Alright, here we go for the most requested video of all time : The best street food in Athens. And we're going to start by talking about pita wraps. Because, in case you haven't watched my other videos, we don't call this a gyros or a gyro. We call that whole thing a gyros. And the most common versions of gyros are chicken and pork. But, from time to time, you can find lamb or beef as well. Now, if you've watched some other videos about Athens' street food online, it's very likely you've heard of the two "Kostas" places. And it's true that they're both super good. But what these videos don't tell you is that you often have to wait over half an hour to get your tiny wrap because they have become so famous with all the influencers telling people that this is "the" place to go. It's not "the" place to go. It's "a" place. And there are so many other amazing gyros places at the same level. It's just that influencers don't talk about the other ones and so there's zero waiting line over there. So, where do I recommend you go ? Well, my all around favorite "souvlatzidiko", so, that's the name of places selling pita wraps, is called "Street Souvlaki". Delicious pork and chicken gyros. But also many other options. And that's something you need to keep in mind : Athens has by far the largest diversity in what you can put in your wrap. You go to Santorini, you go to Mykonos, you only have a few options. But here in the capital, the menus are really, really long. And there are tons of delicious stuff to discover. So, what do I recommend you get at "Street Souvlaki" apart from the obvious gyros ? Well, for sure, you can try a wrap with a seftalia inside, which is a thick sausage, traditional from the island of Cyprus. It's usually a mix of pork and lamb and it has a very strong meaty flavor. You can also go for a wrap stuffed with soutzoukia, which is roughly the same but it's beef instead of pork and lamb and the taste is less on the meat side and more aromatic so, like cumin, paprika, garlic, all of that. Now, if you're not that much of a meat person, then you can try their wrap stuffed with halloumi, which is a sheep cheese that they grill beforehand to create a nice crispy crust. Oh ! And, by the way, for my gluten intolerant viewers, this place also has pita bread made from cornflour. So, write this one down because there are not many places with gluten-free options. Before we move on to the next gyros place I recommend, I would really appreciate it if you'd consider making a one-time donation by scanning this QR code or click on the link down below. It really does make a difference. So, thank you very much ! The second place I want to recommend is "Lefteris O Politis". They only have two things on their menu : soutzoukia and biftekia. Soutzoukia, I already told you what they were. It's this beef sausage full of spices. Biftekia are pretty similar. Just a bit more juicy because the meat is left cooking in its own juices for longer. Very, very nice stuff. And, at "Lefteris", they have delicious super fresh pita bread usually charred on the grill with some lamb fat to make it even tastier. And just so you know, the wraps there are a little smaller than average. But that's okay because they're also cheaper. So, just order two per person. The third place I want to recommend is "Just Pita". They have chicken and pork gyros and they're very nice. But if you go there, it's to try the kontosouvli, which are these thick pieces of meat slowly roasting on the rotating spit and served whole, unlike gyros, which is always shaved off the meat tower, giving much smaller pieces. So, gyros will be very crunchy while kontosouvli will be very tender. Kontosouvli is, by far, the juiciest way that Greeks cook meat. So, if you like soft juicy meat, kontosouvli is for you. And "Just Pita" is the place to go. And, by the way, you can choose between pork, chicken and ... lamb. But, for lamb, go there early because they sell out every day very fast ! Next, we have "Elvis". Most Athenians will tell you that's where the best kalamakia are, which Northern Greeks will call souvlakia, by the way. They don't serve it in pita wraps. They just give it to you on a small platter with some fries, some bread and a lemon to be squeezed on the whole thing. And it is delicious ! Next, we have a place called "Hoocut". Now, this one is very alternative. So, this is a place you want to go after you've already tried all the basics which I just talked about. They have stuff like pita wraps with fried calamari and tarama, which is a thick fish sauce. Something else they have is a pita wrap with tzatziki and dolmades, which are grape leaves stuffed with rice. And they also have pita wraps with mutton, so the adult sheep. If you've watched my video on "Athens best restaurants" you know I'm a huge fan of that. Now, this was for the very center of Athens. Places you can reach in probably less than 15 minutes, from your hotel, on foot. If you're willing to walk a bit longer or get a cab, I have one more place for you. It's called "Obelistirio I Vonitsa". It's just next to the Neos Kosmos metro station, which is on the red line, So, connected to Syntagma. Now, this place is actually a butcher's shop at first, which, you know, says a few things on how much they know about meat. And, on top of the usual chicken and pork gyros, they have two more ... lamb gyros, which is so hard to find in Greece, mainly because lamb is much more expensive than the other animals and so there's less demand for it. And doner. Now, what's doner ? Well, it's the more Turkish way of doing it, which is, instead of piling up pieces of meat, you grind up that meat to basically get a paste. And then you compress this paste around the spit. Now, the great thing about this technique is that you get to add lots of extra ingredients in the mix and they won't fall off. So, it's very common to have lots of blended onions and garlic cloves inside the paste and all sorts of other spices as well. Doner is usually beef or a mix of beef and lamb. So yeah, if you want to try lamb gyros or doner, this is your place. Alright, that was for the pita wraps. Now, let's talk about the other famous type of street food in Greece : pies. And when we say pies in Greece, we mean this, of course. Not that. Greek pies are basically stuffed bread. Well, it's not exactly bread. It's like filo dough, which are these very thin layers of bread dough. A bit like a croissant but without the puffiness of the croissant. The most famous pie is the spinach pie, spanakopita in Greek. But there are so many others : cheese pies, chicken pies, mushroom pies and the list goes on. My three favorite bakeries for all of that are : "Takis bakery" near the Acropolis Museum, "Ariston Lobotesi" near Syntagma Square and "Crème Royale" near Monastiraki Square. And, as a little bonus, I'm going to give you one more, which is specialized in bougatsa. Which is the same as a pie but with way thinner layers of filo dough and more butter. The place is called "Bougatsadiko" and it's located on Psyri's main square. The most famous type of bougatsa is the bougatsa me crema, which is stuffed with custard. So this one is sweet. But they also have bougatsa stuffed with ground beef. Which is what I always order when I'm there. Awesome stuff ! Alright, so, we've talked about the pita wraps and the pies. Those are the two very typical Greek types of street food. But, since Athens is the capital, there are a few additional things to try, which you wouldn't find anywhere else like "Zisis", for instance, which serves fried seafood in a cone. Squid, shrimps, sardines and many more. And you can either sit down or have it to go. "Feyrouz" is a Lebanese place where you can have some delicious lahmajoun, stuffed with babaganoush. And, for dessert, the absolutely amazing kunefe, which is basically fried sweet cheese with a pistachio topping. Write this one down : kunefe. It is so, so good ! And, for my vegan friends, I recommend "Vegan beat Athens". Where they have all sorts of vegan street food. Now, one question I get a lot is : "Look ! I don't want to walk all of Athens when it's so hot outside. So, what alternatives do I have ? Considering most places are pedestrian and, so, I can't use taxis to move around ..." Well, the alternative is to book an e-bike tour. You get to see all of Athens in just two hours and a half. And you can do it either in the early morning or the late afternoon to avoid midday heat. Perfect way to see Athens during the hotter months. And for the Best Wine Tours in Santorini, you're going to watch this one. And there you go ! That's it for today ! Bye !