Evia
The family team catches and cooks its own fresh fish at this beautifully located seafood-starring taverna, with check-cloth tables dotted around a shady…
Must-see restaurants in Greece
Iraklio
This long-running ouzerie (place that serves ouzo and light snacks) just a stone's throw from the fish market specialises in fish – usually freshly caught…
Skiathos Town
Listen to the water rippling beneath the seaside deck while you feast on elegantly prepared mezedhes (fava, feta saganaki), lamb kleftiko (slow oven-baked…
Rethymno
This well-established Venetian villa serves creative Cretan food with a side of romance. Farm-fresh fare steers the menu, resulting in dishes with bold…
Macedonia
The broad decking and engaging service at this wonderfully situated waterside restaurant provide the ideal setting to enjoy a long summer-evening repast…
Iraklio Province
Well away from the tourist track, sandwiched on a road between Piskopiano and Hersonisos proper, and catering to gaggles of locals – often celebrating a…
Argostoli
This restaurant has a huge wooden deck on stilts stretching out into the harbour, which allows you to peer guiltily down into the water at the brothers…
Elounda
One of Elounda's oldest and most traditional tavernas, Marilena enchants with checked-cloth tables, decorative handicrafts and a lively atmosphere…
Andros
Founded in 1965, Batsi's longest-standing eatery is a charming time warp, with colourful tables spilling out onto a lane above the harbour. The food is…
Hania Province
On the main roundabout in Anopoli, Platanos serves hearty lunches, and is known for its roast lamb (available most weekends in summer) and other homemade…
Kalymnos
Despite its humdrum blackboard menu, this extremely friendly beach taverna serves truly exceptional food, including a delicious barley-bread salad, tuna,…
Kos Town
Stretching from beneath the arches of a municipal building onto the main square, this bakery-cafe is run by a cooperative supporting low-income women and…
Iraklio Province
Early risers will appreciate the 7am opening of this alleyway patisserie steps from the main square. Good espresso pairs with all manner of pastries,…
Symi
This ultratraditional spot, at the top of the Kali Strata (steps to Hora), is especially fun in summer, when bouzouki music pipes across its breezy pebble…
Karpathos
The pick of the best-of-both-worlds cafes along this pedestrian street, with a fine old wood-panelled interior decorated in kafeneio style of old, and a…
Dodecanese
Pantelis is one of Patmos' long-standing tavernas, as the blue-and-white decor and vinyl-covered menus attest. But locals and visitors alike pack around…
Skyros
At the airport junction, 10.5km northwest of Skyros Town, this welcoming roadside family restaurant is decked out with Skyrian ceramics and check-print…
Folegandros
On an enchanting little square, Chic is perfectly placed for watching the passing parade. But what’s more impressive is the flavoursome food: everything…
Lindos
This popular taverna climbs from Lindos’ main square through several levels and dining rooms, but most diners gravitate – or should that be levitate? – to…
Ioannina
Fronted by grand arches, this atmospheric place is set in a passage between 19th-century stone buildings. The solid, somewhat modernised Greek menu…
The Mani
'Old Town' is in a beautifully restored building that once housed an incense maker followed by a cigarette workshop. These days the aromas and flavours…
Hania
In an age-old stone building that used to house a hammam, and flanking a quiet square, this romantic taverna serves richly textured dishes with a strong…
Agios Nikolaos
Conversation flows as freely as the excellent house wine at this garage-sized taverna, where wooden doors, all evocatively weathered and cheerfully…
Iraklio Province
Toothsome and original is this simple spot’s cooking style. Clued-in gourmets make the trip to Houdetsi from afar to dine on Roussos’ Cretan cooking,…
Hania Province
The extensive menu here features all the staples, but it’s the location and the sensational views overlooking Vrissi Beach with a backdrop of cliffs that…
Hania Province
It’s well worth the short saunter to the peninsula’s southeastern tip to sample the authentic comfort food and warm hospitality at this taverna, popular…
Skyros
Just 1km inland (south) from Agios Petros beach, in far north Skyros, this outstanding and charmingly rustic terrace taverna rests among vines and a grove…
Kalymnos
Enjoying harbour views from its pretty decked terrace, Yiannis is a reliable spot to head for traditional Greek dishes such as stifadho (meat, game or…
Macedonia
First there's the dining room: extravagantly colourful, with murals that could be Mexican, Indian, Russian, or none of the above, and an unabashed…
Rethymno Province
An excellent choice for lunch, this little taverna has a small but superb daily selection of traditional mayirefta (ready-cooked meals). There’s no menu,…
Skiathos
In a fabulous spot fronting north-coast Kehria Beach, this cheerful rock-built taverna sits amid grassy terraces with olive trees and tables and sunbeds…
Piraeus
A spot of calm: head into this renovated old shopping arcade to dine under grapevines on mezedhes or classic dishes from all over Greece. There's live…
Peloponnese
This casual, ultratypical, family-run taverna in the quaint village of Zatouna is a far cry from the tourist haunts of nearby Dimitsana. The pine decor…
Thrace
Go with an appetite to sample all the local Turkish-inflected forms of pites (pies) here, from flaky layered giozlemes filled with greens to creamy open…
Hania Province
Dine on modern creative Cretan cuisine at this summer-only terrace restaurant at the Kaliviani guesthouse. Dishes are well presented and might feature…
Rhodes Town
Tucked just inside the walls, across from the Archaeological Museum, Dinoris is among the Old Town’s fanciest and more expensive options, with romantic…
Athens
Convivial Israeli expat Ricky Vidal is the force of nature running this fully kosher restaurant that occupies a modern, pleasantly decorated space on the…
Kalambaka
The parasol-shaded tables of the popular Panellinion sprawl across Plateia Dimarhiou alongside the fountain, while the original taverna nearby is filled…
Iraklio Province
This relaxing taverna, housed in a historic building, is delightful for a pre- or post-dinner nip. The walls are lined with eclectic artworks and the…
Central Greece
This excellent riverside taverna's house specialities, including fresh pestrofa (grilled wild trout) and mountain mushrooms – not to mention the handmade…
