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We've compiled the best of the best in The Cyclades - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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.
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 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.
The first of the Ammoudi fish houses that opened in the 1980s is still a standout among the several excellent tavernas that line the quay in this tiny fishing port just below Ia—you can walk down and take a cab back to town. Lapping waves, bobbing fishing boats, and tables so close to the water's edge that a clumsy move might add a swim to the evening's entertainment, testify to the freshness of the fish, which is simply grilled. Most diners arrive in time to witness the sunset, but the meal often steals the show.
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.
Fronted by beautiful Agios Ioannis Beach, Hippie Fish is one of the liveliest on-the-beach restaurants—an institution since the 1970s, it has continuously updated and moved with the times, but it will always be famous for making the big screen as the 1989 setting for the movie Shirley Valentine, about a dissatisfied housewife "finding herself" on Mykonos. Now offering dining on the beach with the waves underfoot, visitors can re-create their own cinematic experience.
