An illustration of two souvlaki skewers on a yellow background and a Greek souvlaki neon sign

How to order your souvlaki: A guide with infographic

In our previous post, we analysed everything you need to know about souvlaki, the most famous Greek street food. We have explained the differences between regions and the different types and ingredients of the dish. This post will teach you how to order your souvlaki like a Greek! Follow the steps on the list below and check out our detailed infographic!

Step 1

Pick a type of souvlaki.

Choose between:

  1. Meat skewers (by item)
  2. Wraps (tylikto)
  3. A portion (merida: the meat of your choice served with vegetables, tzatziki and fries)*

*Several restaurants serve the “skepasti”, the Greek club sandwich with gyros and pitta bread!

Step 2

Pick a type of meat.

Choose from:

  1. Meat skewers (pork or chicken)
  2. Gyros (pork or chicken)
  3. Kebab (lamb)
  4. Bifteki (beef or mixed meat patty)
  5. Sausage (pork)

Less often, you can find restaurants that serve lamb or beef skewers and gyros.

Pick a substitute for meat [for vegans (v) & vegetarians (veg)]

Choose from:

  1. Vegetable skewers (v/veg)
  2. Halloumi cheese (veg)*
  3. Falafel (v/veg)
  4. Tomatoes, onions, fries (v/veg)*

*wraps only

Step 3

Pick a type of bread.

Choose from:

  1. Greek pitta (often comes in two sizes)**
  2. Cypriot pitta*
  3. Arabic pitta*
  4. Whole grain pitta*
  5. White bread (Northern Greece)
  6. Souvlouri or koulouri (Northern Greece)

* Not in all restaurants

** You can order a wrap with two pitas. In Greece, we call it “dipitto” or “dikano”.

Step 4

Pick a type of sauce.

Choose from:

  1. Tzatziki (veg)
  2. A mayo-based sauce (usually goes with chicken)
  3. Yogourt (Crete)
  4. Tyrosalata (feta cheese spread) (veg)*
  5. Tyrokafteri or kopanisti (spicy feta cheese spread) (veg)*
  6. Red sauce (Corfu)
  7. Russian salad (white spread with peas, carrots & potatoes. Might have egg)**
  8. Budapest salad (white spread with ham)**
  9. Coleslaw (kypourou)**
  10. Melitzanosalata (aubergine spread) (v/veg)**
  11. Ketchup (v/veg)
  12. Mustard (v/veg)

*Not in all restaurants

**In Central & Northern Greece

Step 5

Pick extras

Choose from:

  1. Tomatoes
  2. Onions
  3. Fries
  4. Roman lettuce (usually for chicken)*
  5. Parsley*

*Not in all restaurants

Step 6

“Kali orexi“! Enjoy!

souvlaki Infographics (1).png

Previous article: Souvlaki: The ultimate guide of the king of Greek street food

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