Showing 1-13 of 13 results
-
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.
-
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Advertisement
-
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.
-
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!
-
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.
Showing 1-13 of 13 results
