Local Cuisine in Corfu

The local cuisine is one of Corfu’s most attractive aspects. No matter where you are, you can always smell something tasty, be it a local having a barbecue or a nearby restaurant. Once you taste the local Mediterranean cuisine, you will fall in love with it.

The Greek cuisine – as well as the one in Corfu – is mostly based on local products. You will find lots of vegetables, fish, meat, cheese and olive oil. Local honey is widely appreciated too, as well as the sheep yoghurt and the extra virgin olive oil. Plus, recipes like sofrito or pastitsada are considered local.

Excellent starters

There are usually loads of starters to choose from. They are quite large, so a few of them are likely to fill you up. Some of the most popular ones include melitzanosalada or taramosalda. Do not forget tzatziki either – the most famous mix of yoghurt, garlic and cucumbers.

You might want to try out avgolemono as well – a sauce based on eggs and lemon that works wonders with meat. Meatballs come in all kinds of recipes – fish, courgettes, potatoes, vegetables. If you see dolmadakia in the menu, give it a try – rice and minced meat covered in grape leaves.

If you are into cheese, try tyropithakia – a salad pie with lots of feta cheese.

Interested in something more traditional and specific to Corfu? Burduni and numbulo will not disappoint you. Burduni is a sausage based on liver, onion and spices. It is fried and sliced – quite difficult to find in restaurants though. On the other hand, numbulo is a type of ham prepared with smoked pork.

Diversified Salad

The Greek salad is obviously a classic – horiatiki. It comes with cucumbers, peppers, onions, feta cheese, tomatoes, olive oil and black olives. Salads can be quite diversified in Corfu – some of them may also include beans, chicken or potatoes.

Meat everywhere

Greeks eat lots of meat, so you should not have any issues when looking for a meaty menu. The famous souvlakia – meat sticks – is classic and often served with French fries. Try out stifado too – veal cooked with onion and tomato sauce, while giouvetsi – lamb and rice – is traditional and suitable for those who want something fancy.

If you are into minced meat, try out bifteki – a big meatball filled with cheese, peppers and onions before getting fried. Mousakas could make your day better too – multiple layers of potatoes, cream and eggplants. Papoutsakia is great too – eggplants baked in the oven and overwhelmed with cheese.

Interested in something more local? Look for sofrito – veal with garlic and pepper cooked in wine sauce. Grilled lamb is also traditional, not to mention avgolemono.

Fish alternatives

Not into meat? Not a problem. Corfu is an island, so there is obviously plenty of fish around. You have the classic options involving fish in an oven or on a grill with multiple sides, but how about something more specific to Corfu?

Bourdeto is a type of fish soup that may feel a bit spicy. It also includes red pepper, onion and extra virgin olive oil. Bianco is quite common too – more types of fish cooked in wine. Garlic, lemon juice and vinegar are also used. Savuri can be found in local menus too – fried fish with rosemary, vinegar and garlic sauce.

something vegetarian

You can get vegetables as sides for pretty much every dish in Corfu. However, most people have no clue that vegetables also make main courses – lots of options for vegetarians then.

Imam eggplants are filled with onion and tomato before getting into the oven, while Briam involves a mix of eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini. Peppers and tomatoes can also be filled with rice and baked in the oven.

Locals love two specific dishes based on herbs though – agriolachana and tsigareli. Agriolachana is boiled and served with lemon and olive oil, while tsigareli is fried and served with pepper or garlic.

greek cheese

Greece is a major producer and consumer of cheese. You can find most Greek types of cheese around Corfu too. Feta cheese is by far the most popular one – made of goat milk. Manuri comes from the same source, but it has a different texture. Kefalotiri is a hard paste that works wonders on top of hot dishes like spaghetti.

Do not forget about local specialities like ladotiri and tirokafteri. Ladotiri is quite spicy and often used to prepare other dishes, while tirokafteri is soft and can be smeared on anything – from bread to peppers.

Bites and snacks

Not bothered about waiting in a restaurant? Interested in a fast and convenient dish that you can eat while sitting down on a bench? Try out the local pitas then. Tiropita is the most popular one – it is basically puff pastry with lots of feta cheese. Other pitas may bring in ingredients like ham, minced meat or spinach.

the classic gyros

Pita gyros is a specific type of sandwich that everyone associated with Greece. If you are a meat eater, you will love it. It is basically pita filled with meat, French fries, tomatoes, onions and tzatziki. Other sauces and ingredients could be used, such as cucumbers. It takes a few minutes to get it and it tastes amazing – sit down and enjoy, but bring some tissues too.

Cakes and other desserts

Whether you are after creams, chocolate, vanilla, fruits or other sweet things, you can find everything in local pastry shops. Some foods are more traditional than others though. If you want something local, go for almonds, nuts and cinnamon in the same cake.

Baklava and kataifi are quite popular in Corfu, while bougatsa cakes can never miss from pastry shops. Sicomada is made with almonds, dried figs, pepper, wine, ouzo, cinnamon and orange skin. Other traditional desserts include fogatsa (some type of croissant), tsaletia (dough with corn and raisins) and tzintzola (raisins, sesame and dried jujubes).

Beverages and alcohol

Coffee could be the ideal way to finish a heavy meal. Greeks have a special coffee that might surprise you. It can be bitter – pikros, sweet – metrio – or very sweet – gliko. The Greek coffee also has ground coffee settled at the bottom, so drink it slowly.

Corfu and Sicily are the only places in Europe where you can find kumquats – these small and tasty tangerines are traditional. They were imported in 1850 by the British. They are most commonly used to produce kumquat liqueur – orange and available pretty much everywhere.

Tsitsibira is another popular drink – lemon juice, water, sugar, lemon oil and ginger. The wine production was impressive in Corfu before the Venetian took over and olive trees ended up everywhere. There are still some popular wines made in Corfu – fraula, skopelitiko and petrokoritho if you like red wine or martzavi, robola, afioni and kakotrygis if you like white wine.