What kind of vacation would it be if we did not indulge in seafood, especially shellfish and fish? Restaurants in Greek resorts offer very tasty specialties with seafood and well-prepared fish, but you can also prepare fish yourself in most accommodations. The price of fish in restaurants is generally much higher than if you buy and prepare it yourself.

It should be noted that in many accommodations frying fish is prohibited, so we recommend that you prepare fish on the grill provided by most accommodations for their guests.

Where to buy fresh fish during vacation

First of all, here are a few tips on where to buy fresh fish during your vacation in Greece. First of all, we advise you to ask for advice from the owners of accommodations or any local residents you trust. Emphasize that you need fresh and quality fish. Locals always know where it is best to buy, which shops to avoid, and will generally give you good advice - unless they themselves own such a shop or one of their very close relatives or friends. Listen to the advice of locals, and then, when buying, use your knowledge to recognize fresh fish, which we will convey to you below.

Buying fresh fish in fish markets and at local markets

First of all, we want to tell you that we mostly prepare fish ourselves in Greece. We buy it either at a trusted fish market or at a local market, also from vendors we trust. You can buy the best fresh fish if you get up early and wait for fishermen to return from fishing in one of the ports near your resort. But let’s go step by step. If you are buying fish in a fish market, know that if it is a good market, it has its working hours until around 1-2 pm or until all the fish is sold. This means that they sell only fresh fish that arrived in the morning. The owners of fish markets roughly know how much they can sell daily and procure that amount. The situation is similar at local markets.

Trusted fish markets and local markets in Greece

Since we lived in Nikiti on Sithonia for 5 years, we bought fish at a fish market on the street next to the Sonia rent-a-car agency, but also from the famous Nikos who drives his small truck through the village every day around 10 am. We also bought at the market in Nikiti which takes place on Fridays. Know that all of them clean the fish you choose without question, so always ask them to do that. Sometimes Nikos does not take on cleaning if you do not explicitly ask for it. But one thing is certain - Nikos always has fresh fish, and he also visits other places in Sithonia, not just Nikiti. When buying fish, you can always ask which fish is from the open sea and which is from fish farms. It may happen that they have the same type of fish from the open sea and from fish farms, and of course, the one from the open sea can be twice as expensive.

How to recognize fresh fish?

There are many ways fish vendors can deceive you, in the sense of selling you a different type of fish if you don’t know them well or selling fish from fish farms as fish from the open sea, but for all these years we have not had such experiences. Maybe we have been deceived at some point, but even if we have, we don’t believe it was frequent. The most important thing, however, is to learn how to choose fresh fish.

Signs of fresh fish:
Eyes: Fresh fish has clear, shiny eyes that look lively. If the eyes are cloudy or sunken, the fish is likely old.
Smell: Fresh fish has a mild, sea scent. If the fish smells strong and unpleasant, it is probably not fresh.
Flesh: The flesh of the fish should be firm and elastic. Press the flesh with your finger - if it quickly returns to its original shape, the fish is fresh. If it remains dented, the fish is older.

Buying fresh fish directly from fishermen

If you are lucky to vacation near a port where there are fishermen, you can also buy fresh fish from the open sea. Fishermen usually dock in ports early in the morning, mostly between 5:00 and 7:00 am, depending on weather conditions, the amount of catch, and the location itself. This is the best time to buy fresh fish directly from them, as they arrive from night fishing. It is best to arrive early, as the fish sells quickly, especially in smaller ports, but in order not to wait in vain, before going to the port for fish, it is good to ask locals or restaurants about the exact time when fishermen dock, as it can vary from day to day and season.

Where to buy fresh fish in Halkidiki, Thassos, Lefkada, and the Thessaloniki region?

Halkidiki:

Nea Moudania - this port is one of the main places in Halkidiki where you can buy fresh fish directly from fishermen.
Nikiti - in Nikiti\, there is the possibility of buying fresh fish directly from fishing boats.
Ormos Panagias and Porto Koufo - larger fishing ports with regular sales of fresh fish.

Thassos:

Limenaria - a port where fish is often sold directly from fishermen.
Limenas - the main port with fishermen who sell fresh fish early in the morning.

Lefkada:

Vasiliki - a fishing port known for selling fresh fish directly from fishermen.
Nidri - a port where you can buy fresh fish in the morning when fishermen dock.

Thessaloniki region:

Michaniona - one of the most famous ports near Thessaloniki with fresh fish directly from boats.

Olympic region:

Platamonas and Nei Pori - ports known for local fishermen selling fresh fish.

Parga:

Parga Harbor - although Parga is not known for large fishing fleets\, local fishermen occasionally sell fresh fish directly from their boats in the morning.

Advice for buying fresh fish from locals

Our advice is to definitely first talk to the owner of the accommodation or another local to get valuable advice from someone who surely also procures fresh fish for their needs.

Restaurants with fresh fish - how to choose

Also, if you decide to consume fresh fish in restaurants, it is important to seek advice from experienced locals who always know which restaurants serve fresh fish. During the winter, some restaurants stock frozen fish for the summer season, so inquire about places with proven freshness. On our blog, we recommend only proven restaurants where we also eat, and in the guide for each region - suggestions about food and drinks.
The best restaurants in Sithonia
Best restaurants and specialities in Thassos (Potos and Limenaria)
Local products and the best restaurants on Kassandra
Tourist Guide

And finally, how to prepare sea fish

For sea fish to be delicious, there is no need to add any seasoning. Just sprinkle it with salt and a little olive oil before grilling, and that’s it. It goes straight onto well-heated grill grates so it doesn’t stick.

You don’t need a lot of salt to prepare sea fish, and adding pepper, rosemary, garlic is definitely not recommended…

Only after you grill the fish, you can drizzle it with a dressing of olive oil, lemon, chopped garlic, and a little parsley if you wish. Or you can simply squeeze a little lemon over it. Sea fish is tasty even if you just lightly salt it without any other additions.

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