Market + class1,290 reviews
4 hAthens: Food Market Visit and Cooking Class with Wine
★ 4.9 · 1,290 reviews
- Shopping walk at Varvakios Agora
- Five Greek dishes, hands on
- 1,290 reviews at 4.9
- Free cancellation
$77per person
Check availability→ Greek food, hands on
Athens Cooking Class: Market Walk, Five Dishes, Wine
An Athens cooking class lets you take Greek food home as a skill, not just a memory. The class compared here is $77 per person for 4 hours: a shopping walk through Varvakios Agora with your cook, five classic dishes made with your own hands, then the meal at the table with wine. Below: the menu, the timing, and how it compares with a food walk at the same price.
Quick answer
The short answer. Book the Athens cooking class if you want to cook, not just taste: $77 per person, 4 hours, rated 4.9 from 1,290 reviews, with a market shopping walk, five dishes and wine with the meal. If you would rather walk and graze, the food walk is also $77 per person for 4 hours and has 3,597 reviews.
The Athens cooking class at a glance
- Price
- $77per person
- Length
- 4 hoursmarket walk, class and meal
- Rating
- 4.9from 1,290 reviews
- Start times
- 9:30 AM or 3:00 PMa morning or an afternoon class
- Meeting point
- Athinas 36first floor, the cooking school
- The market
- Varvakios Agorathe central produce market
- On the menu
- Five dishesfrom dolmades to portokalopita
- Drinks
- Wine, soft drinksplus a shot of Greek digestive liquor
- Taught in
- English or Greekas the listing states
- Cancellation
- Free cancellationreserve now, pay later
The class in detail
Market first, then the kitchen, then the table
A shopping walk with your cook, a hands-on class and a meal with wine.
The day starts at the cooking school on Athinas Street, first floor, where you can leave anything you do not want to carry. From there your cook walks you to Varvakios Agora, the central produce market of Athens, to pick up ingredients and meet some of the traders. The listing is honest about it: this is a shopping walk, not a guided tour of the market, and it may show you corners you would not find alone.
Back at the school the hands-on part begins. The team are local home cooks, and you are involved in preparing each dish rather than watching a demonstration. The meal you made is served with local organic wine and a shot of Greek digestive liquor, and the listing also mentions soft drinks. Then you sit back over a drink while the team takes care of the washing up.
All in, the Athens cooking class takes 4 hours, with about 30 minutes of walking.
Hour by hour
How the four hours run, step by step
The order the listing describes, from the door to the last glass.
- Meet at the school
Athinas 36, first floor, at 9:30 AM or 3:00 PM. Leave your bags there before the market.
- Shop at Varvakios Agora
Your cook leads a shopping walk through the market for the day’s ingredients, with a few traders to meet on the way.
- Cook, hands on
Back in the kitchen you help make each of the five dishes, guided by a local cook.
- Eat what you made
The meal comes to the table with local organic wine and a shot of digestive liquor.
- Leave the dishes
Relax over a drink at the end; the team does the washing up.
What you cook
Five Greek dishes on the Athens cooking class menu
The menu as the listing gives it: three savoury dishes, a sauce and a sweet.
- Dolmades
Vine leaves wrapped around rice with herbs. Beef goes in only if you want it.
- Spanakopita
Spinach pie with a touch of creamy, salty feta, all wrapped in pastry.
- Imam baildi
Roasted aubergines under a rich sauce and feta, a dish that came with Greek refugees from Asia Minor.
- Portokalopita
A sticky, soft orange cake made with filo pastry, oranges and cinnamon.
- Tzatziki
Greek yoghurt with cucumber and garlic; the listing calls it the most popular Greek sauce.
Two ways to eat Athens
The cooking class and the food walk, side by side
Both are priced per person and both last 4 hours. The difference is whether you cook or taste.
| Experience | Price | Length | What you eat | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens cooking class | $77 per person | 4 hours | Five dishes you cook yourself, with wine | 4.9 · 1,290 |
| Food walk with tastings | $77 per person | 4 hours | Pastries, deli tastings, mezze, souvlaki, a taverna meal | 4.9 · 3,597 |
Cook or taste
Who the class suits, and who should take the food walk
Same price and length: the difference is a lesson or a walk.
Same price, same length, same 4.9 rating, so the choice comes down to what you want to carry home. The class gives you five recipes you have made with your own hands, a slower pace and one long sit-down meal in a small kitchen. It suits couples, friends who like to cook together, and anyone who wants to repeat a Greek dinner back home.
The food walk covers more ground. It also passes through Varvakios Agora, then works through bakeries and specialty shops for pastries, cheese, olive oil and wine, Greek mezze, and a souvlaki pita with gyros, with a meal at a downtown taverna on the way. It is a tasting walk with a guide rather than a lesson, it runs rain or shine, and its 3,597 reviews make it the more reviewed of the two. Check its meeting point on the listing before you go.
Before you book
Four things to sort before class
A few minutes now makes the day easier.
- Pick morning or afternoon
The class starts at 9:30 AM or at 3:00 PM; choose the slot when you book.
- Send dietary needs early
Message the class as soon as you book. It cannot change the menu at the last minute.
- Wear comfortable shoes
There are about 30 minutes of walking, so dress for the weather on the day.
- Bring a water bottle
A refillable one: you can top it up at the cooking studio.
Our verdict
Book the class if you want to cook
For a first taste of Greek cooking, book the Athens cooking class. At $77 per person you get the market, five dishes and a meal with wine in one morning or afternoon, rated 4.9 by 1,290 travellers. Want to graze more than cook? The food walk at $77 per person is the better match.
Book direct
The class, the food walk and two catamarans
Two ways to eat your way through Athens, both priced per person, and two catamaran trips with a meal cooked on board.
Tastings walk3,597 reviews
4 hAthens: Original Athens Food Tour (Full Meal Experience)
★ 4.9 · 3,597 reviews
- Bakeries, deli shops and the market
- Mezze, souvlaki and a taverna meal
- 3,597 reviews at 4.9
- Free cancellation
$77per person
Check availability→ 
Our top pick395 reviews
5 hLuxury Athens Catamaran Cruise with Greek Meal & Drinks
★ 5.0 · 395 reviews
- Five hours, Greek BBQ meal cooked on board
- Hotel pickup included
- Two swim stops, towels provided
- Free cancellation
$191per person
Check availability→ 
BBQ on board80 reviews
5 hAthens: Catamaran Cruise with BBQ & Drinks
★ 5.0 · 80 reviews
- Five hours, Brand-new catamaran
- BBQ and wine on board
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
$135per person
Check availability→ Pair it with a boat trip
Take the Greek meal out to sea
If the class leaves you wanting more Greek food in the open air, our top pick is the catamaran with a Greek barbecue cooked on board: $191 per person for 5 hours along the Athens Riviera, with two swim stops and wine included. Boat trips on this site start at $135 per person. Compare all ten in our list of catamaran trips.
Common questions
Athens cooking class questions, answered
How long is a cooking class in Athens?
This Athens cooking class lasts 4 hours, including about 30 minutes of walking to and around Varvakios Agora. You choose a morning class at 9:30 AM or an afternoon class at 3:00 PM.
What do you cook in a Greek cooking class?
The listed menu has five dishes: dolmades, spanakopita, imam baildi, portokalopita and tzatziki. You take part in preparing each one, then eat them at the table with wine.
Is wine included in the cooking class?
Yes. The meal is served with local organic wine and a shot of Greek digestive liquor, and the listing also mentions soft drinks.
Can the class cater for vegetarians or allergies?
The class says it is happy to cater to dietary needs, but asks you to message it as soon as possible; it cannot change anything at the last minute. The dolmades take beef only if you want it.
Cooking class or food walk: which is better?
Both cost $77 per person for 4 hours and both are rated 4.9. Take the class to make five dishes yourself and eat them with wine; take the food walk to taste pastries, deli products, mezze and souvlaki around the market area, with a meal at a downtown taverna.
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