30 Best Restaurants in The Peloponnese, Greece
While you can enjoy elegant and nouvelle dining in some of the finer restaurants of the Peloponnese's beauty spots, such as Nafplion and Monemvasia, one of the great pleasures of traveling in this region is enjoying a meal on a square or seaside terrace in a simple village. In fact, villages here were the source of such international favorites as avgolemono soup and lamb fricassee. There are several other local specialties to watch for: in the mountain villages near Tripoli, order stifado (beef with pearl onions), arni psito (lamb on the spit), kokoretsi (entrails on the spit), and thick, creamy yogurt. In Sparta, look for bardouniotiko (a local dish of chicken stuffed with cheese, olives, and walnuts), and, around Pylos, order fresh ocean fish (priced by the kilo). In the rest of Laconia, try loukaniko horiatiko (village sausage), and in the Mani ask for ham.
Vegetables are almost always locally grown and fresh in this region famous for its olives and olive oil as wells as figs, tomatoes, and other produce. Seafood is plentiful, though sometimes frozen—menus will usually indicate what's frozen and what's fresh (and frozen usually hails from beyond Greece). A fresh catch is usually available at seaside tavernas, and an octopus or two will usually be drying out front. Inland, many tavernas serve grilled pork from local farms, as well as chicken and roosters plucked that morning. As for wine, beyond those varelisio (from the barrel), there are great reds from the region around Nemea and a top light white from Mantinea. After dinner, try mavrodaphne, a heavy dessert wine, or dendoura, a clove liqueur, as a digestive. Dress is casual and reservations unnecessary, although you might be asked to wait for a table if you're dining with hoi polloi (the masses) at 9 pm or later.
Antica Gelateria di Roma
Traditional Italian gelato (ice cream), in many flavors and dished up in colorful old surroundings, supplies a tempting excuse for a break. Try the zuppa Inglese (trifle) flavor, with hunks of sweet frozen sponge inside.
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Lela's Taverna
The late Mrs. Lela, once housekeeper for author Patrick Leigh Fermor, was famous for her simple, old-fashioned cooking using fragrant homemade olive oil and exceedingly fresh tomatoes and herbs. Her namesake taverna is an institution in these parts, and dinner beneath the trees on the seaside terrace of an oleander-covered stone house is a high point of a visit to the Mani. Chicken with rosemary, light moussaka, and fish soup are among Lela's dishes that her son Giorgos and his staff now prepare. Upstairs are simple but comfortable rooms with fine sea views looking out over the coast.
Taverna Noulis
Teloneio
Voltes
Aegean
Don't let the garish signs depicting the menu put you off: the far-ranging offerings are excellent. You can eat lightly—a gyro or pizza—but do venture into some of the more serious fare, especially such local dishes as the fish that's been oven-baked with onion, garlic, green peppers, and parsley. The house's barrel wine is a nice accompaniment to any meal.
Androuvista
Arapakos
Nafplion locals are demanding when it comes to seafood, so it's a credit to this attractive, nautical-themed taverna on the waterfront that locals pack in to enjoy expert dishes made from fresh catches. The kitchen sends out such traditional accompaniments as a memorable taramosalata (fish roe dip) as well as a few meat dishes, including exquisitely seasoned and grilled lamb chops.
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Diethnes
Locals claim this is one of Sparta's best restaurants, but then again, most head out to village tavernas for a big meal and leave this place to the tour-bus crowd. Even so, the food is reliably good. The classic specialties include a fish dish made with garlic, wine, oil, and rusks; bardouniotiko (chicken cooked with cheese and olives); and, occasionally, sheep's heads cooked on a spit. The tree-shaded garden rounds out a perfect meal.
Elies Hotel Restaurant
Kalimera
Kastro Taverna
Marianthi
You'll feel as if you're dropping into someone's home at dinner here: family photos of stern, mustachioed ancestors hang on the walls along with local memorabilia, and the service, at tables on the street in good weather, is just as welcoming (perhaps too much so, as cats can be as numerous as diners). A memorable meal makes the most of local ingredients—wild mountain greens, any of the fish but especially the fresh red mullet, the addictive potato salad (you may have to order two plates), and the marinated octopus sprinkled with oregano.
Nikos's
"The only time this kitchen closes is if I'm sick," says Nikos Vile, who insists on cooking everything from mamboulas (a moussaka made with tomatoes) to maridakia (lightly fried whitebait) each day. You can sip an aperitif at the bar or hide out in the vine-covered courtyard.
O Thiasos
Salumeria
Takis
The service is legendarily churlish but the fish and seafood, priced by the kilo and served at the water's edge in Limeni, are some of the freshest in the region—and best when simply grilled, usually with mountain herbs. You may end up dining next to the boat that brought in the fresh catch, or for that matter, near a crew cleaning the fish that will soon appear on your plate (it's much more charming than it sounds). You can even spy wild turtles in the bay if you're lucky.
Taverna Bacchus
The best restaurants in Greece are often in small villages, and this appealing family-run taverna and inn set amid fields, a favorite among Olympians, is one such example. The poolside terrace is a lovely place to spend an afternoon or evening, though locals don't start arriving until 10 pm or so for dishes that include a delicious chicken with oregano, grilled lamb, and farm-fresh vegetables that appear in such deliciously simple preparations as baked eggplant with tomatoes and feta.
Taverna Barba Petros
A simple, high-ceilinged room and terrace are the settings for the traditional meals hosted here in the oldest tavern in town. The kitchen uses only market-fresh vegetables and locally raised meat, which appear in simple and delicious ways. Try the baked zucchini, potatoes, and grilled lamb ribs. Dessert—ask for the honey cake—is usually on the house.
Taverna Byzantio
Charcoal-grilled meats are the specialty in this snug, high-ceilinged old room tucked away in the backstreets off the harbor. The cuisine strays from Greece into the neighboring Balkans, with some wonderful schnitzels, cheese-filled pork roast, and other dishes that provide a nice change from a steady diet of local fare.
Taverna Klimataria
Many of the dishes that come to the table in this rustic room or on the flowery terrace are based on homegrown produce, so count on the freshest greens and succulent eggplant and zucchini appearing in moussaka and other traditional favorites. The stuffed grape leaves and stuffed zucchini flowers are excellent starters, and the lamb is grilled perfectly.
Taverna Kostas
Grilled chicken is the main attraction at this psistaria (grill house) run by a hospitable Greek-Australian family, and regulars come from miles around to enjoy it. Horta (boiled wild greens), huge horiatiki (village, i.e., "Greek") salads with a nut-flavored feta cheese, and stuffed zucchini are other reasons to enjoy a meal on the large terrace in warm months or in the cozy dining room in winter.
Taverna Thea
Olympians flock out to the little village of Floka, about 5 km (3 miles) west of town, at dinnertime to enjoy traditional fare in this country setting. Dining is in a homey room or on the summertime terrace with wide views across the landscape, and the specialties are the expertly grilled meats.
Tikla Cuzina
To Kanoni
Kanoni is known for its fine breakfasts, served on a rooftop terrace that gazes down to the square's cannon and across the old battlements to sea. Choose from omelets, ham and eggs, or thick, creamy yogurt and honey, then come back at lunch or dinner for a nicely varied menu that offers some sumptuous seafood alongside old Greek standbys of moussaka, lamb kleftiko, and stamna. There's little innovation here, but the views and food are still mouthwatering.