13 Best Restaurants in The Cyclades, Greece

The standout option for locals and visitors alike amid the tavernas that cling to Pollonia's pretty waterfront. Small plates showcase local specialties artfully presented, while mains update traditional recipes to luxurious gourmet dishes. Into its second decade, service is assured and friendly and it is one of the best places on the island to while away an afternoon or evening.

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, friendly and attentive staff ensure that every visit is memorable.

A bright and fresh room, wistfully painted with sea creatures and cacti, is the backdrop to this bijou establishment on the main street. 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 magic in those saucepans, though, as this is five-star cooking. 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.

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.

A century-old building on a tiny cobbled street hosts white-linen tables on a candlelit veranda. Chef and owner Panagiotis Menardos has worked in top kitchens across the Mediterranean, gathering techniques and ingredients to produce artful, contemporary interpretations of local dishes using the best produce from small suppliers. Comforting, sometimes surprising but always interesting and charming, M-eating is regularly regarded as one of the finest restaurants on the island.

An intimate little garden, away from the wind and noise, is a secret culinary haven where candlelit tables carry dishes for the gods in the moonlit sky above. Nostimon means delicious and it doesn't disappoint as it strives to offer modernized Greek classics. The cooking is authentic but elevated with interesting flavors and textures—an average Greek taverna this is not.

A 19th-century mansion is the stage for one of Santorini's most storied eateries; a traditional white exterior and glossy painted door lead to a chic interior and a stupendous terrace with caldera views on all sides; people call to not only make reservations but to request specific tables. The food is a match for the surroundings; assured and confident, it is an elevated take on the traditional island cuisine with a very seductive wine list to complement it.

A pastel-yellow courtyard hidden among the sea captains' mansions is where those in the know come to eat in Ia. Elegant and delicious, these modern Greek updates on classic cooking are rays of sunshine among the more tourist-oriented fare elsewhere. Rooted in island ingredients, this is food to make you smile. Friendly and down-to-earth staff help to make the experience memorable and the all-Greek wine list is particularly strong on the local Santorini offerings.

Back in Fira, the restaurant that set Santorini on its own gastronomic trail continues to entice and impress in its new incarnation in the imposing setting of an 18th-century Catholic monastery. The ingredients of the Cyclades are redefined under the watch of Michelin-starred chef Ettore Botrini for a one of a kind experience—some of the finest dining in Greece.

Set on a platform on Ormos Isternion Bay, right up against the Aegean Sea with views of Syros, chef and owner Antonia Zarpa produces innovative, well-thought-out dishes that capture the local flavors of her beloved island. Just as pilgrims visit the cathedral, so do food worshippers head to Thalassaki for its ephemeral works of art—the restaurant has such a cult following that speedboats zip over from Mykonos for lunch.

Overlooking the famous infinity pool of the Grace Hotel, Michelin-starred chef Lefteris Lazarou brings his iconic Varouko dishes to the island. The Aegean and all its bounties are the inspiration for the breathtaking dishes that truly express the exceptional ingredients. The food here revels in its Greekness, generous in color and flavor, matched to contemporary techniques and presentation.

Located right off the beach in Kini, on a raised, whitewashed dining space lined with pretty white curtains, Allou Yialou is known for its spectacular sunset dining. It's also where everyone goes for Greek dishes that take on a delightful and delicious gourmet twist. Chef Lina Fournistaki and her husband Yiannis pay close attention to service, and the presentation is impressive—it is rightly an island favorite with the locals for a special meal.

Legendary Psarou beach restaurant that is the place to go on the island for a healthy dose of excess—super-bling, self-conscious, and selfie-central, Nammos is the spot for late lunches next to the sea with the jet set. The eye-poppingly expensive Mediterranean fusion cuisine is actually good, but it's not really about the food and drink: tables are for dancing on rather than eating at, and champagne is for spraying over your fellow diners, racing-driver style. It is a place to be seen spending conspicuously, and depending on your sensibilities, you will either love it or hate it.