Restaurants in Dodecanese
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Indigo
You wouldn't expect to find quality in among the fast-food joints of the New Market. But there is Indigo. Salads feature strongly: the Indigo salad with croutons, rocket, walnut, lettuce oil and garlic entices, as does a 'playful chicken' salad made up of chicken strips in vegetables and a hazelnut salad with blue cheese. Subtle and scrumptious at the same time.
reviewed
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Dionysos Fiesta
Take a break at Dionysos Fiesta, specialising in local dishes, including an omelette made with artichokes and Karpathian sausages.
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Marco Polo
You mightn't know about this seriously select dining locale if you didn't read it here. Original Graeco-Italian creations include pork with balsamic vinegar, rocket and sliced parmesan cheese, pork fillet with manouri cheese (a creamier and unsalted version of feta) and fig jam, or Santorini fava lentils with caramelised onions with a sweet wine sauce and mint. Select, but palate-pleasing wine list. Dining at its best in a palm tree caressed courtyard.
reviewed
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Nireas
Another back-street beauty, Nireas is nominally a fish restaurant but still covers the full gamut of dishes. The mydia ahnista (steamed mussels) in a rich flavoursome broth are worth particular mention, as are the skillet-seared mydia saganaki (mussels with tomato and feta cheese). Eat mezes (appetiser) style if you can. The locale is quiet and relaxing.
reviewed
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Paradise Restaurant
A visit here is made more attractive by the lush flower garden and Paradise Restaurant, run by the charming Evdokia. She rustles up a good line in vegetarian dishes, such as revithokeftedes(chickpea rissoles) and filo-pastry turnovers with fillings such as aubergine, vegetables and onion. Stuffed mushrooms or zucchini flowers is another one of her specialities.
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To Meltemi
Unusual in that the New Town sports virtually no beachside tavernas, Meltemi occupies a prime spot just north of Mandraki harbour. Dishes run a predictable gamut of fish and grills, while the oven-baked feta and an original 'Meltemi salad' are worth sampling. Piped music and nautical memorabilia complete the scene.
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Glaros Restaurant
Of the few harbour-side eateries, Glaros is probably the best place to dine. Owners Voula and Giannis are very engaging and serve markakia (feta cheese fingers in vine leaves with a special sauce), among other standard oven-cooked meals, grills and fish dishes, all made from predominantly organic produce.
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Sti Linda
From the Stavros junction a rough track winds upwards to the shepherd's hut on the mountain spine and then an extremely rough track (take care) winds downwards to Kaminakia beach, where there is a good seasonal restaurant, Sti Linda, which rustles up hearty fish soups, oven-baked goat and home-made bread.
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Finiki View Taverna
In Finiki an obvious yet recommendable place to eat is the Finiki View Taverna. Taking poll position on the location stakes overlooking the beach this place does look touristy, but it's Greek enough when it comes to the crunch. The whitebait, octopus salad or the caper salad are all excellent options.
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To Steki tou Tsima
To Steki is an unpretentious and totally untouristy fish restaurant on the south side of Old Town. Sample from an imaginative, and occasionally unusual, array of fish such, as yermanos (leatherback) and shellfish-based mezedhes: try grooved fouskes (sea squirts) to be different!
reviewed
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Ammoöpi Taverna
At the far northern end of Ammoöpi and right on the beach, the food here is uniformly good. Look for the daily specials - the clove-laced mousakas (sliced eggplant and mincemeat arranged in layers and baked) excels. There is a fairly genuine 'Greek music night' once a week.
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Trapezakia Exo
There are a handful places to eat at Livadi - all strung out along the tree-shaded waterfront. Trapezakia Exo is a neat little snack bar-cum-restaurant at the western end of the beach strip. Snap up a fast sandwich, enjoy the cuttlefish speciality or check out the daily specials menu.
reviewed
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Pelagia Taverna
Top culinary marks go to Pelagia Taverna, on the road down to (or up from) Ammoöpi, where free-range goat and lamb are on offer. Opt for the Karpathian salad, the local sheep's milk and white manouri cheese or the excellent mashed fava lentils served with raw onion.
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O Meraklis
After a night out on the tiles a plate of belly-caressing tripe and entrails soup is what is needed - at least according to Greeks who swear by its hangover-curing properties. It's pretty much all it serves. It's rough, it's ready, it's an experience worth trying.
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To Steno
It's a short walk out of the Old Town from the Agios Athanasios gate to To Steno and it's worth the effort for the old-style atmosphere and outdoor dining in summer. Dine ouzo-style with mezedhes such as chickpea patties, zucchini fritters or country sausages.
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Halki
Looking and feeling somewhat out of time, Halki is a thoroughly idiosyncratic eatery almost hidden away in the New Town. Forget about swish décor; choose instead from a wide range of mezedhes and dishes on display. Order the excellent draught house wine.
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Hatzikelis
A former bakery turned fish restaurant, Hatzikelis shuns the mainstream tourist trade and sticks to noticeable quality. The shellfish excel. Look for mussels, scallops with garlic butter and kefalotyri cheese, fresh clams or sea urchin roe. Divine!
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Laganis
If you are looking for an unpretentious places with genuine food and uninflated prices, seek out this family-style taverna in the back streets. Two dishes worth sampling are the succulent fish souvlaki or the mussels filled with cheese and oven-baked.
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La Varka
Blink and you've missed this quietly satisfying café-restaurant tucked away among a myriad of establishments. The menu is small, but it's fair dinkum Greek. Tourists don't often find their way here, though it's easy to find. Symi shrimps excel.
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I Drosia
A top choice is I Drosia overlooking Melitsahas harbour. Among the excellent mezedhes on offer are kalognomones (Kalymnian mussels), ahini (sea urchins) and a real treat - whole squid stuffed with creamy feta cheese.
reviewed
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Astakos
Astakos, just over the headland at Schinontas, is perhaps the best choice of very few options in the area. Try the strapatsada (wild-greens mélange mixed with egg yolk) or the bourloto (spicy oven baked cheese).
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Taverna Kostas
For reliability, quality and sheer down-to-earth wholesomeness, Kostas will fit the bill. You can be sure of good grills and fish dishes relying less on flashiness than time-tested ingredients, served up without fuss in good portions.
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Astropelos
Astropelos serves a small but imaginative range of dishes. There is the pricey pasta with lobster or grilled giant prawns and a cheaper fried calamari option. It's worth it for its shaded beach-front patio as much as for its cuisine.
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Niohori
Like Halki, this essentially nontouristy eatery makes little concession to appearance. Niohori serves up its own meat - the owner is a butcher - and prepares a mouth-watering array of low-cost ready-cooked meals daily.
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Sunset Restaurant
Up on the hill overlooking Hohlakas Beach is the Sunset Restaurant, which is a great spot to watch the sunset (naturally), as well as sample an international, yet Dutch-influenced, menu of mains and snacks.
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