Psirri, Athens · Greek cooking class
Make moussaka and spanakopita with a local chef near Monastiraki Square, then eat your own cooking on a rooftop.
Likely to sell out. Dinner is served on a rooftop with the Acropolis in view.
Kitchen to rooftop
How the afternoon and evening unfold, from the chef's introduction to the last look at the city.
The order is a guide, and the chef works from the day's ingredients. Start times appear on the booking page once you pick a date.
You head to a kitchen a few steps from Monastiraki Square. Before any cooking, the chef talks through Greek and Mediterranean cuisine and introduces the day's ingredients.
The class begins with two classic Greek pies, a spinach pie and a milk pie. Spanakopita is the spinach one.
Next comes a salad inspired by the Greek islands, with cherry tomatoes and aged local vinegar, and a yogurt tzatziki to go with it.
Moussaka is the baked classic the class teaches alongside the pies. Everything you cook becomes the dinner.
When the class is finished you sit down on the rooftop and eat your own dishes. Wine pairing can be requested at the venue, and the full wine menu and bar are extra.
From the table you look at the Acropolis monuments and the Parthenon, lit at night, and across the centre of Athens toward the dome of Agios Dimitrios church.
Greek cooking, briefly
Greek cooking is founded on wheat, olive oil and wine, and it leans on vegetables, cheese, herbs, lemon juice, olives and yogurt. Filo pastry, honey and nuts run through the desserts. A class in Athens is a short way into all of that.
Spanakopita joins the Greek words for spinach, spanaki, and pie, pita. The traditional filling is chopped spinach with feta, onions or scallions and egg, seasoned with herbs such as dill, mint and parsley, and wrapped in filo.
Tzatziki is a cold dip of salted strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic, olive oil and herbs, served as an appetiser or a side. In the Eastern Mediterranean a spread of small dishes like it is called meze, and a meze can form a meal in itself.
Monastiraki is a flea-market neighbourhood in the old town of Athens, named for the church of the Pantanassa on its square. The rooftop class meets a few steps from that square, in Psirri.
What goes on the plate
The dishes on the menu, with one line each on where they come from.
A Greek spinach pie wrapped in filo, usually with feta and egg. It is one of the two pies the class begins with.
The second classic pie on the menu. It is made with milk, which matters if you avoid dairy.
A salad of cherry tomatoes dressed with aged local vinegar, in the spirit of the Greek islands.
Strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic and olive oil. It sits beside the pies and the moussaka.
A baked dish built on aubergine or potato, often with ground meat. The modern Greek version dates from the 1920s.
The meal is served on a rooftop restaurant, with the Acropolis in view. Drinks are not part of the class: wine pairing is on request and the full wine list is extra.
Which class
| Class | What it covers | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Rooftop class and dinner | Four hours with a local chef near Monastiraki Square: spinach and milk pies, an island-style salad, tzatziki and moussaka, then dinner on the rooftop with the Acropolis in view. Wine pairing can be requested at the venue, the full wine menu and bar are extra, and tips are not included. Vegetarian-friendly; gluten-free is not available. | Couples and friends who want the cooking and the skyline in one evening. Not suitable for wheelchair users. |
| Kerameikos stone-house class | Three and a half hours in a 1920s stone house in Kerameikos: six dishes, including stuffed tomatoes and peppers, spinach cheese rolls, a Cretan barley-rusk salad, Greek scrambled eggs, tzatziki and loukoumades. You eat in the garden with wine from local producers, and the recipes arrive digitally. Groups are small and the menu follows the season. | Cooks who want a family-recipe class in a neighbourhood known for its bars and restaurants. |
| Greek Sunday-dinner class | Four hours cooking a three-course Greek Sunday dinner, a starter, a main and a dessert, then eating it with a glass of wine or a soft drink. You take the recipes home. Menus follow the season, usually with three or four starters or salads and a main. Extra drinks and tips are not included. | Anyone who wants a full three-course menu to repeat at home, or a private class for a party. |
Check open dates for the rooftop class on the same GetYourGuide listing ↗
Three Athens classes
The rooftop class comes first, then a stone-house class in Kerameikos and a three-course Sunday-dinner class. Each one opens its own page on GetYourGuide, and the Athens rail below has more to do in the city.
Four hours with a local chef near Monastiraki Square: spinach and milk pies, an island-style salad, tzatziki and moussaka, then dinner on the rooftop with the Acropolis in view. Wine pairing can be requested at the venue, the full wine menu and bar are extra, and tips are not included. Vegetarian-friendly; gluten-free is not available.
Check this class's dates ↗Three and a half hours in a 1920s stone house in Kerameikos: six dishes, including stuffed tomatoes and peppers, spinach cheese rolls, a Cretan barley-rusk salad, Greek scrambled eggs, tzatziki and loukoumades. You eat in the garden with wine from local producers, and the recipes arrive digitally. Groups are small and the menu follows the season.
Check this class's dates ↗Four hours cooking a three-course Greek Sunday dinner, a starter, a main and a dessert, then eating it with a glass of wine or a soft drink. You take the recipes home. Menus follow the season, usually with three or four starters or salads and a main. Extra drinks and tips are not included.
Check this class's dates ↗More to do around Athens
Plan the afternoon
The kitchen is a few steps from Monastiraki Square in the Psirri district. Two meeting points are in use and the one that applies depends on the option you pick, so read the meeting point on your booking before you set out.
Allow four hours for the class and the dinner, taught in English. Start times appear on the booking page once you check availability, so the light you get on the roof depends on the slot you choose.
Dress as you would to cook at home, and wear comfortable shoes. Pets are not allowed, and the class is not suitable for wheelchair users.
The class is vegetarian-friendly. Gluten-free options are not available, and the menu includes a milk pie, a yogurt tzatziki and a feta-style spinach pie, so dairy-free diets are a poor fit. If you have a serious allergy, get a direct answer from the operator before you reserve.
Wine pairing can be requested at the venue, and the full wine menu and bar cost extra. Tips are not included.
Notes from an Athens food writer
Six stops across four hours, with a note on each.
Go to this note → the menuEach dish in a few lines, with a note on where it comes from.
Go to this note → dietsWhat the class handles, what it cannot, and what to do if it does not fit.
Go to this note → the viewWhat you are looking at from the rooftop, in a few lines.
Go to this note → the neighbourhoodA short walk around the streets next to the kitchen.
Go to this note → choosingThree Greek cooking classes side by side, with the facts that decide between them.
Go to this note →FAQ
It is a hands-on class. You cook with a local chef, and the dishes you make are the dinner you eat afterwards.
Moussaka and spanakopita are the dishes the class is known for. The menu also has a milk pie, a salad of cherry tomatoes with aged local vinegar and a yogurt tzatziki.
Vegetarian guests are catered for. Gluten-free options are not available, and a milk pie, tzatziki and a cheese-filled spinach pie are on the menu, so dairy-free and vegan diets are a poor fit. For a serious allergy, ask the operator directly before you reserve.
Wine pairing can be requested at the venue, and the full wine menu and bar are available for an extra charge. Tips are not included either, so plan to pay for drinks on the night.
Allow four hours. Start times show once you check dates. Two meeting points are in use depending on the option you pick, and the class is not suitable for wheelchair users.
Dinner is on a rooftop with views of the Acropolis monuments and the Parthenon, lit at night, and over the centre of Athens toward the dome of Agios Dimitrios church. The light depends on the start time you choose.
No. Athens Rooftop Cooking Class is an independent guide and does not host or teach any class. Athens Walks runs the rooftop class, and you reserve and pay on GetYourGuide.
Cancelling at least 24 hours ahead brings a full refund, and holding a place now costs nothing today. GetYourGuide applies those terms and is where you manage the booking.
The fare on GetYourGuide depends on your date and party size, and it is shown in your own currency with the full total before you pay.