Athens on a budget – best places to buy cheap food

Greece is a popular European destination, but like the rest of Europe, it can be expensive. As budget travellers, we are looking for ways to save money. So, how do you save money on food in Athens? What are the cheap supermarkets in Athens? Where do you get cheap food in Athens? Where do you get a cheap meal in Athens?

Keep reading Athens on a budget – best places to buy cheap food.

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Where to buy cheap food

To reduce eating costs, buying food from supermarkets in Greece will save you a lot of money.

Best supermarkets

Here are the best supermarkets to visit in Athens that are budget friendly.

Sklavenitis

Sklavenitis is the largest supermarket chain in Greece. With about 400+ supermarkets, there is likely to be one right near you. The Sklavenitis full size supermarkets are huge hypermarkets – cross between a supermarket and retail discount store.

However, the trend for Sklavenitis in Athens is smaller size supermarkets, like mini-markets or express stores. Think Tesco Express or similar. There are a lot of these express-style supermarkets in Athens.

Here is the Sklavenitis supermarket which was near my hotel in Athens. It had all the food items that I needed, just a smaller range.

Food you can buy here is: fresh produce, bread, pastries, deli meats, breakfast food items, dairy, meat, fruit, vegetables, baked goods, canned food, and convenience foods.

Prices are affordable and its a good place to food shop if you are staying in Athens for a short time.

Hours – 8.00am – 9.00pm Monday to Friday. 8.00am to 8.oopm Saturdays.

Bazaar

Bazaar is a discount supermarket which is modelled on the Lidl format. There are 191 supermarkets in Greece. There are some name brands in this supermarket, but like Lidl, most are private, less known ones.

The supermarket has most of the food items that Sklavenitis has, with some household items included as well.

Very good prices and budget-friendly. A great store if you have food allergies with gluten free food products available. Food shop here if you are staying in Athens for a longer period.

Hours – 8.00am – 9.00pm Monday to Friday. 8.00am – 8.00pm Saturdays.

Market In

Market In supermarkets are another popular chain of supermarkets. There are 261 neighbourhood supermarkets in Greece, and they strive to stock quality and fresh food at the cheapest prices.

The products are like Bazaar with a lot of brands that aren’t well known but at really competitive prices. The Market In supermarkets are about the size of a normal convenience store. Food stocked include: meat, dairy, refrigerated products, canned food, packaged food, baby food, fresh fruit, ready-made salads, deli meats and more.

Hours – 8.00am – 11.oopm 7 days a week.

AB Shop & Co

AB Shop & Co. is a chain of smaller supermarkets similar in size to Market In. Foods stocked include: fresh fruit, vegetables, bakery items, dairy, ready to go meals, convenience items, alcoholic beverages, and more.

Hours – 8.ooam – 11.00pm 7 days a week.

Lidl

Lidl, the popular German discount supermarket chain, has a strong presence in Greece. With 231 supermarkets, shopping here is a great option to keep your food costs down.

Some name brands are featured in Lidl, but most of the brands are Lidl preferred. The food you can buy in Lidl is: fresh food, fruit, vegetables, meat, deli meats, canned foods, packaged foods, frozen food, and convenience goods.

Discount coupons

You’ll be happy to hear that supermarket discount coupons are alive and well in Greece. They aren’t paper ones, the coupons are loaded on supermarket mobile apps.

The supermarkets that offer these online coupons in Greece are:

• Sklavenitis
• AB Shop & Co
• Lidl

These supermarkets allow you to build loyalty points that you can then convert to Euro discounts. Also you can redeem specific coupon offers available in the mobile app. Make sure you download the app before you go shopping.

Where to buy a cheap meal in Athens

Eating out all the time will drain your budget. Restaurant meals can set you back a lot of money. You could easily go through $100 for one restaurant meal. Do this every day while travelling and your money will quickly disappear.

To find the cheapest meals, get away from the centre of Athens where the tourist areas are. The tourist areas, like the Acropolis and other tourist attractions in Athens, have high prices and the food is not of good quality.

Some better areas to go to for a cheaper meal are Koukaki, Psirri, or Monastiraki Square. Street food is abundant and also smaller takeaway shops are available where you can pick up a cheap meal. Talking of food, see below the popular locally made foods in Athens that won’t stretch your budget and give you a taste of Greece.

What food is cheap?

Greek food is delicious and cheap. These popular Greek foods are available in Athens and thoughout Greece:

• Gyro or souvlaki – pita bread stuffed with meat – lamb, chicken or beef, tomatoes, onions
• Spanakopita – spinach pie with feta cheese
• Dolmades – vine leaves stuffed with meat and lemony rice
• Keftedes – pan fried meat balls
• Oregano fries – French fries coated in oil and oregano herbs
• Falafel – chickpeas, herbs and spices.

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Things to know

Some things to keep in mind about dining out in Athens.

Dining in vs take out

If you dine in at a restaurant and sit down for your meal, you will pay more. Your final bill will include a cover charge of a few Euro plus a 5-10% mandatory tip.

The mandatory tip is standard in some countries in Europe. The cheapest option is to order takeout or take away. This will always save you a lot of money.

Lunch

Lunch in Greece is the biggest meal of the day. The Greeks have a lighter smaller meal in the evening and eat it a lot later.

Dinner

Sit-down meals are served later in the evening, around 8.30pm to 9.00pm. Dinner is a lighter meal than you might be used to. The Greeks eat their main meal at lunchtime.

Mesimeri

The Greek version of a siesta or nap time is between 2.00pm to 5.00pm daily which is another reason the evening meal is later. Be mindful if you are having a late lunch in the afternoon that some restaurants may be closed over Mesimeri.

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