ARKOI
TRYPAS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Limanaki Arkion
+30 2247 0032230
€25-50 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
A beautiful, atmospheric little taverna in the enchanting bay of the remote island settlement of Arkoi. Colour, good music, a relaxed mood and attentive service set the tone. The dishes are deeply delicious, made with ingredients that radiate freshness and aroma.
KALYMNOS
KAPADIKO
FISH RESTAURANT
Linaria, Kalymnos
+30 694 803 2616
https://kapadiko.gr/
Menu dégustation: €110 / à la carte €50-70 per person
Open from April to October, daily 18:00-23:30
Restaurant with outdoor seating
Chef-owner Michael Marthas returned to his island to open a restaurant of his own, which he named Kapadiko, after the rare sponge considered by the people of Kalymnos to be a treasure of the seabed. The dishes on his menu, which focuses on dry-ageing fish while also expressing his love of cheesemaking, preservation techniques and fermentation, are accompanied by a narrative about his island. Standouts include the shellfish salad with plankton mayonnaise, sea urchin salad, “tarama” made from sea squirt, and seafood giouvarlakia made with tuna tartare and aromatic avgolemono, paired with vine-leaf oil.
KASTELLORIZO
TA PLATANIA
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Horafia
+30 2246 049206, +30 697 419 7062
Up to €25 per person
Open from June to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
In the island’s upper village, on the tree-filled square of Agios Georgios, just a few steps from the church of unique architecture and very close to the Sandrapeia School, stands one of the finest traditional mageireia in the Aegean. Café-style chairs and matching tables are set beneath plane trees and cypresses, across the two levels of the courtyard in front of the kitchen. Inside, a small team works like a well-tuned clock, preparing flavours from another time, as it has done for decades: stuffed onions with the few spices in the rice perfectly balanced, dolmadakia wrapped in just the right vine leaves, kid goat in tomato sauce as they make it in Kastellorizo and Karpathos, and whatever else appears on the day’s menu.
KOS
ALBERGO GELSOMINO RESTAURANT
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
1 Vasileos Georgiou, Kos
Albergo Gelsomino Hotel
+30 22420 20200
https://www.gelsominohotel.com/
€50–75 per
person
Open from March to December
Restaurant with outdoor seating, private parking or valet service
Gikas Xenakis puts his signature on the elegant restaurant of Albergo Gelsomino, renewing its culinary proposition while keeping exceptional ingredients at the centre, ingredients that shine even in the more “classic” specialities. Here, you will be won over by the high-end, generous and comfort-driven deliciousness of the dishes, executed superbly by chef Dimos Pitsis, as well as by the attentive service and the very charming atmosphere.
BROADWAY
GASTROTAVERNA
Meg. Alexandrou 36, Kos
+30 22420 27052
www.broadway-kos.gr
€50–60 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
Over its 36 years of operation, Broadway has always been loved by both locals and visitors to the island. Today, it has passed to the next generation of the family. Chef Giannis Papakonstantinou has renewed the kitchen in the direction of a gastro-bistro, with a strong local identity, while his brother Manos runs the dining room and also curates the wine list. Most of the restaurant’s fine-comfort dishes reflect this approach, such as the Kos tomato salad with basil, strawberry, mizithra and caramelised Kos wine cheese; the pork with chickpeas, carrot, sausage and roasted onion; and the grouper fricassée with cauliflower cream, asparagus and lettuce. These dishes highlight the chef’s collaboration with local producers who are members of the Kos Locally Grown initiative.
CUVEE
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Hotel Aqua Blu Boutique Hotel + Spa
+30 22420 22440
€75–100 per person
Open from
March to November
Restaurant with outdoor seating, private parking or valet service
The gastronomic restaurant of Aqua Blu Boutique Hotel + Spa, under the high supervision of Gikas Xenakis, remains a constant point of reference on the island’s dining scene. Chef Petros Letsis executes, with very good technique, a series of contemporary dishes that stand out for their strong Greek identity, creative ideas and refined flavour.
MOSAICO GASTRO WINE BAR
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Mastichari
Horizon Beach Resort Hotel
+30 2242058800
www.horizonbeachresort.gr/mosaico/
€50–75
per person
Open from March to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
Seasonality and the freshness of ingredients are so central to the culinary thinking of Dimitris Koullias, Executive Chef of Horizon Beach Resort, that for some years now he has chosen to present a different themed menu dégustation each month at Mosaico, built around the products that are at their peak at that particular time. Alongside him, the restaurant’s chef, Sarantis Koullias, ensures that this idiosyncratic cuisine, moving with knowledge and ease between local tradition and fine dining, is executed with finesse and very strong technical skill.
OROMEDON
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Zia, Kos
+30 2242069983
www.oromedon.gr
Up to €40 per person
Restaurant with outdoor seating, special view
In mountain Zia, at Oromedon, the Papakonstantinou family does particularly commendable work, showcasing recipes and ingredients from the local tradition with exemplary professionalism, and in a setting with breathtaking views and a truly one-of-a-kind sunset. Try the goat with greens, baked in the wood-fired oven, and you will remember us. The wine list is very good too.
LEROS
ΜYLOS BY THE SEA
FISH RESTAURANT
Agia Marina
+30 22470 24894
www.mylosbythesea.com
€90–130 per person
Open from May to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating, restaurant by the sea, particularly charming location
The unique location, enchanting atmosphere, curated music and warm hospitality, paired with the passion and expertise of the Koutsounaris brothers, lay the foundations for an unforgettable experience. These are also the elements that have built the reputation of the restaurant they inherited from their parents over the past ten or twelve years, at the edge of picturesque Agia Marina. From there begins an unending sequence of small and large surprises that both justifies and surpasses the reputation Mylos has earned. First comes the extraordinary quality of the ingredients, ranging from ultra-fresh fish and seafood to vegetables from their own garden, extending to expertly dry-aged larger fish and to daring touches such as 30-year-aged soy sauce or fresh wasabi grated at the table. Impeccable technique defines the way every element is handled, while the inspiration and talent of chef Marios Koutsounaris emerge in magical bites that punctuate the quieter choices. The raw preparations are an absolute must, as is the head-to-tail fish served in eight different preparations. The wine list, curated by his brother Giorgos, is also excellent and highly considered, hiding hard-to-find gems. Following its first-place ranking two years ago on The List by FNL Best Restaurant Awards, Mylos by the Sea became the first member of the exclusive No. 1 Club.
SERZA
GASTROTAVERNA
Merikia
+30 693 159 0794
€35–60 per person
Open from May to October
Chef Theodosis Theodosiou and sommelier Giorgos Mitrakos returned to Leros and, in June 2024, opened Serza, a surprise gastrotaverna on the island, through a great deal of personal effort. Rooted in tradition, committed to seeking out the finest local ingredients and following well-balanced creative paths, Serza is a restaurant that stands out and shows gastronomic maturity from its very first year of operation. After all, its two co-owners have impressive CVs and, most importantly, know exactly what they want. The very interesting wine list, with carefully chosen and fairly priced selections from around the world, the attentive service and the understated charm of the seafront space, set against an eerily lit mountain, complete the picture. Together, these elements create an evocative and memorable dining experience.
LESVOS
O GAVRILOS
MEAT RESTAURANT
Petra
+30 2253 091500
Up to €25 per person
Open from January to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating, special view
With perhaps the most beautiful terrace on Lesvos and views of a magical sunset, Gavrilos is located five kilometres outside Petra and serves local meats from the grill, impeccably aged and cooked, with mutton as the standout delicacy. Giouzlemedes, ladotyri saganaki and small pastourma pies complete the menu. The wine and drinks list, featuring local producers, is also interesting.
LEFTERIS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Nees Kydonies
+30 694 590 9973
€25–50 per person
Open from May to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
A Lesvos “secret”. Not even quite a taverna, just a simple courtyard with five tables in the village of Nees Kydonies. At Lefteris, the owner is a fisherman, and every day they cook whatever his boat brings in. They bring it out, you choose, his wife cooks it and her sister serves it. Everything is ultra-fresh and utterly delicious.
RHODES
BLUE BAY RESTAURANT
CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL CUISINE
Atlantica Imperial Resort , Kolympia
+30 2241 057000
https://www.atlanticahotels.com/atlantica-imperial-resort/eat-drink/
€75-100 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
On the elegant terrace of the fine-dining restaurant at Atlantica Imperial Residences, chef Kostas Altikis presents a highly interesting and well-crafted cuisine with a personal style, using exceptional ingredients from both sea and land. His cooking combines tradition and innovation with refinement.
CESAR MEZE BAR
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Lindos
+30 2244031410
https://www.caesarslindos.com/finedining
€50-75 το άτομο
Open from March to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
At Cesar Meze Bar, set on one of the most beautiful rooftops in Lindos, in the “shadow” of its Acropolis, chef Stavros Koustenis presents a highly interesting menu. It begins with his distinctive fine-dining approach to Greek meze, with dishes such as beef meatball tartare with potato, feta, egg yolk and summer truffle, or a tartlet with tuna gyros, anchovy cream, tomato chutney, marinated onion and seaweed. It then continues with inventive, finely crafted dishes inspired both by Greek traditional cuisine and by the wider Mediterranean, such as lamb with lettuce and fennel cream, aromatic wheat, wild chard, yoghurt and dill oil, or a dolma-style risotto with vine-leaf broth, pine nuts and feta ladolemono. The wine list, carefully curated by the restaurant’s owner, is also worthy of mention.
EDESMA
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Gennadi Grand Resort & Spa, Gennadi
+30 2244 043043
https://edesmafinedining.gr/
€70–100 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
At Edesma, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, chef Giannis Kiaourtzis brings together tradition, local ingredients and contemporary gastronomic technique in a menu built around the eating rituals once associated with each day of the Greek week. Each stage refers to a different day and its customary place at the table, beginning with Monday, traditionally the lightest meal of the week, and ending with Sunday’s dessert.
ETEÒN Greek Culture
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Kallithea Ave, Faliraki
+30 6936039999
https://eteongreek.com/
€35–50 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
When Michalis Papageorgiou was choosing a name for his restaurant, he selected a word that perfectly captured his vision of offering an authentic take on Rhodian and Greek cuisine: Eteon, an ancient Greek adjective meaning genuine or true. Together with head chef Panagiotis Zafeiris, he created a menu based on ingredients from carefully selected local producers. Each dish tells a story rooted in the region’s traditions, but approached through a fresh perspective. This allows for creative pairings, such as grilled octopus with chimichurri and giant beans from Feneos purée, as well as meats dry-aged in-house.
FRESH RESTAURANT
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Elysium Resort & Spa, Ammoudes, Kallithea
+30 2241045700
https://www.elysium.gr/restaurants/fresh-restaurant/
€40–60 per person
Open from May to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
At Fresh, the outdoor à la carte restaurant at Elysium Resort & Spa, serving both lunch and dinner, chef Vasilis Koyionis presents a delicious, well-crafted Mediterranean cuisine alongside a more relaxed take on local dishes, adapted to the restaurant’s lighter, more casual character. His carefully composed plates reflect the philosophy of evolving tradition championed by Executive Chef Giorgos Troumouchis.
HELLAS
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Country Road Lardos - Lindos, Pefki
+30 2244 048316 & +30 694 740 3346
https://hellas-pefkos.gr
Open from
March to October
The restaurant’s understated décor and stone-paved courtyard give little indication of what is to follow. Yet the moment you sit down and open the menu, it becomes clear that chef-owner Kyriakos Iakovidis, together with chef Irene Georgoudiou, is presenting a menu dégustation that offers the most up-to-date and flavourful expression of Rhodian cuisine. The à la carte menu also features many dishes that spark interest, such as Lindian small shrimp with cold Rhodian rosol pasta, giaprakia with cyclamen leaves, seafood and fennel, or pastachiouta with chicken, sizzling onion oil, tomato and skotiri cheese.
ILIAS TAVERNA
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Empona Rhodes
+30 2246041415
Open all year around,daily
Restaurant with outdoor seating
The family-run taverna of Ilias Konstantakis and Roula Piperi, on the busy main promenade of Embonas, is one of the last strongholds of the island’s culinary tradition. Here, you can try some of its most characteristic dishes in their most beautifully cooked form: xygkopites (traditional pies), katimeria (a type of cheese pie) with cured cheese, vrithia, chickpeas with goat shank baked in the wood-fired oven, mangoures, a type of pasta, as well as dolmadakia with fresh vine leaves and cabbage, or handmade trahanas with partridge in tomato sauce. Their perfectly grilled lamb chops are also a must-try.
KERASMA COOK N’ DELI
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Dimotiki 0, Pefkos
+30 694 763 2488 & +30 695 130 8059
https://kerasmapefkos.com/
A distinctive little restaurant-deli that gives visitors the chance to discover the flavours of the island in situ. Its owner, Giorgos Kokkinogenis, is first and foremost a master maker of melekouni, Rhodes’ traditional sesame-and-honey sweet with almonds and spices, once offered at weddings, name days and communal celebrations. As he says, he learned the craft by taking part in the village’s communal cooking. Through those shared preparations, Kokkinogenis was initiated into Rhodian culinary tradition. At some point, in order to make use of that knowledge, he began cooking the dishes of those communal meals for visitors to Kerasma, his deli in Pefkos. He makes pitaroudia, Rhodian chickpea balls with local herbs and herbal yoghurt, bakes local beans and serves them with smoked red herring, spinach and mandarin olive oil from his shop. He also proposes lakani, a dish of Rhodian rural tradition made with local meat and hondro (cracked wheat) slowly cooked in a tomato and onion sauce.
LAKANI - MAGEIRIKO TECHNOURGEIO
GASTROTAVERNA
Alexandrou Diakou 12, Rhodes
+30 2241 027033
https://www.lakani.gr/
€25–50 per person
Open all year around, daily
Restaurant with outdoor seating
Chef-owner Dimitris Kontaratos, after many successful years as executive chef in major hotels, decided to open a restaurant of his own. The result is Lakani, a contemporary mageireio, or, as he defines it, a “culinary workshop”, in the heart of Rhodes Town, where he practises the art of cooked dishes and urban Greek food. His menu, which changes very frequently according to the seasons, offers both locals and visitors a finely crafted, Rhodian version of the Greek table. Dishes such as beef with vegetables in a spiced tomato sauce with red wine from Embonas, or Lakani lamb with bulgur and chickpeas, sit alongside more refreshing touches, such as oven-baked pork knuckle in a sauce of grape molasses, miso and chestnut. Among the hits are the crispy potatoes with pineapple sauce and grated 24-month Parmesan.
LIMERI TOU LISTI
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Profilia, Profilia
+30 2244 061578 & +30 6948839272
€30–40 per person
Open all year around
Restaurant with outdoor seating
The taverna of Savvas and Konstantina Papasavvas is set in a pine-covered, semi-mountainous area of southern Rhodes, known for its fallow deer, the Dama dama. On its generous, lush green terrace, beside a 16th-century chapel, you can enjoy delicious traditional dishes from the island, such as pitaroudia (Rhodian chickpea balls) and goat lakani with bulgur, as well as dishes made for meat lovers: excellent kokoretsi, kontosouvli, and generously sized pork and beef steaks.
MAGEIROTECHNEIO PARAGA
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE
Epar.Od. Apollona 13, Apollona
+30 2246091247 & +30 6946287309
https://www.paraga-apollona.gr/
€30–50 per
person
Open daily from May to October, November to April open only during the weekend
Restaurant with outdoor seating
The “mageirotechneio”, as chef-owner Giannis Efthymiou calls his mountain taverna, is housed in the former Italian officers’ club in Apollona. Here, this energetic cook has set out to revive and preserve the culinary tradition of his island. Supported by his family, he cooks exclusively with ingredients from the surrounding area, offering guests an authentic expression of traditional rural cuisine, with many dishes often coming straight from the wood-fired oven. In the beautiful dining room or on the shaded veranda, the meal is served in hand-painted clay vessels made by the island’s ceramicists.
MAVRIKOS
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Central Square of Lindos
+30 2244031232
€50–75 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
The family-run restaurant of the Mavrikos brothers has been housed, since 1933, in a beautiful, quintessentially Rhodian pebble-paved courtyard, with white arches and dense vines that over time have woven a green, shaded “roof” above it, turning the space into a small oasis in this hot, sun-drenched place. The two restaurateurs always manage to win their guests’ hearts: Michalis Mavrikos with his exemplary welcome, and the talented cook Dimitris Mavrikos with his highly interesting, artful, contemporary yet deeply personal interpretation of traditional Rhodian cuisine, which he serves using only impeccable ingredients. Do not leave without trying their watermelon, Politiko, halva, a sweet reminder that there is still so much that can be done along the path of tradition.
NOBLE GOURMET RESTAURANT
GREEK HAUTE CUISINE
Elysium Resort & Spa
Kallithea, Rhodes
+30 2241045700
https://www.noble.gr/
€75–100 per person
Open from May to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating, private parking or valet service
The hotel’s Rhodian Executive Chef, Giorgos Troumouchis, has spent years researching local recipes, work that was also captured in his book Makria Myrodia. Through this deep study, he has managed to bring the island’s cuisine into the present, interpreting and expressing it with clarity and refinement. Today, together with Head Chef Spyros Kougios and their team, he presents four menus dégustation at the hotel Elysium’s elegant rooftop restaurant, with panoramic views over the sea. Each one offers a contemporary expression of this tradition, shaped with technique, memory and a strong sense of place.
TSAMBIKOS 1977
FISH RESTAURANT
Apollonas Street, Kathara beach, Faliraki
+30 694 525 8970
€50–75 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating
When Georgia Filippaki and her brother Giorgos Filippakis took over Tsambikos 1977, their father’s fish taverna on Kathara beach in Faliraki, a few years ago, they set out from the start to renew it while honouring its tradition. They added dishes with a more modern touch, such as linguine with prawn tartare, or tuna gyros with a fragrant spice blend, onion, parsley, tarama and Rhodian ladopita. Yet they never stopped serving, as they always had, whatever the day’s catch brought in, from large fish to sardines or cuttlefish with their ink.
SAMOS
ORIZONTAS
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE
Platanos
+30 22730 39457
€25–50 per person
Open from April to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating, particularly charming location
Although originally from Amaliada, Vasilis Skourfountas, in the kitchen, and his brother Angelos, in the dining room, took over this restaurant ten years ago in one of the most mountainous villages of Samos and have raised it on every level, turning it into one of the finest in the southern Aegean. The view is spectacular, as if you were suspended above the Aegean, while the food is delicious, delicious, delicious, and the wine list is very strong. Together, they make for an unexpected and very welcome whole in the picturesque wine village of Platanos.
SYMI
AGORA RESTAURANT
GREEK HAUTE CUISINE
The Old Markets Boutique Hotel, Kali Strata, Symi
+30 695 730 2565
Five-course menu: €120 per person, with Greek wine pairing. Ten-course menu: €185, with Greek wine pairing. In May and October, only the five-course menu is served, at the chef’s table inside the restaurant.
https://www.agorasymi.com
Open from May to October
Restaurant with outdoor seating, particularly charming location
At Agora, the restaurant of The Old Markets Boutique Hotel, set on the rooftop of an old captain’s mansion overlooking the beautiful little harbour of Symi, chef Christos Sidiropoulos presents his own fine-dining proposition. He works with seasonal, local ingredients, often gathered through his own foraging in the countryside and along the shores of Symi, creating well-crafted dishes rooted in classic Greek cuisine and viewed through the lens of his own flavour memories. Standouts include the catch of the day with sun-dried cherry tomato, wild oregano, sage and fish broth, and the smoked mussel risotto with mussel broth, chard and avgolemono sauce. The desserts by cheffe-pâtissière Vasiliki Giamoura exude the same finesse. The gastronomic experience, together with its unique atmosphere, also earned Agora a place on The Skinos List 2026 by FNL Best Restaurant Awards.
