Eating Local in Greece: Restaurants Off the Beaten Path

While Greece is known for its food and visitors will find a multitude of restaurants serving delicious fare, travelers looking for a true Greek dining experience may want to venture away from crowd favorites. Making an extra effort to find an out-of-the-way restaurant can reward travelers with an excellent local meal and, in many cases, a spectacular view to enhance their dining experience.

In a recent article in Forbes magazine, several Greece-based writers described their favorite local dining restaurants that aren’t necessarily tourist draws. Here are some of them.

Papadakis in Athens

The roots of this restaurant can be traced back to Paros, a Greek island near Mykonos and Santorini where celebrity chef Argiro Barbarigou grew up. For many years, her parents owned a hotel on the island with a popular restaurant known for its fresh fish and local seafood. Barbarigou reopened Papadakis in Paros in 1996 and continued to base the menu on local products and seafood. She has since moved Papadakis to Athens, where it is still serving authentic Greek cuisine.

Statheros Meze Place on Paros

Visitors rave about this restaurant, which Konstantina Manolaki recently opened on Paros. Manolaki is the daughter of Argiro Barbarigou, and like her mother, she serves dishes based on family recipes that use local ingredients. This casual, low-key mezedakia can be found on the back streets of the town of Naousa, and some of its most popular dishes include fried cod with garlic sauce and fried potatoes with minced meat seasoned with Greek herbs. Other menu items of note include Manolaki’s orange cake, stewed chickpeas, spicy prawns, and Parian salad.

Nice n Easy Restaurant in Athens

This restaurant also specializes in local fare, as founders Dimitris Christoforidis and Christos Athanasiadis are leaders in Greece’s organic food movement. The restaurant chain has locations throughout Greece, including in the upscale Kolonaki and Kifissia neighborhoods in Athens. Nice n Easy buys from regional farmers and producers, and visitors can try everything from buffalo meatballs (sourced from a water buffalo farm in northern Greece) to an omelet made of egg whites and oats covered with honey and tahini.

Dioskouri in Kardamyli

It’s hard to decide whether the food or the view is better at Dioskouri in the village of Kardamyli in the southern Peloponnese. Dioskouri offers moderately priced Greek food, and visitors may find its all-you-can-eat barbecue special at less than 15 euros an excellent deal. The menu also includes Greek salad, pita, roasted potatoes, pork and chicken souvlaki, and sausages. All food can be enjoyed with a glass of wine on the terrace, which overlooks the sea and harbor below.

Visitors may want to plan for more than a meal in Kardamyli. This picturesque village has long drawn artists, naturalists, and writers with its forests of cypress and olive trees and high cliffs. Foneas Beach, which one local expert described as a “famous unknown beach,” is a “small paradise” with turquoise water offsetting white stones and boulders big enough to create shady oases along the shore.

Captain Pipinos on Antiparos

This seafood restaurant by the shore is decorated in traditional blue and white to mirror the island’s cool color palette. Specializing in local seafood, including grilled octopus, Captain Pipinos offers dishes such as grilled squid, spaghetti with shrimp, and mussel and clam orzo. A Greek salad with local cheese and a glass of wine complements any meal beautifully. While Captain Pipinos can fill up quickly, especially at lunch, its quiet location, captivating views, and fresh local fare make it a must during any visit to the island of Antiparos.

Patrons can enjoy a view of Antiparos Beach and the refreshing breezes coming off the water during their meal. The beach is a two-minute walk from the restaurant, so visitors may want to follow their meal with a quick swim or nap on the beach.

Mediterraneo Taverna on Paros

If you’re looking for fresh octopus, a Greek specialty, look no farther than Mediterraneo Taverna, located along the shore in Naousa, Paros. A string of octopi hanging on a line to dry greets visitors, who can enjoy a seafood meal with chef Petros Tsounakis’ homemade “suma” — a drink similar to grappa. Other good menu items include giant beans seasoned with sweet paprika, local wild greens (horta), and swordfish with potatoes and roasted tomatoes.

Tzi Tzi Taverna on Donousa

Between the view and the food, one visitor to Tzi Tzi Taverna on the island of Donousa described eating at this hilltop restaurant as feeling “a little bit closer to heaven.” The restaurant is in the village of Mersini, and it specializes in innovative Mediterranean food. Popular dishes include the eggplant salad, feta pie, zucchini balls, tiropitari (a cheese pastry bread), vegetable soup with orange, and classic burger with yogurt and tomato sauce. The owner and staff are known for their excellent hospitality. Sunset may be the best time to visit Tzi Tzi, as the view of the sun sinking behind the sea and surrounding inlands is stunning.