462 Best Restaurants in Greece

With no telephone number or signs, this simple little family-run garden taverna would likely be missed if there wasn’t a constant line of people waiting to grab a table—in the summer, expect to wait up to an hour. The sea views of Agios Sostis Beach are relaxing, and the perfect thing to gaze at as you wait for your meat and fish dishes that will be expertly grilled on a barbecue. The specialty is the pork cutlet but most traditional Greek tavern dishes are served with salads and creamy dips. To find it, head down a few steps toward Agios Sostis, but before the beach, off the paved walkway, follow the smell of barbecue and look for a line of hungry people.

A very cozy and atmospheric "hideout" with a colorful mix of traditional Greek and antique furniture, floral wallpapers, and warm paint shades (such as lavender, baby green, and peach). This is mostly a café, ideal for intimate catching-up with friends or a relaxed meeting. It serves snacks and homemade desserts as well as coffee, tea, refreshments, and craft beer.

Devotees of loukoumades, deep-fried balls of dough soaked in honey, find ample satisfaction at this family-run café. Selections come in a multitude of preparations including with hazelnut praline, dark chocolate, white toffee, and sour cherry sauces. Combinations of several can be ordered by the skewer. If you don't have a sweet tooth, more lunch-friendly versions come with cheese, bacon, and sesame.

Stop into this venerable old bougatsa shop for an envelope of flaky pastry that's either filled with a sweet cream and dusted with cinnamon and sugar, or stuffed with soft white cheese. A portion of each, served warm with Greek coffee, is a real treat.

The name means "ark of flavors" and the number one bakery in Milos is the place for breakfast in the shaded yard, or to stock up on lunch essentials before a trip to the remote beaches.

Just steps from the quayside of Benitses harbor, where fishermen land their daily catch, Klimataria is naturally the village favorite for seafood. Diners may kick off with marinated anchovy fillets and white taramasalata, continue with fried squid, sardines, or prawns, or choose a fish cooked in a casserole, like spicy local speciality bourdeto. With the classic Corfiot pastitsada on the menu, meat eaters will not be disappointed, and vegetables include dishes made with courgettes, aubergines, and seasonal greens, as well as various imaginative salads.

For more than 50 years this fresh-fish taverna is where those in the know (as well as many fishermen themselves) come for solid, no-frills food. The best choice is the catch of the day; you can pick your own fish or seafood and ask for it to be simply grilled. The menu depends on the weather, but there is always a grilled meat option if the weather is bad, and there are fine classic side dishes to choose from.  Attentive service, a more than adequate wine list, and a quiet setting add up to a recommended destination.

The colorful taverna-style restaurant is set in a bougainvillea-laced courtyard at the end of the "Dining Mile" in Ermoupoli. Local Cycladic ingredients are fused with modern techniques and cooking styles to good effect on the menu, with influences from Thessaloniki and the further Mediterranean. Presentation is intricate and picturesque and the service is welcoming from the proud husband and wife owners.

Whether you sit outside on the terrace or inside near the large glass paneled fireplace, you can observe life in this industrious little town as it hums by. Good coffee, teas, and rich hot chocolates accompany creamy desserts, and wash down toasted cheese and ham sandwiches with a glass of wine or craft beer. It's also the place to have a well prepared cocktail and experience Mtesovo's muted nightlife.

The promise of a meal in this cozy, family-run establishment is alone worth the trip up to the plateau. The taverna is in its sixth decade and still offering delicious pies as well as casseroles and lamb dishes, accompanied by fresh-baked bread and followed up with homemade desserts. The charming proprietors encourage you to linger over your wine or raki and are a mine of knowledge about the Lasithi Plateau.

The family has a small apartment complex, Maison Kronio, a couple of miles down the road with a pool and glorious views of the Dikti Mountains.

This family-run taverna, a father-to-son legacy, hides behind a stone-walled garden on a nameless back lane in town. Charismatic Dimitris moonlights as a fisherman, so whatever he nets at dawn lands sizzling on the grill by dusk. Enjoy sea-bream and red mullet, graze on classic mezedes—silky fava, vineleaf dolmades, and crisp kolokithokeftedes (courgette fritters) dusted with mint. Take note the house wines go down very easily.

This Italian restaurant celebrates the classics of the country, with international twists that keep things fresh and exciting, like yuzu-laced fish and Mexican chilli-infused pasta. Pasta and pizza are made in-house in a glass-walled kitchen. On warm evenings, outdoor tables beckon, and the wide alleyways of the location are a delicious spot for people-watching.

Hidden away in the Dilou quarter, this is one of the most reputable restaurants on the island, featuring the best of both French and Greek cuisine, which makes it well worth the search to find it. Once you're here you'll see a handful of linen-laden tables sat under a canopy of brilliant bougainvillea in an iconic Mykonos photo pose, while the lovely whitewashed candlelit interior features Cycladic arches and a faded 16th-century tapestry from Constantinople. It is very elegant, very sophisticated and very expensive but the fine food and excellent, hospitable service keep people coming.

Perched across the road from the waters of scenic Vouliagmeni Lake, this traditional fish taverna has been serving the best of Greek fishermen's catches since 1889. With wonderful views of crystalline, aquamarine waters, Labros remains legendary for its mussel rice (mydopilafo), its seafood pasta, and its grilled fresh fish that arrives daily from all parts of Greece.

Sitting in the "V" formed by the two streets in the village of Kato Korakiana, this taverna is where locals come to dine on wonderfully prepared local dishes. The only way to eat here is by sharing a variety of meze, like gigantes (giant beans stewed with tomato), pork croquettes in cranberry sauce, or meatballs in spicy tomato sauce. The taverna offers great house wines, too, sourced from the local area as well as from wider Greece.

Not just for bookish types, but certainly ideal if you are one, this cozy café is ideal for indoor work sessions on your laptop as much as afternoon cocktails (virgin or not). It regularly hosts literature events in the evenings but throughout the day is abuzz with tourists resting after the sights or locals who enjoy waking up in a pretty and tree-shaded environment.

Created by a theater designer with plenty of playful vision and gusto, this cozy, friendly, and decidedly pretty café serves good coffee and some homemade refreshments accompanied by tasty bites like pies and salads throughout the day.

Amid all the high-end dining spots, where mains typically start at around €25, there's something comforting in the familiar form of this old-school taverna that has been dishing up Greek comfort food since the early 1960s while all around it has changed. Little surprises about its menu, and portions veer toward the gargantuan. It doesn't have the seaside setting of others, but its pretty, whitewashed terrace is a peaceful spot to sample everything from meatballs to a whole red snapper. This is Greek food made simply and with care. 

Winding whitewashed streets lead to this little beauty serving superlative local products at great prices. A tiny courtyard with a treasure trove of a shop behind it awaits in Ano Syros—small plates of delicious homemade joy are your reward. Tuck in with a flask of ouzo or their hand-squeezed lemonade with ginger.

You'll feel as if you're dropping into someone's home for dinner: family photos of stern, mustachioed ancestors hang on the walls alongside local memorabilia, and the service is just as welcoming. In good weather, there are tables on the street outside and visiting cats can outnumber diners. A memorable meal makes the most of local ingredients—wild mountain greens, fresh red mullet, an addictive potato salad, and marinated octopus sprinkled with oregano.

The choice of dining spots as you head towards Sounion tends to skew between hotel offerings and small touristy places. This venerable old-stager offers a happy alternative, with a nice paved terrace garden in which to sample some of the finest seafood on the coast. Staff are friendly and helpful, while boat-fresh snapper and mackerel arrive fresh from the grill (and deboned if necessary) alongside poached octopus and marinated anchovies.  

Good food is enhanced here by the pretty location, a few feet from the fishing boats on Naousa's harbor. The taverna specializes in fresh fish (from the fisherman a few feet away) and also fine cuisine. Such starters as tuna carpaccio with aromatic oil and smoked salt, and grilled octopus with bucovo and caper sauce segue to complex entrées like seafood pasta with diced asparagus and saffron, or fresh fresh fish baked in a salt crust (order this in advance). For dessert, try the traditional spoon sweets made by Mario's mother.

This former kaffeneio (coffee house) from 1850 has been elegantly decorated in a nautical theme, and it makes a character-filled setting in which to enjoy mussels—the dish Galaxidi is known for—served here in a saganaki pan, steamed, and in a pilaf. There's also seafood risotto and lobster pasta, as well as traditional non-seafood dishes such as homemade pies. Homemade sweets include walnut paste with kaymak (like clotted cream) ice cream.

In the style of an upscale diner, Mavro Provato ("Black Sheep") is located on the pedestrianized street of Kontogeorgaki, upon which you can dine alfresco. Top cuts of meat are aged in a dry-aging fridge, grilled to your liking, and are served on wooden platters. Meat aside their appetizing meze dishes impress visually with colorful sauces and interesting garnishes. The salads are crisp and the desserts rich. They stock a large and thoughtful selection of regional wines.

For a calming view of Naousa harbor and a taste of Greek seafood specialties done to perfection, head to Mediterraneo. Spruced up in 2022, here's the place to try traditional Greek taverna appetizers, including fresh grilled octopus and marinated anchovies, taramosalata, and zucchini balls with tzatziki, before mains that add a bit of contemporary creativity. The all-Greek wine list includes some local gems.

Tucked away behind the Rimondi fountain on a pretty pedestrian street, this little gem makes the best loukoumades---light and fresh doughnuts. Take one of the streetside tables, order a portion with honey and cinnamon, and ask for one of their homemade lemonades. If you want a coffee, be prepared for some theater; it is made by plunging a small pan into boiling hot sand to retain the delicate aromas.

Melina is dedicated to its namesake, the dynamic Never on Sunday actress turned minister of culture, Melina Mercouri. Set on a scenic, village-style Plaka street framed by pink bougainvillea, the tables are always packed. On a hot afternoon try the club sandwich, creamy egg salad, or seafood salad; at night try the peppered fillet or "Melina chicken." The desserts here are good, too, including a rich chocolate sokolatina (pudding cake) and a syrupy orange portokalopita cake (made from shredded phyllo), with a strong Greek coffee.

Yogurt-thick smoothies and scrumptious homemade cakes make this the perfect spot for a sugar kick. Gaze out over the yachts in the harbor and indulge your sweet tooth—the syrup-drenched baklava here is the size of a doorstop and every bit as satisfying as it looks.

On a trellised lane by the harbor, this family-run taverna is a Tinos favorite, serving a wide range of Greek traditional and Tinian dishes. Main-course favorites include spicy lamb cooked in paper and calamari stuffed with cheese, tomatoes, and peppers. Starters such as local artichokes in vinegar sauce or hot eggplant slices wrapped around cheese, mint, and green pepper, and a light, rich mille feuille dessert might bookend a meal here. The name means "between us," and a friendly air prevails. The decor is traditional—pale stone walls and high stone arches—the staff is welcoming, and a fireplace in winter and summer air-conditioning keep it open year-round.

It seems that just about everyone in Santorini looks forward to a meal at this village taverna. Even though the name means "between us," the secret is out and the key to success appears to be to keep it simple—the kitchen sticks to traditional homestyle cooking from Santorini and Crete. You can reach this rural outpost by car, a 10-minute taxi from Fira, or on the Fira-Pyrgos bus.