Terrific entertaining at home with this Greek Feast. Your Greek dinner menu and recipes included. Invite friends and family around for a terrific night in!
There is no denying Greeks and Cypriots enjoy having a great time with their family and friends. Picture a seaside or mountain taverna, plenty of sunshine, some wine, healthy Greek food, laughter and good times. That is life on the Greek Islands. Greeks and Cypriots love to share good times with family. It is one of the most endearing qualities of people from Mediterranean cultures.
Continuing with Compass & Fork tradition of providing dinner party ideas, we close our coverage of Greece and Cyprus with an easy to prepare, Greek feast. You can prepare all of the courses for your Greek feast, or substantially prepare them, in advance. And what is on our Greek dinner menu?
How about:
- Spanakopita, the famous Greek spinach pie. We serve it warm and as an appetizer.
- Greek roast lamb. Is there any more appetizing way to cook lamb? Also a great dish for feeding a crowd.
- Greek village salad. A perfect and light accompaniment to the lamb.
- Loukoumades, Greek donuts with a honey glaze. We top with cinnamon, sesame seeds and crushed walnuts.
And what should you drink to accompany your Greek feast? We discuss the wines of Greece and Cyprus, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, wine growing culture in the world. Surprised? Read on to discover some illuminating facts.
Greek & Cypriot Wines
Wine is not a new story for Cyprus. Recent archaeological discoveries confirm Cyprus has produced wine for almost 5,000 years! These discoveries testify Cyprus may well be the cradle of wine development in the Mediterranean basin. That probably surprises most people. But, consider this.
Cyprus is home to the world’s oldest, known, named wine, commandaria, a dessert wine. Other unique wines to Cyprus include mavro (for red and rose wines) and the white grape xynisteri. And what of Greek wines?
We know a little more about Greek wines as Greece has a larger wine industry and exports these around the world.
Greece produces more white wine varieties than red wine varieties. It must be all of that Greek sunshine, so no surprise there I suppose!
Here is a list of Greek grape varieties, used for wine production:
Whites | Reds |
Assyrtiko | Agiorghitiko |
Athiri | Xinomavro |
Aidani | Mandelaria |
Lagorthi | Mavrodaphne |
Malagousia | |
Moschofilero | |
Robolo | |
Roditis | |
Savatiano | |
Tsaoussi | |
White muscat | |
If you wish, you can read more about the above Greek, grape varieties here.
Another wine you will find in Greece is retsina. Scholars believe Greece has produced retsina for some 2,000 years.
Not to everyone’s taste for sure, as the unique flavor originates from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with aleppo pine resin in ancient times.
Apart from retsina, it can be difficult to source Greek table wines where I live. My suggestion is to enjoy a good bottle of shiraz, it will go perfectly with the roast lamb and the spanakopita.
However, you can find Commandaria in may places. If you want to taste the world’s oldest named wine, they go perfectly with the loukoumades, Greek donuts. In Australia, you can find Commandaria at Dan Murphy’s. As for the US, here is a list of US stockists.
Easy Entertaining at Home with This Greek Feast
For our Greek feast, we are eating the spanakopita as an appetizer. You can prepare and cook the spanakopita ahead of time and serve it warm. The roast lamb is easy to prepare, and again, you can prepare it ahead of time and place it in the oven when the spanakopita comes out. And, you can prepare the batter for the loukoumades in advance.
Greek food is awesome and I am sure our Greek feast will be very popular at your next dinner party. To access the recipes click on the picture or link:
Spanakopita
Greek Roast Lamb
Greek Village Salad
Loukoumades (Greek Donuts)
Like the idea of country-themed dinner parties ideas? Here are some others we feature:
- Turkish Dinner Party
- Italian Dinner Party
- Patagonian Dinner Party
- Vietnamese Dinner Party
- Melbourne Dinner Party
- Peruvian Dinner Party
- Thai Dinner Party
If you like this dinner party menu, Pin It for later!
Amanda
Wonderful menu. I’m excited that you have a recipe for Loukoumades! I love them, but have never made them myself. Will definitely save to make soon!
Editor
Good on you Amanda. We loved our series on Greek food and yes the loukoumades were easy to make and fun to eat. Thanks for your comment.
Elissa
The flavours of Greek food are so delicious – this feast looks fabulous. Love the fact that a fair bit of this can be done in advance.
Editor
Elissa I am a big one on preparation. It just takes the pressure off a party if you can do as much beforehand. Thanks for your comment.
Anna @ shenANNAgans
You are so clever, i love preparing a full on themed feast, it is a nice way of tavelling without leaving your house.
The greek donuts with honey glaze, cinnamon, sesame seeds and crushed walnuts sound seriously good, let me at them. 🙂
Editor
We like a themed dinner. And yes those donuts are a bit of a highlight. Thanks for your comment.
Eileen | The Food Avenue
What an incredible view. I wouldn’t know where to look if eating there, at the amazing ocean or the amazing food on my plate!
Editor
Most of those pictures are from Santorini, a surreal place if ever there was one. Yes Greek food, hard to beat.
Laura
Fantastic idea to do a themed dinner party. I love cooking at home and making recipes that I had while traveling. Keep em coming!
Editor
Laura we have also written themed dinner party articles for Thailand, Peru, Melbourne, Vietnam, Patagonia, Italy and Turkey. You can go here to access. And we do have more planned. Thanks for your comment.
Brenda Tolentino
It’s been so long since I’ve visited Greece, so it is time to visit soon. One of my favorite things about this country is its delicious, healthy food. This menu is simple and makes entertaining at home easy AND delicious. I love lamb and the salad is a perfect side dish.
Editor
Brenda, I could not have said it any better myself! You have detailed all the reasons why Greek food is so good. Yes the lamb is a highlight. Thanks for your comment.
Prateek
Great informative post on Greek foods and wines. I had lived in Greek town of Toronto for a few months a couple of years back and this post brings back good memories. Also good to see that you have highlighted dishes like Spanakopita and roast lamb, Greek cuisine is so much more than just souvlaki and moussaka!
Editor
So glad you enjoyed the post and that it brought back some good memories for you. I had to highlight spanakopita. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like it! Thanks for your comment.
Jen
We spent Christmas in Greece last year and just LOVED the food. We stayed on Crete for part of the time, where we learned all about Greek wine. I had no idea that Greece was such a large wine producer. We had so much fun trying all the new wines…and olive oils…and Greek foods.
Editor
Jen, Yes we loved the food!I don’t think Greek wine is very well known outside of Greece, there is not a lot of exporting. We will have to get to Crete next time!
David @ CookingChat
Mmm, love Greek food, should make it more. This post can be my inspiration for that!
Editor
Such a good word, inspiration. So pleased you are being motivated to cook Greek. Thanks for your comment.
Lucy
I’ve only recently started exploring Greek wines, but I love them–especially the whites! Your menu is basically my ideal meal–especially the Greek donuts. Yum!
Editor
Lucy, everyone seems to like those donuts. A good end to a good meal. Thanks for your comment.
Tracy
What a delicious menu!! Time for a Greek party!
Editor
Easy to prepare it as well. I hope you enjoy it.
Charla @ That Girl Cooks Healthy
Brilliant post, I must admit I’m not too well versed with Greek food. I like the look of that spinach pie because I consume large quantities of spinach on a daily basis. I would be quite keen to make a gluten free version of it, maybe even tap into my Caribbean heritage too 😉
Editor
The spanakopita is a highlight. I think you have a good research project there to make a gluten-free, Caribbean version of it. Thanks for your comment.
Brian Jones
Now that sounds like a wonderful feast, that lamb has me drooling every time I see it!
Editor
Brian I am a sucker for roast lamb and such a big part of Greek cuisine. Thanks for your comment.
Tamara Andersen
Your menu looks fabulous Mark! Retsina is one I’ve never developed a taste for, and I’ll never forget having ouzo (poured out and flamed) on my 21st birthday at a lovely Greek restaurant! We have a tough time finding Greek tables wines as well, and I’d sure like to check them out! Great post!
Editor
Tamara, glad you enjoyed the post. Retsina is not my favorite wine either and now we know why it has such a unique taste. Thanks for your comment.
Sara - The Organic Dietitian
It is my dream to visit Greece! In the mean time I can make these delicious recipes and pretend like I am there!
Editor
Nothing wrong with pretending Sara, we do that all the time. I hope you enjoy the menu.
Lisa @garlicandzest.com
This sounds like a phenomenal meal — especially the lamb! I love your photos too — time for a Greek vacation!
Editor
Lisa, the lamb is my favorite too. Such a popular in the whole region. Greece is very photogenic, easy to take good shots. Thanks for your comment.
Sara
This looks incredible! I love lamb!
Editor
Sara, lamb is my favorite roast too, so much flavor! Thanks for your comment.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
WOW what a great collection of recipes you have there. Greek food is awesome. With this feast you will certainly feel like you are on vacation…but you haven’t even left the house!!
Editor
A fun thing to do with a few friends having a Greek-themed party. Thanks for your comment Gloria.