You found the perfect restaurant. You got yourself a table and waited patiently for the server to you. You’ve visited the steam table or the kitchen, where you lifted pot lids and somehow managed to understand as the cook proudly pointed to each item and named it. You returned to your table, where you ordered and waited for the parade of small plates to arrive, which you and your companions savored and washed down with a crisp miso kilo of house white. You’ve been relaxed, having enjoyed the great food, the ambiance of the tree filled plateia (square) where your quintessential Greek taverna is located. But now it’s time to pay and leave. Your plates, cleaned of every last morsel, sit lonely and empty on the table before you. You really are ready to leave… but where is the waiter? At first you wait patiently, looking around, your server may be leaning against the wall near the restaurant’s entrance. Or perhaps he is sitting, chatting with the chef. Our polite non-Greek instincts tell us to wait, he’ll glance our way, he’ll notice us – come over, clear our plates and bring our check. And so, you wait.
It’s about this point in the Greek dining experience where all the memories of your dream Greek dinner can go sour. In your non-Greek mind, you’re thinking, “how rude?” Alas, it is not rudeness or bad service, or that the waiter just doesn’t care. It’s cultural.
In Greece it is considered rude to present the check before the customer asks for it. You can sit there for the next three days and you will not be presented with a check.
So, when you’ve had your fill, and you’re ready to move on, you’ll need to learn the Greek for “can I have the check?” It’s an easy one, after all, you don’t have to worry about mispronunciations or even miscommunicating what it is you want. All you need to do, once you make eye contact with your waiter, is make a signal of writing in the air as if you were holding a pen, and viola… the check will appear (and you may even get a small glass of masticha or another aperitif for your efforts!).
By Athensguide
How does a little girl from Skokie, Illinois find herself in historical Athens, leading curious explorers through the winding streets of Plaka, down "pezodromos" to hidden ouzeries for tempting mezedhes and homemade barrel wine? The journey began more than twenty years ago, and regardless of whether the wanderlust comes from the spiritual and culture DNA flowing through my veins, or the alignment of the stars on that cold mid-December day this Sagitterian came into the world, I never seem to tire of exploring my adopted homeland of Greece. Here you'll join me as I explore Athens: be it the back streets of Psirri and Gazi, or through the National Gardens and Zappeio where a family of turtles makes their home, or down wide, treelined Imittou Street in Pagrati, which pulses with Athenian life 24 hours a day. And while Athens has stolen my heart, the rest of Greece vies for my curiousity and wanderlust. My two guys (that'd be the Greek God, Vasilis and our Greek dog, Scruffy) and I can often be found settling in for a long weekend in some charming mountain village, or a quaint fishing port on a nearby island, or learning how Greek vitners are producing wines that rival some of Napa Valley's finests productions, or celebrating a panayeri in Epirus or sharing in the festivities as a family of Cretan sheepherders come together to sheer their 1500 sheep in the spring ... And if you happen to find yourself heading to Athens, consider finding yourself a real home for your stay. Living amongst the locals, be it for 3 nights or 3 weeks, will offer you the chance to experience true Athens, beyond the Acropolis. Choose from one of our 5 beautiful penthouse and historical homes, and who knows, I may be leading you down that winding "pezodromo" to our favorite hidden ouzerie!
