Greek Food vs. Mediterranean Food: What's the Difference?

Greek food is Mediterranean food, and it is also one part of a much larger category. If you have wondered whether Greek food is Mediterranean, picture the Mediterranean as a big family and Greek cooking as one branch with its own dishes, cheeses and seasonings. Italian, Spanish, Lebanese and Turkish cooking are other branches of that family. They share a sunny, olive oil-rich foundation, and each one tastes like its own place once the plates arrive.

Is Greek Food Mediterranean? One Country Inside a Big Region

"Mediterranean" is a geographic word before it is a culinary one. Roughly twenty countries border the sea directly, plus the island nations of Malta and Cyprus. They stretch from Spain and Morocco in the west to Lebanon and Turkey in the east. Any cuisine from those shores can wear the label.

Greece sits at the eastern end of the sea, with coastlines on the Aegean and Ionian as well. Its long shoreline and many islands put the sea at the centre of daily life, and that is why Greek cooking fits so naturally inside the Mediterranean family.

Menus have blurred the two words for the same reason. A restaurant can call itself Greek or Mediterranean and be telling the truth either way, which leaves diners guessing about what will land on the table.

What Greek Cooking Shares With the Rest of the Mediterranean Table

Cooks around the sea reach for the same pantry. Olive oil is the main fat. Vegetables, legumes and fresh herbs fill the plate. Seafood and lamb are prepared simply, often with little more than lemon, salt and fire.

Sharing is part of the tradition too. Small plates that land in the middle of the table, called mezze in Greece and the Levant, turn a meal into a conversation. Hummus, grilled octopus and a bowl of olives would look at home from Athens to Beirut.

That common ground has global recognition. In 2013 UNESCO inscribed the Mediterranean diet on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, naming seven countries: Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco and Portugal. Greece stands among the communities that carry this shared way of eating.

What Makes Greek Food Distinctly Greek

Set Greek vs Mediterranean food side by side and the differences show up in a handful of ingredients and dishes. Greek seasoning leans on oregano and dill, where cooks in other parts of the region lean on cumin or saffron. These are the markers that say a plate is Greek:

• Feta and thick Greek yogurt

• Tzatziki, made with yogurt, cucumber, garlic and dill

• Souvlaki, skewers of grilled meat or prawns

• Moussaka, baked layers of eggplant, potato, meat sauce and béchamel

• Spanakopita, spinach and feta in flaky filo

• Gyros, carved meat tucked into pita with tomato and onion

• Dolmades, grape leaves filled with rice and herbs

Feta carries the strongest proof. Since 2002, EU law has reserved the name "feta" for cheese made in Greece by traditional methods. Few ingredients anywhere in the Mediterranean carry that kind of legal identity, and it gives Greek cuisine a clear line of its own.

Ordering in Victoria: What to Expect on a Greek Menu

A restaurant billed as Greek builds its menu around the dishes above. A general Mediterranean restaurant in Victoria is likely to mix influences, so Italian pasta, Lebanese dips and Turkish grills can share one table. Both styles can be delicious, and knowing the difference helps you order what you are craving.

Ithaka Greek Restaurant in Victoria, BC is a family-owned Greek restaurant that describes its cooking as an authentic Mediterranean dining experience. The kitchen works from family recipes shaped by a grandmother's and mother's touch. On the full menu of Greek dishes, you will find souvlaki, moussaka, spanakopita, dolmades, tzatziki with dill and saganaki flambéed at the table. The house specialty is kleftiko, a roast lamb shank cooked low and slow.

The wine list follows the same Greek thread. Ithaka offers the largest selection of Greek wines in western Canada, with over 30 labels from the Great Greek Wines award-winning selections. A glass of Greek red alongside a plate of lamb makes the difference between Greek and Mediterranean easy to taste.