Thessaloniki Bougatsa

Bougatsa is filo pastry baked in a large tray and cut to order, filled most often with a loose semolina custard and dusted with sugar and cinnamon, though cheese, minced meat and spinach versions all exist. Thessaloniki is where it is most associated, brought by refugees from Asia Minor in the 1920s. It is breakfast food: eaten standing up, early, with a coffee.

What you actually see

• The custard version - semolina cream under sugar and cinnamon.
• The savoury fillings - cheese, meat and spinach as alternatives.
• The cut to order - the tray sliced up as people come in.
• The Asia Minor origin - the pastry brought by refugees in the 1920s.

When to go

Shops open early and the best trays are gone by mid-morning. It is eaten year round. Bakeries close in the afternoon.

Honest expectations

The good places sell out early and what is left later is not the same thing. It is very sweet in the custard version. Every shop claims to be the original and the argument is not resolvable.

Nearby

Ano Poli is north, and the food markets are central.