In Volos, tsipouro is about pleasure and social connection — an excuse for good company and conversation, but also a gastronomic ritual that unfolds in rounds. It’s a game with its own rules and a unique, unspoken code of communication. You don’t usually order extra plates, and you’re not there for a heavy meal, but for tsipouro drinking. The meze arrive as accompaniments.

The ritual begins with cured fish and pickles. Then come small fried or grilled fish. Next, something starchy — a baked potato or a spicy cheese. After that, seafood returns: mussels, shrimp, perhaps even sea urchins. As the drinks keep flowing, the meze become increasingly elaborate, following a silent agreement faithfully respected in good tsipouradika.

And these places are not on the seafront, where excess and a touristy atmosphere prevail. They’re tucked deeper into the city or toward Nea Ionia, on neighborhood streets. That’s where you’ll find the true gems of tsipouro culture: sea anemones, small dogfish, monkfish tails, sun-dried fish, octopus fritters, tsitsiravla, and special home-style dishes. Strange words? No problem — we’ll explain them all.

In Volos tsipouradika, you don’t rush, you don’t drink without food, and you don’t stuff yourself. You savor different flavors, relax, and enjoy.

11 Distinctive Meze Dishes of Volos

Sea Anemones (Kollitsianoi)

Sea anemones, also known as galipes, may look like flowers but belong to the animal kingdom. Found clinging to rocks in shallow waters, they must be harvested carefully, as their sting is painful. In the sea they burn — in the pan, dipped in batter and fried, they transform completely. They are among Volos’ most famous and delicious meze.

Monkfish Tails and Stingray

Monkfish and stingray are two “ugly” fish traditionally avoided in home cooking, but tsipouradika turned them into culinary gems. Fried monkfish tail, with or without garlic sauce, has a velvety texture. Stingray, steamed, fried, or in salad, is tender and flavorful — an excellent tsipouro companion.

Spicy Cheese Spread with Tomato Paste

Volos’ version of kopanisti has nothing to do with the PDO Cycladic cheese. This one resembles spicy feta dip, made with feta, hot pepper, and tomato paste. Fresh anthotyro served with a spoonful of tomato paste on the side follows the same logic — one of the city’s oldest meze.

Octopus in Vinegar & Octopus Fritters

Octopus in vinegar is legendary: boiled with bay leaf, served with good olive oil, sharp vinegar, and fragrant oregano. Octopus fritters are made from the octopus’ mantle and thin tentacles, requiring patience and skill. Crispy outside, deeply maritime inside, they’re a treat for connoisseurs — often appearing unexpectedly at the table if the cook is in the mood.

Cured Fish

Among the first meze to arrive: anchovies, salted mackerel, and sardines, alongside shredded cabbage and pickles to awaken the appetite with saltiness. And of course, lakerda — once brought from Istanbul — firm, buttery, served plain or with oil and lemon, carrying the rhythm of tsipouro drinking all on its own.

Fresh Shellfish

Clams, oysters, scallops, cockles, and “fouskes” are the small treasures of the Pagasetic Gulf. The fouska in particular is extraordinary — hiding a glowing orange flesh with a clean, pure sea aroma. They need nothing more than a few drops of lemon; an entire coastal culture condensed into a single bite.

Sun-Dried Fish (Liokavta / Petalia)

Usually small horse mackerel split open like a horseshoe, salted, sun-dried, then grilled and served with oil and lemon. A simple, almost monastic meze — yet intensely flavorful. A delicacy seasoned by sun and salt.

Tsitsiravla

Tender shoots of wild pistachio, pickled with vinegar and a little garlic. Many consider them the perfect match for tsipouro — and rightly so. Their sweet aftertaste recalls wild artichoke, without the bitterness, intensified by coarsely chopped garlic.

Rock Samphire (Kritamo)

Growing by the sea, on rocks and stone walls, kritamo has dark green leaves and a rich, salty aroma. Pickled rock samphire is a perfect tsipouro meze, served alone or alongside potato salad, taramosalata, garlic dip, or small fish.

Pickled Fern

A jewel of a meze, made from young shoots of wild ferns from Mount Pelion. Pickled, fried, or made into fritters, their flavor lies somewhere between asparagus and mushrooms.

Baked Potato with Butter

Nothing simpler than a potato baked in embers. Split open, with butter melting inside, salt and pepper — nothing more. After a few rounds of tsipouro, it’s a lifeline: grounding, comforting, satisfying without shouting for attention.