Santorini Restaurants and Dining

(Santorini, Cyclades, Greece)

A traditional Mediterranean influenced cuisine is what you can reliably expect at many restaurants around Santorini. The best traditional Greek tavernas around Santorini truly offer a dining experience to be savoured and remembered, although these days, more and more restaurants on the island are catering solely for the summertime tourists, dishing up what can only be described as bland, expensive food.

That said, if you look beneath the tourist scene and try to see where the local Greeks are dining, Santorini is home to some reliable, family-run restaurants, which are often tucked right away, along the back streets and out of sight. Here you can expect plenty of fresh seafood, meat dishes (often flavoured with garlic and thyme), char-grilled kebabs and battered tomato slices (sutsukaki), often served with Greek salads, locally grown cherry tomatoes or deep-fried tomato balls (keftades).

Where to Eat

Fish tavernas located next to the smaller beaches tend to be more appealing on Santorini, often serving the local community and welcoming tourists - the best even have sea views and terrace seating.

Many restaurants in the capital of Fira target Santorini tourists and compete for your business in a big way, with pushy owners often being a little over persuasive, so do bear this is mind and try not to end up dining somewhere where you didn't really intend to be!

Within Fira, there are a number of recommended dining options and cheap eateries, a number of which are located in and around the Fabrika Shopping Centre.

Also worth considering at Santorini's capital are the restaurants in the very heart of Fira, around the Erythrou Stavrou, and to the north of the town, overlooking the famous 'caldero' crater, although understandably, the best views tend to come at a price here.