12 Greek Seafood Dishes

The sea is everywhere in Greece, so it's not surprising that there are so many seafood dishes. Below are some popular ones - just click on the links to go to the recipes.

Prawn (Garides) Saganaki

If you like seafood and/or prawns, then you'll love this dish! It can be served as a starter or a side dish and is actually quite filling. The Greek drink ouzo is used as is Greek feta cheese, but you should be able to obtain both of these quite easily wherever you live. It is served in the individual ceramic bowls you can see in the photos and the bowls are placed in front of the guests piping hot! This recipe is for 4 of these bowls or servings.

Greek Stuffed Squid (Kalamarakia Gemista)

I think that Greek kalamari (squid) is well-known all over the world. So, for the seafood lovers amongst you, this is a recipe for stuffed kalamari with sauce.

Greek Sea Bass (Lavraki)

This method of cooking sea bass (Lavraki) is popular on the island of Cephalonia, especially in Fiskardo, where large amounts of the fish can be found in the sea. What makes it different is that the stomach is filled with the garlic an herbs and it is baked wrapped in greaseproof paper. It's quite easy to prepare, if you are used to cleaning fish.

Greek Spetsiotiko Fish

This is a method of baking fish that comes from the island of Spetses - hence the name Spetsiotiko. It can be used for a few different types of fish. The one we prepared which you can see in the photo is Fagri or sea bream. You can also use large Lavraki or sea bass, Sinagrida or dentex, Sfirida or white grouper, large Tsipoura or dorado. As far as I have checked, these are the correct English translations of the fish names.

Greek Gavros (Whiting) With Peppers

Here you can see a way of preparing this fish as a delicious dish with red, green, orange and yellow peppers.

Greek Gavros (Whiting) Mezes

This is a simple Greek meze, usually accompanied by the Greek drink ouzo. A meze is a kind of hors d'œuvre eaten in Greece, accompanied by ouzo, retsina or beer. The fish gavros (whiting) is very popular in Greece. This meze can also be a side dish at a meal or as part of a buffet.

Greek Cod (Bakaliaros) With Garlic Sauce (Skordalia)

This fish dish is normally accompanied by garlic sauce (skordalia) and beetroot. What you see in the photo may look like mashed potatoes, but is the skordalia. The photo shows the fish called galeos, but this is most likely unobtainable abroad, so as it belongs to the cod family, we have given the recipe using cod below. It is very easy to prepare and is similar to fish croquettes. 

Greek Rice With Fish (Psaropilafo Tis Kivelis)

This is a delicious dish, using any fish that is suitable for soups, e.g. sea bass, trout, monk fish or a combination of these. In Greek this is called Kiveli's fish rice dish. Kiveli (or Kyveli)was a famous lady of the Greek theatre last century - George Papandreou, grandfather of our present Prime Minister, was her third husband and she his second. Kiveli created this dish one day when she had limited ingredients and had to prepare a meal for a lot of people. The meal was a success - people asked for seconds! - and the dish was thus named after her.

Cuttlefish with Spinach (Soupyes and Spanaki)

This is a dish traditionally eaten on Clean Monday, which is the beginning of the Lent period before Easter. Of course, it can also be a delicious side dish at any time of the year.

Cuttlefish With Rice (Soopyes me Rizi)

This is a recipe with cuttlefish that uses the ink from the fish in the rice. It gives it a delicious taste and a lot of people love this dish. Again, it's not difficult to prepare.

Octopus with Pasta

Octopus is easily obtained in Greece and there are several ways of cooking and serving it. This is a simple recipe with small pasta - the type used for minestrone - and is delicious served with grated cheese.


Greek Octopus With Eggplants (Htapodi me Melitzanes)

Octopus is a popular seafood dish in Greece, though it is an acquired taste. This is another popular recipe, where the octopus is prepared with eggplants and potatoes.

 Eat and Enjoy!