Is Greek food popular in Japan?

I have never seen a Greek Restaurant in Tokyo (although there is a good Greek stall in Yokohama china town selling souvlakis)

Greek pastries would do well in Japan I think as there are lots of French style places. Spanakopita, baklavás, Pantespani, Kourabiethes are all very tasty!

"Greek pastries would do well in Japan I think as there are lots of French style places. Spanakopita, baklava, Pantespani, Kourabiethes are all very tasty!"


I agree these are probably great dessert stuff to sell in Japan. But comparing the normal 'sweetness' of the originals to the suitability for Japanese tastebuds:

I think the sugar level needs to be reduced by around 50-80%.

Even French cakes in France need to tone down around 30% before it is around Japanese taste I think. Italian sits somewhere between Greek and Frence. ; )

There are 2 greek restaurants in Tokoy: the double Ax and the Aegean sea... Ouzo can be found in tokyo but very rarely... unfortunately...

IMporting feta and other stuff from AUstralia is a good idea, if its actually produced there...

Still, most dishes have to be a bit "japanized" and of course, you cant have Greek portions in Japan restaurnats!! :)

The largest pop. of Greeks ouside Greece is in Melbourne, so there'd be many goods to source.

A not so sweet pastry would be Loukamathes.

Lokomades (fried donuts with syrups) are still at least 50% too sweet for Japanese tastes I believe.

Greeks make nice, original desserts - I love them. :)

Living in Japan for the past four years and closely following anything and everything related to Greece, I'm very confident Japanese people would be really interested in Greek food and Greek-style cafes. Anyone who has dined at a Greek restaurant or cafe knows that the food (as good as it is) is only one part of the experience - the rest is the relaxed environment and taking your time to enjoy the meal.

The success of Starbucks and other such coffee house chains isn't due to just the products on offer; people want to enjoy the whole experience.

Moreover, Japan's fascination with all things foreign shows no signs of abating. Greece is still very much an enigmatic country amongst Japanese people. From my experience, their apetite for Greece has only been whet - but yet to be satisfied.

hi i will be glad to take any kind of contact with people interresting to open a greek restaurant in kobe area ! markos

oh my god!!!a geek restaurant....what a great idea...I am from Sydney and i have been eating Greek food(well,Greek salads are everywhere in Sydney)for my whole life(well...for the past 23 years)
and i also miss Chicken kababs with a lot and a lot of taboulee(sorry,very very crap spellings) with garlic source and CHEESE!!!
ohohoh....and portugise chicken....i miss the stuffings inside the chicken...with a lot of gravy....YUMMMMMM!!!

P.S. Greek Food also remind me of my good friend, Fransine trohalise...which was the first person whom willing to came over and talked to me when i know no one at the year 7 camp. :)
And Daisy,Christina, Eliza and Maria.....my first group of friends in a new school with knowing no one.And they are all lovely Greeks....

i am sorry...i said geek once...instead of greek....sorry :(

I have been in the import business in Japan for the last 5 years, importing Greek food & wine. I think a Greek restaurant in Tokyo or other large japanese city (Osaka,Kyoto, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Sendai and more) is a great idea, providing you go up-market (forget retsina an souvlaki). There are many ways to present Greek food as the pinacle of gastronomy (its rightful place). I am available for advice. Please visit my webside www.nostimia.com

I think opening a Greek restaurant would be a good idea. When my Japanese girlfriend visited Germany this summer we went to a Greek restaurant there twice and she loved it. She still now says she misses eating Greek food. That makes me believe that Greek food could become popular in Japan.

Thank you very much for your replies. I think that opening a Greek restaurant in Japan is a good idea, as long as you have the qualification to present Greek food in the same quality as other European cuisines. I am thinking of visiting Japan and check the foreign cuisines in major cities like Tokyo, Nagoya and so on. Then, i will think about gathering money for opening the restaurant, as well as getting more and more informations about living and working in Japan.

Didn't see a single greek place during my 2-week trip. Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, French (bakeries), and American (fast food) were most common.

I am Greek and baklava and kebab are Turkish, we all know that.

Hi, I am Chinese living in Japan. I used to live opposite a Greek restaurant when I was studying overseas, I was a regular there! Also enjoyed authentic Greek food when I visited the country, though I can't really remember the names of the dishes I tasted. It'd be great if Tokyo has a Greek restaurant serving authentic Greek food!

Could anyone please tell me where to find the Greek restaurants in Tokyo?

Well , I know there is adecent greek restaurnat in shibuya called Spyros, toher than that, the other 2 I menntioned exists too...

btw,.. Adonaki.... r u The Antonis?!!! I am marietta.. if its u.. small world darling!!!

A wuesiton to those who r in the export business to japanes.e. what difficulties have u found trying t oexport to Japan?.. it would be very helpful for my work.. no.. I am not in the export business thought...

thanks

There are not many, because the Greek healthy food is not yet well known in Japan. The fact is that the typical mediterranean Greek food made out of cereals, plenty of vegetables & olives, olive oil, fish, feta cheese, plenty of tree nuts, pulses, pasta, perfect wines and local spirits like "ouzo" and of course the "sun", make the difference. I am interested to trade with Japanese food importers and restaurand businessmen. Contact me.
Thank you

Greek REstaurant In JaPAn?!!!!Awesome I think Greek food rocks (since im greek)and would impress Tokyo city.

From my experience, our friends in Tokyo like to try other cuisines and are adventurous about food. They love strong flavors such as Italian foods, so I don't see that as a big problem. I love Greek food and whenever I visit Tokyo, I'll come to your restaurant!

Good luck!

Ingredients from the sea, beans, nuts, grains, fresh herbs and vegetables are loved by Japanese people and they also go in for the most luscious French pastries and chocolates. I disagree that the Japanese palate doesn't accept strong flavors or sweet desserts.

In my previous post I mentioned that Japanese people like Italian food, in Tokyo they also like Chinese, Indian and Thai and French foods.

There's a very famous Hungarian restaurant in Tokyo too!

Our friends in Tokyo took us out for Portuguese food.

Our Japanese friends do not shy away from trying new foods with lots of garlic, spices, cheese, etc.

Best of luck to you!