123 Best Restaurants in Greece

This family-run and long-established landmark entices with its playful and innovative takes on classic Greek dishes. While the awe-inspiring panoramic vista of the Aegean Sea would be enough to please customers, owner Nikos Stamatakis and his chef father, Stamatis, wow diners with the island's most exciting cuisine, expertly finessed with on-point presentation. The setting is cool, contemporary, and elegant: perfect for a special occasion. Reserve well ahead as it gets booked up quickly.

This whitewashed fisherman’s cottage on a promontory overlooking Kamini Harbor features a charming terrace decked with nautical pennants and communal tables—perfect for sunset views. The menu highlights grilled daily catches like squid and shrimp.

Enclosed within a leafy, serene courtyard, this restaurant serves some of the best food on the island—with the ambience to match. Traditional fare is on the menu, with carefully sourced specialties that sing of Greece's natural larder, like rabbit roasted in Samos's sweet wine. With knowledgeable waiting staff to boot, this is many a Skiathos regular's favorite restaurant. Reserve at least a week ahead in high season as it tends to be booked up.

The entrance to this well-hidden fine-dining restaurant nestles discreetly between two bars, but it's worth finding. A courtyard terrace so hip you can taste it in the air is the setting for an adventurous Greek-fusion affair with a superb and extensive wine list and dazzling cocktails (from €12). Choose the house special, "sous vide" catch of the day (cooked according to a strict method), to see what all the fuss is about with this melt-in-your-mouth fish. The menu draws on Greek and Italian influences for some of the most creative dishes on the island—albeit with prices to match. A bill for two rarely dips below €120.

Ask a local to name the best restaurant in Aegina, and the response is invariably Vatzoulias. In summer the garden is a pleasant oasis, scented with jasmine and honeysuckle; in winter, nestle inside the cozy dining room to dine on expertly prepared taverna classics. Eggplant in garlic sauce or zucchini croquettes are can't-go-wrong starters. Continue with a dish such as veal in red sauce; thick, juicy grilled pork chops; or moussaka, oven-baked eggplant and potatoes with ground meat enlivened with cinnamon and a wonderfully fluffy béchamel. In winter try the hare stew. A 10-minute walk from Aegina Town center gets you to this rustic taverna where only dinner is served, and only on four evenings a week, usually Wednesday and weekends.

Though it's not situated in Votsi, the restaurant is just a 10-minute drive away, and it's one of the island's most unmissable properties, not least for its delightful restaurant serving up exceptional modern Greek cuisine. Merging in total complement to its natural surroundings, the restaurant's unobtrusive tables, chairs, and canopies are spread out across an olive grove on Leftos Gialos beach, one of the island's most beautiful, with pine forest springing from untouched headlands. The menu features Greek and Alonnisos specialties, and are expertly-cooked by chef Michalis Jovas. There are three luxury villas available to book here, should you never want to leave. 

Fiskardo's harbor is lined with restaurant terraces, but Irida's is the pick of the bunch. Reliably good seafood is the difference-maker, with comforting staples such as shrimp saganaki (in a spicy tomato sauce laced with cheese) supplemented by the odd culinary gem like the sole in champagne sauce. It also runs a rather nice boutique shop around the corner, filled with jewelry, hats, and pretty knitted bags.

One of the most enchanting places to dine in Rhodes is in the garden of this self-styled "mansion," or rather, a small guesthouse, where you'll want to linger amid the foliage and flowers for an entire evening. The menu features a wide array of international influences, from French cookery to fine Italian pasta dishes—all executed with finesse. Desserts lean toward Italy—in honor of the largely Italian crowd here. It gets quickly booked up, so make your reservation ahead of your visit.

This wine bar–bistro is as famous for its food as for a very extensive wine list and a magnificent outlook across the Old Port to the massive walls of the New Fortress. Using pure ingredients from Corfiot farms as well as from small producers all over Greece, the menu takes traditional Mediterranean dishes and moves them to new gastronomic heights; don't miss the wide-ranging cheeses on offer.

Elegant Aeglí Zappiou, an excellent, classic spot for a Greek coffee and bites experience, was reopened recently after an impressive renovation on its interiors that have now turned it into a classy venue for a multitude of events. Inside the Zappeion park that borders the National Garden and next to the open air Aigli cinema, it sprawls among fountains and flowering trees offering tranquility. It's an ideal spot to have a work meeting, read your book or relax with friends, and the restaurant serves a quality array of Greek and international dishes.

Though known for its seafood, the handsomely decorated old rooms, beautiful walled garden, and panoramic view from the roof terrace found here are equalling enchanting. Mussels in wine, scallops in vodka sauce, shrimp risotto in an ouzo sauce, as well as simply grilled fish fill the menu. A side dish might be sautéed squash with wild glistrida (purslane), grown in the restaurant's own gardens.

With mouthwatering dishes inspired by cuisine from Asia Minor and Greece, and ingredients from both the land (seasonal vegetables and quality meats) and the sea (fresh shellfish and seafood), this is one of the top places in the area for a meal. The menu changes with the seasons, but luscious desserts such as the delicious profiteroles and homemade ice cream are a must-try year-round. Whether you visit during the hot months, when white tables with colorful mats are laid out along the pedestrianized Old Town street, or during winter, when tsipouro-sipping locals huddle over loaded platters, Ap’Allou can best be described as cozy, jovial, and a joy (with a gourmet twist) for the tastebuds.

A walled courtyard garden full of climbers and greenery, with well-spaced tables under the stars, is the setting for some similarly elegant and refined dishes. An imaginative and creative take on Aegean cuisine, the ingredients are local and traditional but are handled with a light touch with contemporary influences—this is very modern food. Presentation is a joy, befitting a chef who has worked in some of the finest European establishments. 

In an herb-filled multitier courtyard that leads to a barrel-vaulted dining room, some of the finest food for miles is skillfully prepared. Refined, distinguished dishes are its calling card; sophisticated but true to their traditional roots. Most remarkable is that the same high culinary and aesthetic standards have been maintained for nearly four decades. The focus is on the ingredients, the majority of them local and organic, artfully transformed into a cooking of rare elegance. Reservations are essential in season.

Romantic and rightly popular, Barriello has an enviable position with views of the sea and the village square. A 150-year-old mansion has been repurposed to good effect by charismatic owner Takis, where local ingredients, mostly grown on their own farm, are confidently presented. It's more fine dining than traditional taverna but the tastes are refined and recognizable and it is generally regarded as some of the best food on the island.

Everyone—not just sailors—will appreciate the spectacular location of this classy restaurant, tucked under the northern wall of the Venetian-era Old Fortress beside the yacht club harbor. The food is Greek but offers elevated twists on traditional favorites, using pickled, smoked, and cured ingredients to beautiful-tasting effect. Dishes from all over Greece include Santorini-style fava dip and a salad featuring local nouboulo ham (aka, Corfiot "prosciutto").

Finer dining in Olympia town is reserved for a handful of eateries clustered near the entrance to the archeological site. Dimitra is arguably its most accomplished, with a pretty terrace surrounded by trees and a blend of Italian and Greek fare to savor. Dishes range from pork belly and various pastas to grilled mastelo cheese, and a decent wine list makes this one of the slicker spots in town. Service is slow though. 

A standout among the many affable places along the harbor front, Elia is a little more sophisticated than its neighbors and with a modern European focus offers a refreshingly eclectic take on Greek cuisine with a big nod to local flavors. Fish-focused, the dishes are meticulously presented and as pretty as a picture. As you would expect, the wine list is full of Samian vintages as well as a few of the best from the rest of Greece.

Perched just below Corfu's brooding New Fortress, whose name it borrows, this restaurant serves up knockout traditional Greek dishes with a side of rustic romance from its lovely surroundings—all soft lighting and swaying trees. Tables are tucked beneath stone arches, with sunset skies over the harbor, and plates that really pop—like citrusy ceviche, rich seafood pasta, and fall-apart lamb. It's stylish but unpretentious.

Self-taught and ever-evolving chef Andreas Gavris creates seasonal delights fit for the gods in his justifiably popular restaurant. Standouts include the melon soup with prawns and mint; bourani, a rich rice dish with nettles, wild mushrooms, and a Gruyère-like cheese from Crete; and black pig of Olympus stew and mountain lamb, cooked with mushroom and wheat puree. People travel from far and wide to enjoy Andreas' creations, which help make the superb location become even more enticing. Choose between the classic menu or five a-la-carte options including one vegan selection. The wine list has more than 500 labels on offer.

French-trained chef Kostas Bougiouris lends his expertise to this waterside restaurant. Almost on the beach, the setting is elegant and the cooking focuses on seafood and local Syros products, presented in a modern, creative style. The most gourmet of Syros eateries, crisp linen and a sophisticated white design are the background to the immaculately plated dishes. Romantic and intimate in atmosphere, attentive staff ensure that every visit is memorable.

The old open-air cinema, steps away from the main street, has been lovingly reimagined as the island's gastronomic hot spot. A romantic pastel-painted courtyard festooned with greenery fronts the clearest expression of Tinos's outstanding produce, where clever contemporary trends are married to traditional techniques and recipes. Elegant and beautifully plated, dishes are offered by a brother and sister team proud of their island heritage. Every Greek child knows the song "There was a little boat" (Itan ena mikro karavi) and every visitor to Tinos should know its impressive namesake.

Refined Aegean cuisine with jewel-like presentation is the order of the day—this is food that you devour with your eyes first. There is culinary magic on the plates here, too, though, as this is five-star cooking. A bright and fresh room, wistfully painted with sea creatures and cacti, is the backdrop to this bijou establishment on the main street. The owners and staff are warm and keen to explain the details of every dish. Kalokeri means summer in Greek and the sunshine shines out of every dish. This is an unmissable and unique place.

Family run by the owners of the nearby Opera House hotel, Kavos has umbrella-shaded quayside seating for sunny days and for cooler evenings tables in the elegant setting of an old Symiot mansion. The Med-fusion menu emphasizes local seafood. 

Chef George Mavridis is an expert at merging the flavors of traditional Greek dishes with contemporary tastes to offer an exciting menu that is beautifully presented. The dining space, a whitewashed indoor room and garden dining area shrouded by vines, is inviting. Menus change seasonally but expect Asian and Italian flavors to sit aside the best Greek produce. Attentive and unhurried service makes for the best dining on the island.

With one of the most refreshingly simple menus in Athens (it's limited to fried, crispy crayfish or shrimps and red mullet with a side of Greek salad and house wine), this taverna is always busy. On weekends lines form, as there is a no-reservation policy and because it's become an institution. Although located next to the seafront Naval Academy, there is no view to speak of—all the more reason to focus on the fresh flavors. Eating the shrimps with your hands will only add to the pleasure.

With a large terrace overlooking the sea and Lindos Square, Mavrikos offers elegant simplicity through its flavorful dishes, which twists traditional Greek mezedes with surprisingly delightful results—the usual favorites are offered, but are enriched. Third-generation chef Dimitris Mavrikos owns this institution along with his brother Michalis and has steadfastly maintained its stellar reputation.

An old ceramics factory with a jewel of a courtyard—all stone arches and climbing greenery—is the theater set for the most beautiful restaurant in Ermoupoli. With inspiration from around the globe, this is a very modern iteration of Greek food; there are ceviches, tartares, and foams, and some dishes are deconstructed to their constituent parts. As dusk falls the romance notches up as gentle music plays, lights twinkle, and the ambitious food matches the dramatic setting.