Plaka At Twilight: Another Side Of Athens’s Culinary Heart

Natalie was a great guide! She is very knowledgable, personable and interesting. We went back to several of the stops.

We had a wonderful experience led by Yanis. Walking talking and tasting the iconic flavors of the Plaka neigborhood. Every stop was a highlight augmented by Yanis. From the pleasure of tasting real small batch sheep and goat yogurt, cheese, and spinach filled delights, a voyage understanding olive oil and honey from thyme flowered fields, a flavor filled meal, followed by a moonlight tour through old alleyways. Memories are made with tours such as these.

What a great way to spend our last night in Athens!! Constantine went above and beyond to provide our group a most personalized and memorable experience. He made the extra effort to connect with all of us as we visited a variety of culinary establishments. We tasted some amazing yogurt with sour cherry topping that was so good that I had to buy some for myself. We visited an olive oil store, a fabulous bakery, and had a nice dinner at a very quaint and authentic Greek restaurant. The night did not in there, as we visited a wine bar for a delicious glass of rosé, ending our night with a stop for gelato. Constantine had a great sense of humor, as well as a great knowledge of the local food scene and of Athens. Highly recommend!

Truly a worthwhile experience with the wonderful Gulden as our tour guide. Every stop for a tasting was both educational and delicious; and the history of the region was told while walking from tasting to tasting. Gulden was delightful, attentive, humorous and the type of person you wnt as your friend.

Our Culinary Backstreets food tour in Plaka was one of the highlights of our trip to Greece! The food was delicious, the local spots we visited were wonderful, and it was such a fantastic way to experience authentic Greek cuisine and culture. What truly made the experience exceptional was our tour guide, Sofia! She was warm, engaging, knowledgeable, and passionate about sharing the local food scene and Greek traditions with us. She made the entire tour fun, memorable, and feel like we were exploring Athens with a friend who knew all the best hidden gems. Every stop was special, and we loved discovering places we might never have found on our own. We left with full stomachs, wonderful memories, and an even greater appreciation for Greek food and hospitality. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Athens! And if you’re lucky enough to have Sofia as your guide, you’re in for an extra-special experience. Thank you, Sofia, for making our time in Athens so memorable! ❤️

My husband and I loved our Plaka at Twilight tour with Constantine. It was great to see and learn about the beautiful and historical Plaka neighborhood in Athens. All the stops we made were unique and well planned. The food was amazing! Constantine helped me navigate several food sensitivities with an easy, thoughtful and caring approach. He was an informative and enthusiastic guide. The size of our group made it easy to get to know each other. We only had one day in Athens and we are so glad we made a Culinary Backstreets tour part of our day. This is the second Culinary Backstreet tour we have done and it was a great value for the experience.

What a fantastic food tour. Our guide Natali was wonderful - so knowledgeable about the food but also the city. Highly recommended.

Natali was a fantastic guide for our twilight culinary tour of Plaka in Athens. With a relaxed pace, Natali took us to some amazing and varied culinary experiences that we otherwise would not have known - these were special, local places curated to give us a unique variety of the flavors of Athens - no need for moussaka or baklava on this excursion! This was our second Culinary Backstreets experience in Europe and we will always look for them in our travel destinations - they do not disappoint!

This was one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide Constantin was so knowledgeable about food, culture and history. The selection was great, starting with the best yoghurt I’ve ever tasted, then on to a bakery, olive oil tasting, dinner in a great taverna, then wine bar and gelato. It was a smallish group which was also great. Highly recommend.

Highly recommend this tour of the Plaka at Twilight. Our tour guide Yannis was awesome, his passion & knowledge of the history of Athens was outstanding. Great food tastings and lovely dinner in a traditional Taverna.

This food tour took us through amazing neighborhoods to small local restaurants and shops. It was lots of walking but totally worth it! Yannis was able to not only share great food experiences but he is so knowledgeable about Greek history. He really helped us understand the importance and history of Greek food and culture! What a great time!

Wonderful evening with a small group. We were shown cute neighborhoods and tried so many tastes and treats. Come hungry. Worth doing!

A great experience; Konstantinos was an excellent well informed and good humoured leader. The program was well-devised.

Fantastic experience! Our guide Yiannis was very knowledgeable and great experience!

Long story short, this was a banger of a food tour. My wife and I love to do a food tour in each city we visit, and thus far, this Culinary Backstreets tour reigns supreme. This may be partially because we ended up being the only ones who joined the tour that night, but its also undoubtedly because amazing relationships that our guide (Gulden) has developed within the community of Plaka. Athenians (and Grecians, overall) are an incredibly welcoming group by nature, but when we were in tow with Gulden, we got to experience so much more than what would be available to the average visiting American -- extra special items, second helpings, you name it. Oh, and if you like architecture, she even runs her own architectural tours and showed us all the extra special parts of Plaka that we might have missed otherwise! Gulden even stayed out with us later than we initially anticipated, since we were having so much fun and taking in all of the knowledge she had to offer. From yogurt to olive oil tastings, to spanikopita and Greek wine, to Greek favorites (zucchini fritters, dolmades, etc.) at a taverna facing the Acropolis, we literally ate until we could eat no more, and I truly have no regrets about it. I highly recommend this tour, and Gulden as its guide. You truly cant go wrong!

We had a wonderful evening with Gulden, wish she could do the rest of our trip with us! She was so informative & full of interesting anecdotes. The food was fabulous & we enjoyed the walk thru Athens. Thanks!

Our tour started on time and from an easy to find meeting place. Our guide was Yannis who is an Athens local with a love of food and history. He has an education in archeology and a family who have played a part in the restoration of the Parthenon so we learnt so much as we wandered the backstreets of Plaka. We tasted different yoghurts and olive oils and had a lovely meal of traditional dishes in a 400 yr old building. It’s worth knowing that there are 3 opportunities to taste Greek wine/spirits so pace yourself! Relaxing at the wine bar was a nice touch and we finished with delicious ice cream. We would highly recommend this tour and our guide Yannis!

At first I thought it looked expensive but realized it was the only one that included a full dinner. We had two stops for appetizers, an olive oil tasting that included a small appetizer and small palette cleansing shot, a full dinner, a stop at a wine bar for a glass and Greek snacks and finally gelato. Walked around the lovely Plaka and Gulden was a fantastic guide full of information and stories. Loved it!

We went to places that we normally wouldn’t go in or find on our own. Every place we went to had a story and great experience

A fantastic tour, plenty of food and interesting history. Our tour guide Gulden was fabulous, she was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic!! Highly recommend this tour.

A fantastic tour! Natali was so helpful and shared very interesting information. We went to so many places I absolutely feel the value was worth it. I recommended this tour to other friends too!

A fantastic tour that shows that there is far more to The Plaka than just tourists. I would highly recommend this tour. The food and wine choices and the backstreets and backstories were excellent.

Once again, Culinary Backstreets has proven to be one of the best experiences you can have in a city. You start by thinking you’re going on a food tour, but you end up learning so much more: it's about the city, the country, its history, philosophy, customs, and way of life. And, by the end, you've made friends along the way. I can’t recommend it enough. If you haven’t done one of their tours yet, don’t waste any more time — book one!

Gulden was very knowledgeable and super friendly! She took time to make a connection with everybody in our group and you could tell how much she cares about her community. I would 100% recommend this tour.

Natali was a lovely guide but we wish there had been more choice in terms of the items selected.

Fabulous twilight food tour around Plaka, our tour guide, Gulden, was fantastic, very knowledgeable about the food and the history of Athens. A bit pricey compared to other food tours we’ve previously been on, but we were all very glad we paid the extra, it was definitely worth it and would 100% recommend.

This tour was an amazing end to my nearly two week (first) trip to Greece. I loved the food choices, and the number of things we tried was just right. I loved ending the night with wine and gelato - two of my favorite things and essential food groups! Gulden was a great guide which contributed to a lovely evening. If you are visiting Athens, I recommend this food tour!

A little bit of walking but not too bad. Food tasting stops were fun and educational. Plenty of food and drink to go around. Guide Gulden was great!!

I am a huge fan of Culinary Backstreets not just in Athens, but other cities around the world. This was a great tour of backstreet Plaka and Natali was a terrific guide.

Our guide, Natalie, was fantastic! She gave us the inside scoop on many things only a local would know as well as history. Our trek through the Plaka neighborhood was perfect. I did not feel like a tourist. My favorite was the olive oil visit. We learned a great deal and the sommelier was enchanting. Thank you, Natalie, for sharing your world with us!

Lovely leader. She was friendly and talkative. Loved the traditional food at the main dinner and the bakery. Did not love the olive oil tasting Or liqueurs.

Constantine was everything we could have asked for in a culinary guide: friendly, knowledgeable, and took us to fantastic spots! We started with 2 phyllo pies at a small bakery, followed by an olive oil tasting. We loved learning about the varieties of oils and why they taste different from each other. That was followed by early dinner with SO many options (all wonderful), then sweet treats after we arrived in the Anafiotika neighborhood (a UNESCO site). The last part included a visit to a Greek yogurt shop, then a stop for a cocktail or mocktail, and ended at a gelato shop. There were 6 of us in the group and it was a leisurely pace. A very lovely night with nice people and excellent food!

This was awesome. We covered so many delicious local dishes. Our tour guide was unbelievably interesting and knowledgeable. We saw so many parts of Athens city center. We truly went through backstreets and neighborhoods we would not otherwise have seen and left with highly contented and full bellies. Thank you!

Constantine was a wonderful, warm, and funny guide. Enjoyed every minute of the tour. A real highlight of our trip to Athens. Would recommend without reservation.

Excellent food tour with friendly, knowledgeable guide and great culinary offerings.

This by far was one of the best tour. Golden, our guide was outstanding, fun, knowledgeable and took great care of us. I miss her already! The food was the best as we walked and got to see sites of Palaka, we would have not seen in our own. I highly recommend this tour.

If you do one thing in Athens, make it a Culinary Backstreets tour. Our guide, Natali, is Greek and knows the city. What set this tour apart from anything else we've done was the genuine, personal relationships she had with every single stop along the way. Each location was ready for us before we arrived and were welcomed. The food itself was outstanding. We tasted our way through neighborhood and greek specific gems we never would have found on our own, every stop felt intentional and curated with real care. Beyond the food, the storytelling wove together history, culture, and daily Athenian life in a way that made the city feel completely alive, especially in the evening walking amongst the tourists and locals. We left with a much deeper understanding of Athens than we'd ever get from a guidebook or a museum.

You won’t go hungry. Several stops and ample food. Nice to visit local, small establishments. Very informative about Athens history and culture.

Highly recommend this walking tour through the hidden culinary gems of La Plaka. Our guide, Natali, was great - friendly and knowledgeable - with lots of interesting information to share.

This was a wonderful mix of learning both about Athens in general and its food culture. We were given more food and drink than I expected (pace yourself!), and everything was delicious. Well-chosen spots. Our tour guide was friendly, entertaining, and a wealth of knowledge about modern Athens, ancient Athens, and all of the delicious food we ate. Highly recommend. Nice to do the tour in the evening after sight seeing during the day.

My tour with Natali was delicious, informative, and fun! She shared a good variety of foods and products from around Greece - and she and the suppliers were very informative as to the differences and uniqueness of the products. Even after two weeks in Greece, I had the tastiest fish on the tour that I’d had my whole trip! The tour would serve as a nice introduction to Athens.

Another great experience with Culinary Backstreets. The guide, Natali, was fabulous. She was knowledgeable about the food, Athens and the history. The group has a great time sampling foods from local establishments that as a tourist you would not stumble upon. I highly recommend this specific tour and this company wherever you travel. This is our 4th food tour with them and each one has been totally worth our time and money. Always full at the end too!

What a wonderful way to spend an early evening in the Plaka. Guldin was a very knowledgeable guide that made our tour very interesting and fun. All the stops were unique and we learned a lot about the foods of Athens and Greece. We will definitely recommend Culinary backstreets to our friends!

Natalie a delightful host. Knowledgeable about food, the plaka Greek traditions. Very wonderful evening. Especially enjoyed the visit to the olive oil tasting.

Another great food tour with Culinary Backstreets! Gulden was a great guide, sharing not only good food, but also Greek culture. Highly recommend this tour.

Such a great tour, not only for the wide variety of delicious food, but also for the insights into life in Athens. Gulden was a fantastic guide

My wife and I did the Culinary Backstreets tour in Athens on the evening of August 26, 2025. Gulden was our tour guide. She extremely pleasant, fun and informative and made this a very special experience. The tour took us through the Pkaka area, where we stopped at an artisan dairy shop, a bakery and an olive oil shop where we got to try amazing yogurts, baked goods, sample a variety of olive oils, cheeses and ouzo. This was followed by a wonderful dinner at a charming restaurant with outdoor seating and stops at wine bar and gelato shop. We also got to walk around Plaka at night and see ruins lit up. Overall, this was a wonderful experience. And Gulden helped make it very special. I highly recommend this tour!

Gulden, our guide, was personable and informative. This was our most favored tour (out of 4) of Athens. We learned about the culture and night life of Athenian tourists and locals. We ate amazing foods, yogurt and olive oil tastings, ate typical cuisines and ended the night with gelato and wine. a PERFECT way to end our Athen's stay. Gulden, a very adept English speaker gave us insight into how typical family and friends dine together. We had so much fun and highly recommend this experience and her as your guide.

I loved this tour and Gulden made the experience exceptional with her very friendly nature and personal touch. She also gave us a great history lesson and insight on the locals of Athens. It is beautiful to do all this at night when the city comes alive and cools off.