!

hometown tourist

well i never thought i can feel so refreshed in my hometown anymore. i live in athens since forever but still i got to see and taste stuff for the first time!! constantinos is an amazing guide and definitely knows the city! i loved the olive oil shop stop. its my second tour with you and im sure its not nearly the last one. im gonna plan my next trip to a place that you oparate. thank you very much!

A Great Experience

Highly recommend this trip. It was great fun! We made 10 food stops, all local proprietors and all so very tasty. And we were led through many small backstreets. We got to see so much more of the hidden backstreets of Athens then we would have found on our own. Our guide Carolina was fun, knowledgeable (she has a cookbook!), and the food and tour were excellent in every way. Wear good walking shoes and get ready for a fantastic day.

Amazing Experience

Amazing experience and some of the best food we had the entire 2 week trip. We will book again at other cities.

Favorite way to explore Athens by foot, tasting our way through Plaka and learning some history

Natali was an incredible guide through the Plaka, introducing us to food we wouldn’t have found and knowledge we were happy to gain. We went on Sunday morning before it was too crowded, and it was so perfect. The walking was more than we expected and we loved that about the tour - not only tasting amazing local cuisine but also seeing several areas we would have otherwise missed. The small group (6) was so nice, too. Natali is also funny, a bonus! Loved our time with her. Thank you!!

An absolute highlight of our stay in Athens

The Culinary Backstreets of Plaka Food Tour was an absolute highlight of our Athens visit. If you love food, culture and history, I *highly* recommend signing up for this. Our guide, Constantine, was an excellent host who exceeded our expectations for curating a memorable experience. We wound our way through streets and neighborhoods we probably would not have discovered on our own. We stopped exactly where we hoped we would -- at small establishments that felt local and authentic and not touristy. Constantine brought a personal enthusiasm to his discussion of Greek food, culture, and history that made this experience energizing and fun. He enunciated (in English) clearly, so it was easy for us to understand him. That may sound like a small thing but we spent 5 weeks traveling around the Mediterranean and had other guided tours in Turkey and Greece and there were times we lost a lot of content just because we couldn't understand what the guide was saying even though they were speaking English. Maybe that says more about our age and hearing limitations than the guides, but we truly appreciated Constantine's public speaking talents. We loved the places we visited on this tour so much that we went back to several of them on the remaining days of our stay in Athens. I'd recommend using your smartphone to take a photo at each stop so you can find it again later when you start dreaming about the best souvlaki you've ever tasted at that small shop where people line up down the street for their turn at the tiny lunch counter. Anyway, we will definitely look for other Culinary Backstreets tour opportunities in other cities we visit. We wish you guys offered something in Bangkok, our next big destination ...

A great day!

We tasted so many delicious things, and each one came with a story! In fact, there were plenty of stories about other aspects of Athens history and culture. It was a perfect day. And, as promised, by mid-afternoon we left in a food coma. (Does having two lunches have anything to do with that? Hmmm.)

A great way to get to know a city - through your stomach and taste buds

Constantine was an excellent guide and companion on our tour. His passion and knowledge about Greek food and culture were infectious and we had a great time. Six hours are perhaps a little too long - maybe cut out the ice-cream stop and shorten it to five.

Great food, great commentary, and a wonderful afternoon with nee friends

Tour was outstanding, Really enjoyed all of Constatine's commentary on the food, neighborhood, and overall perspective on food. He was a wealth of information plus the food's we tried were all excellent.

Experiencing Traditional Greek Food

Constantine gave us so much information and love of the Greek Culinary Food. Enjoyed each stop and all the dishes that were served to us. He was so interesting and gave us his love of the Greek Culture. This was the best tour yet!! Loved it!!

Backstreet Plaka Tour

The Backstreet Plaka Food Tour is one of the best food tours you'll ever experience. Our guide, Natalie, was very personable, engaging, and knowledgeable. After taking a break for Greek coffee, she pretended (or did she) to read our coffee grounds, and surprisingly, they were pretty accurate. As we sampled a variety of Greek foods, she not only shared information about the foods we ate but also the culture and history of Athens. It's a good thing we put on a few miles that day because we ate a lot of food. My advice to anyone considering this tour is don't eat before you go. You will not go away hungry. Thank you, Natalie, for a delightful day.

A wonderful food walk in Athens.

Natali is a wonderful tour guide. Her knowledge of food, local culture and history made the walk so interesting. The food was superb, and the sand-heated Greek coffee the best ever. Fascinating conversations. Highly recommended.

Excellent Tour

This was a wonderful experience. I have been to Athens often, and this tour introduced us to many new experiences. The guide Carolina, was knowledgeable, professional, patient and had a good sense of humor. The perfect guide.the perfect tour.

Tour Guide and food were awesome! Great experience.

This food tour was great, we visited a variety of different places and tried a range of different foods. Our guide, Constantine, was an excellent person to run this tour. He has a wealth of knowledge of food, not only in Athens but also abroad. Highly recommend doing this tour,

Hidden gems in the backstreets of Athens

Fabulous day walking and eating in parts of Athens we would never have explored. Our guide Constantine was brilliant and knowledgeable. Plan not to have dinner afterwards!

Carolina was great

We had a great day. Carolina was fantastic. Very accomodating saw heaps and had heaps of great food. Finished it off with a drink. Would totally recommend it.

Loved this tour!

Carolina was amazing! Very knowledgeable, communicated well, engaging, personable and provided a great variety of delicious foods to taste while explaining their origins, preparations, history, etc.

Small group food tour I really loved

Culinary backstreets is now my number 1 choice for a guided culinary tour. After 2 amazing tours ( Napels and now Athens) I can only highly recommend. In Athens it was just me and another couple guided by the very knowledgeable cook and cookbook writer Carolina Doriti. CB knows the small places, the really hidden gems and they always try to accommodate questions, preferences… The food was so tasting, all the shopkeepers so friendly. If you like to experience some amazing food and local atmosphere in a small group Culinary Backstreets is what you need

Another Wonderful Experience with Culinary Backstreets

Knowing how much we love Greek food and having enjoyed food tours with Culinary Backstreets in other cities, selecting this tour was a "no brainer". Once again, the experience was one of the highlights of our European vacation. Carolina, our guide, truly shared her passion for food with us as we explored the Platka and hidden gems in Athens. Thanks so much for such a wonderful day as well as serving as a resource for our family when we could not return to Saronida due to the wildfire evacuation in that area.

a must do!

We did this at the end of our trip - but I would recommend doing it right at the beginning. It was amazing. Highlight of our trip to Athens.

Fantastic family style feast!

This tour with Konstantinos was a real highlight of our time in Athens. He was extremely knowledgeable, warm and friendly. The food was amazing and we re-visited a number of vendors that we went to on the tour. Such a great day.

Amazing, in-depth food tour

This was a fantastic food tour, our guide Konstantinos was very personable and clearly had deep love for and knowledge of Athens and its food. He focused on family-owned businesses that are not as well known to tourists.

An excellent gastronomic experience!

A very leisurely and comprehensive tour of a variety of tastes and smells through various neighborhoods within Plaka. Our guide knows the area (and the shopkeepers) well, and she was an absolute delight. It is time consuming but worth it because it combines food with exploration of parts of the city that you might not wander into on your own.

Delicious!

What a wonderful tour! Constantine was knowledgeable, accommodating to our members with celiac disease, and truly a joy to spend the day with. It was perfect!!

Great guide, great food

Kiki is a food and travel writer so as you can imagine she was so knowledgable! Also got to try so much amazing food from restaurants and stalls with lots of character. Thanks!

Best day in Athens

Already recommended this tour to friends. Would definitely do it again. Natali was the best guide! We definitely didn’t go hungry, and we a learned a lot too.

Exceptional food and cultural tour of Athens

We loved the tour. Carolina was the most wonderful introduction to Athens, it’s history and it’s food. We did the tour with our 7 yr old daughter, and she was welcomed and accommodated. As we’re our food intolerances. Such a great insight into places and delicacies we would never have found ourselves. Highly recommend.

Constantine was great

Constantine was the perfect tour guide. We were able to experience the real places where this wonderful food is created. Constantine was very knowledgeable and entertaining.

Loved every second of this tour

Natali was such a great guide! We learned so much about the history of Plaka and ate so much amazing food! These tours are so special and such a great value for your money. We will look for them in every city we go to!

Phenomenal tour, phenomenal guide, phenomenal food

The Plaka food tour was phenomenal. Our guide, Constantine, was very knowledgeable of the area and was so nice and welcoming. We ate enough food to last for days, and it was all so delicious. I can't recommend this tour enough. Constantine even provided us with a food guide of Athens other areas at the conclusion of the tour. I wish we had time to do even more of these.

Best Greece Experience!!

Constantine was awesome—so informed, authentic and knew how to pace our tour. This was the #1 highlight of our two weeks in Greece!

Natali was the perfect guide, and the food! Wow!

Our guide, Natali, knows so much and was so informative and FUN! Wow! Totally worth it. We learned a lot and had a really good time. I would have not had the same experience of Greece were it not for her and Culinary Backstreets. I'm so glad we took it.

Fantastic was to get to know Athens and the food in the area

This was one of the best food tours we’ve taken. Constantine was knowledgeable on Athen’s food, culture and lifestyle and shared a great deal of fascinating details and stories. The food and locations were great too.