42 nd ERSA (EUROPEAN REGIONAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION) CONGRESS "FROM INDUSTRY TO ADVANCED SERVICES - PERSPECTIVES OF EUROPEAN METROPOLITAN REGIONS" Dortmund, August 27th to 31st, 2002 Alex Deffner Lecturer in Urban Planning Department of Planning and Regional Development University of Thessaly, Volos Greece Thomas Maloutas Professor of Urban Geography Department of Planning and Regional Development University of Thessaly, Volos Greece RESTAURANTS IN THE GREATER ATHENS AREA: A SERVICE FOR ALL? Theme Session: SECTORAL CHANGES & NEW MARKETS (CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT) INTRODUCTION The topic of the paper is the analysis of the spatio-temporal and cultural dimension of food consumption in the Greater Athens Area. Τhe purpose of the paper is to uncover the geographical distribution of eating places and the consumption pattern of the residents in Greater Athens Area. Eating in restaurants as a form of entertainment constitutes a practice that has been intensely developed, and socially broadened, in recent decades in most of the developed countries. The conditions in the labour market and the changing demographic structures have created much greater needs for consuming meals outside the home. At the same time, the growth of tourism, migration, and, more generally, of the international movement of people and goods have increased the relevant needs and have internationalized tastes. The percentage of the internationalization of a cuisine in a city is an indicator of its cosmopolitan character. Except for the degree of exposition of the population to international tastes, this indicator is also connected to the level of local cuisine – one could not, for example, make an interesting comparison between London and Paris based on the percentage of restaurants with