While Crete and the Cyclades often steal the spotlight when it comes to a Greek holiday, it’s Halkidiki — a three-pronged peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea in the north of the country — that deserves your attention (especially if you’re a foodie).
With its ancient olive groves, pine-clad mountains, sun-dappled beaches and bustling market towns, Halkidiki offers a rich culinary landscape. From countryside kitchens to seaside tavernas, here are five distinctive tastes that define the region and where to stay to experience them.
FROM THE LAND
In Halkidiki’s mellow, herb-scented hinterland, which is soundtracked by the hum of bees and the drone of cicadas, gentle hills are dotted with low-slung stone farmhouses and olive groves growing in orderly ranks. This is the heartland of ‘liquid gold’, where oil is more than just a condiment — it’s central to daily life. Nearby, family-run presses like the Papageorgiou estate offer tastings of small-batch olive oils with a raw, peppery quality, far removed from anything found in a supermarket bottle. The olives themselves — plump, green varieties — appear at every table, from breakfast trays to taverna dinners, often marinated in lemon and thyme. Just outside Nikiti, Taverna Alexandros serves them in simple meals on a sunlit terrace: hunks of sourdough scooped through tapenades, thick-sliced heirloom tomatoes with barrel-aged feta drizzled in generous glugs of olive oil that elevate every bite.
Where to Stay
For a taste of olive country with a decadent twist, bed down at The Danai, a serene hideaway set among pines and groves near Nikiti. You’ll find private villas, sea views, and an on-site cellar stacked with local oils and wines, plus a restaurant terrace that feels like it was made for bread-dipping and slow sipping.
FROM THE FOREST
Up in the pine-covered mountains of Halkidiki, there’s a freshness to everything — the air, the light and the food. This is a landscape that calls for heartier fare, where the scent of wild oregano mingles with wood smoke and goat bells echo out across the valleys. Village kitchens serve earthy dishes: handmade trahanas (fermented grain porridge) warmed through with butter, or hilopites (square-cut pasta) in slow-cooked lamb ragù. But the real star here is the cheese. Local mountain dairies around the hills of Holomontas (above Vourvourou) produce Kasseri, so fresh it’s still warm; and tangy myzithra, best crumbled over roasted squash. Mushrooms, too, are a staple, foraged from the nearby forest and seared with garlic and cream, before being folded into pies at restaurants like Mandala Alter Tavern, just a short drive from Ekies.
Where to Stay
Tucked into the wooded edge of Vourvourou on the Sithonia peninsula, Ekies All Senses Resort is your forest-fringed base for foraging, cheese-tasting, and unbuttoned gourmet evenings of filling fare. It’s stylish, but down-to-earth, with a restaurant that champions local produce and a barefoot-luxury feel that fits the mountain mood perfectly.
BESIDE THE SEASIDE
Along the Aegean coast of Halkidiki, seafood takes centre stage. Fishermen haul in the day’s catch before dawn, delivering it straight to waterside tavernas where octopi hang like laundry on lines and grills quietly smoulder. At spots such as Thalassa Sea Food Experience in Fourka and Poseidon at Possidi, dishes are unfussy but generous: a whole sea bream baked in vine leaves, charred calamari drizzled with lemon and oil, and mussels saganaki sizzling in tomato, garlic and creamy feta. Locals know to order whatever’s freshest — that might be anchovies one day or baby squid the next. Enjoy dinner with your toes in the sand, accompanied by a carafe of chilled retsina (white wine flavoured with pine resin).
Where to Stay
Park yourself by the sea at Domes Noruz Kassandra, a sleek, adults-only retreat on the Kassandra peninsula, where seafood is treated with reverence and the beach is your dining room. Expect Aegean views, salt-flecked eats and a wine list that pairs beautifully with grilled octopus and long, lazy sunsets.
IN TOWN
In Halkidiki’s larger towns — Nikiti, Nea Moudania — or the outskirts of Polygiros, the food scene has a low-key swagger. There isn’t Athens-style hype, rather something more understated and cooler. Locals know exactly where to find the best cheese pies and which bakery slips ouzo into its syrup-soaked walnut cakes. Start early at Fourno Nikitis, a beloved bakery known for its freshly baked koulouri (sesame-coated bread rings) and creamy bougatsa, a sweet and savoury breakfast pastry. Then, there are the mezedopoleia, informal spots serving small plates like smoked-aubergine dip, garlicky tzatziki, spicy sausage and golden-fried courgette blossoms; chances are, the kitchen is run by someone’s yiayia (grandmother). To Steki tis Giagias in Nea Moudania is one to try). Follow your instincts and slip into the busy local haunts; order what’s popular and don’t miss dessert — perhaps a spoonful of homemade glyko tou koutaliou (fruit preserve) on deliciously thick yoghurt.
Where to Stay
Set on the beach but within easy reach of Nikiti’s charming centre, Ergon Beach House is part boutique stay, part gourmet playground — and perfectly placed for bakery runs, ouzo-laced meze, and tasting everything the locals rate. Bonus: there’s an excellent deli downstairs.
TO DRINK
Halkidiki’s vineyards have been cultivated since the time when Dionysus was worshipped, though today’s wines are far more refined than legendary revelry suggests. Around Sithonia’s rolling hills and the slopes near Mount Meliton, vineyards stretch toward the horizon, kept temperate by sea breezes and sunshine. Visit a winery — perhaps the renowned Domaine Porto Carras or the family-run Alpha Estate — and you’ll discover each bottle tells a story. From the tannic, bold Xinomavro to a crisp, refreshing Assyrtiko, these wines capture the region’s character. Tastings are relaxed affairs, accompanied by olives, cheese and grilled peaches drizzled with honey. Whites sparkle with notes of citrus and a saline freshness; reds offer depth and peppery spice, each reflecting the soil they come from.
Where to Stay
Overlooking the bay at Ouranoupolis and framed by vineyard-striped hills, Eagles Palace pairs five-star pampering with proximity to Halkidiki’s best wineries. After a glass or two at lunch, retreat to the spa, the sea or your shaded terrace for a final toast.
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