If there’s one thing I’m going to research before visiting a new destination, it’s where to eat! And this trip was no exception.
Before our trip, I spent hours researching where to eat in Santorini, comparing restaurant menus, reading reviews, checking locations, and making reservations. Because while I love a beautiful restaurant with incredible views, I also want the food to be GOOD!
During our stay in Santorini, Brad and I ate everywhere from casual waterfront tavernas to elaborate fine-dining restaurants. Some meals stood out because of the food, others because of the setting, and then there was one where I still can’t stop thinking about the French fries. Ha!
Here are seven restaurants we actually tried in Santorini, what we ordered, and which ones I’d recommend for different types of meals.
Location: Pyrgos
Best For: Greek appetizers, sharing plates, and lunch while exploring Pyrgos
We loved exploring the quieter village of Pyrgos, and Occasus Solis was where we decided to stop for lunch. We skipped individual entrées and ordered several Greek dishes to share instead.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite ways to eat in Greece. Give me multiple appetizers so I can try a little bit of EVERYTHING.
We tried three dishes:
The Santorinian salad was especially interesting because it went beyond a standard Greek salad. I love ordering regional dishes like this because you get to try ingredients associated with the destination instead of eating the exact same Greek salad at every restaurant.
I’d recommend Occasus Solis if you’re already exploring Pyrgos rather than making a special trip solely for lunch. Wander through the village, climb toward the castle, and work off the 4,000 calories you ate at lunch. Pretty solid afternoon.
Location: Akrotiri
Best For: Traditional Santorini food and a casual waterfront lunch
Cave of Nikolas was definitely one of the most memorable lunches of our trip. Not just because of what we ate, but because we literally SWAM to our lunch reservation. Ha!
We were exploring Santorini’s southern coastline on our self-drive boat and stopped near the restaurant for lunch. Not exactly how I normally arrive at a reservation!
The restaurant sits directly along the water and has a casual, traditional taverna atmosphere. It’s a great option if you’re exploring the Akrotiri area or want to combine lunch with a day on the water.
We shared several traditional Santorini dishes, including tomatoballs, fava, chloro cheese, grilled white eggplant, and Santorini salad. The tomatoballs were my favorite! Brad loved his lionfish, but I’m not a seafood person, so I’ll happily leave that to him.
I’d absolutely return for the traditional food and waterfront setting.
For more details on what I liked, what I didn’t, and how to work the restaurant into a boat day, read my full Cave of Nikolas Santorini Review: What to Order and What to Know.
TOUR: If you’d rather leave the boating to someone else, you can book a guided Santorini boat tour here. Just check the itinerary if you’re hoping to stop at a particular restaurant, since not every tour includes lunch.
Location: Oia
Best For: Creative Greek dishes with unique flavors and unexpected combinations
Roka was proof that you don’t need a giant caldera view to have an excellent meal in Oia. The restaurant is tucked away from the busiest streets, and one dish here completely surprised me.
Our waiter recommended the slow-roasted Florina pepper with feta mousse, homemade pepper jam, and Aegina pistachios.
OH MY GOSH.
This ended up being one of my favorite bites from our entire Greece trip. And I’m not even sure I would have ordered it without his recommendation!
I share everything else we ordered in my full Roka Santorini Review: What to Order in Oia.
Location: Fira, inside Katikies Garden
Best For: Fine dining, tasting menus, and special occasions
Selene was our best overall dining experience in Santorini.
Located inside a beautifully restored former monastery, the restaurant feels completely different from the island’s cliffside dining spots. The setting is elegant, but the food and service are what really stood out.
We each chose a tasting menu. I ordered the vegetarian Harvest Moon, while Brad chose the Half Moon.
A tomato tart. I know. Not exactly what you’d expect to steal the show, but it did!
It combined different tomato preparations with cheese cream, basil oil, and even basil sorbet. SO good. I loved how creative the flavors were!
Absolutely! The service was exceptional, and our three-hour dinner felt like an entire evening experience. It’s definitely a splurge, but if you enjoy creative food and tasting menus, Selene would be my pick for a special occasion.
I break down the tasting menus, pricing, service, and everything we ate in my full Selene Santorini Review: What to Expect.
Location: Exo Gonia
Best For: Traditional Greek and Cretan cuisine in a relaxed setting
If you want a break from Santorini’s cliffside fine-dining restaurants, Metaxi Mas gives you something completely different.
Located in the quieter village of Exo Gonia, the restaurant focuses on traditional Greek and Cretan cuisine rather than elaborate tasting menus.
It’s known for hearty dishes, generous portions, and a more traditional taverna-style experience. Some of the dishes commonly associated with the restaurant include baked white eggplant, different feta preparations, moussaka, and slow-cooked meats.
Metaxi Mas is also a name that comes up repeatedly when researching restaurants in Santorini Greece. And despite being outside the island’s two busiest tourist towns, it’s extremely popular.
I’d recommend combining a meal here with a day exploring Santorini’s inland villages. Exo Gonia is convenient to include when you’re visiting places such as Pyrgos.
Location: Kamari Beach
Best For: Casual beachfront lunch
We stayed at the Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort in Kamari for five nights, and one of my favorite things about the area was how easy it was to enjoy a completely relaxed beach day.
Sometimes, after spending all morning sightseeing, I don’t need an elaborate multi-course lunch. I just want something GOOD. We ate at the resort’s beach bar during our stay.
And do you know what I remember most? THE FRIES. Ha!
Seriously. I was obsessed with these fries. They tasted incredibly fresh, had SO much flavor, and the seasoning somehow brought all those delicious Greek flavors into a simple order of French fries.
I’m not completely sure what they were doing to them. Whatever it was… keep doing it.
And yes, I realize we ate at some incredible restaurants in Greece, and I’m still talking about French fries. But here we are.
I’d happily eat here again if I were staying in Kamari, although I wouldn’t cross the entire island solely for lunch. The appeal is sitting near Kamari Beach, enjoying a casual meal, and having an afternoon where you’re not rushing anywhere.
Some days call for a tasting menu. Other days call for beach chairs and really good fries.
I support both.
Location: Oia, inside Andronis Luxury Suites
Best For: Sunset views, romance, and a special-occasion splurge
If you’re looking for the best view we had during dinner in Santorini, this was it.
We booked Lycabettus for 7:00 PM, just before the 7:38 PM sunset, and the timing was PERFECT! Our seats in the Cliff Area had incredible panoramic caldera views, and I’d choose that exact spot again.
At Selene, the food was the star. At Lycabettus? THAT VIEW. It felt like dinner and entertainment all in one. It’s definitely a splurge, but I’d absolutely recommend it for a romantic sunset dinner. Just prioritize booking the seating area you want!
My full Lycabettus Restaurant Santorini Review: Is It Worth It? covers the seating options, tasting menu, everything we ordered, and what I’d do differently.
For the restaurants I really cared about eating at, I made reservations. Santorini gets busy during the summer and early fall, and I wouldn’t want to build an itinerary around a particular restaurant only to discover there wasn’t a table available.
Here’s how I’d approach reservations at these seven restaurants.
| Restaurant | My Reservation Advice |
|---|---|
| Occasus Solis | I’d reserve for dinner |
| Cave of Nikolas | Yes, especially for a summer lunch |
| Roka | Yes, particularly during busy season |
| Selene | Book well in advance |
| Metaxi Mas | Definitely recommend reserving |
| Radisson Blu Zaffron Beach Bar | More casual; check access if you’re not a resort guest |
| Lycabettus | Book well in advance, especially for sunset and preferred seating |
WENDY’S TIP: Check restaurant locations before finalizing your itinerary. I planned several of our meals around the villages we were already visiting, which saved us from driving back and forth across the island just for dinner.
Santorini restaurant prices are ALL over the place. You can grab a casual gyro or inexpensive lunch one day and spend several hundred euros on a tasting menu the next.
These are planning estimates, not fixed menu prices. Drinks, seafood, premium ingredients, tasting-menu upgrades, and restaurants with prime caldera views can push your total considerably higher.
My recommendation is to mix casual meals with one or two nicer dinners. You don’t need every meal to include a €200 tasting menu, but it’s worth budgeting for a splurge if there’s a particular restaurant you’ve been wanting to experience.
If you end up booking anything for your trip, using my affiliate links helps support my blog at no extra cost to you. I spend a lot of time researching and writing these guides, so I really appreciate the support.
We stayed in Kamari, but there are plenty of other areas to consider depending on whether you want beachfront hotels, caldera views, or easy access to restaurants and shopping.
I had less than 7 hours to spend in Hydra, Greece, and here is how I made the most of it.
From waterfront lunch to swimming at two beautiful beaches, this day trip was one of my favorite parts of Greece.
Read my full Hydra itinerary on the blog and save this for your trip!
This is what I mean by lunch with a view. 🇬🇷
Sunset Restaurant on one side, the Aegean Sea on the other.
And even as someone who doesn’t usually go for seafood, this spot in Hydra surprised me. Between the fresh sea bass, panko-crusted feta, and waterfront setting, it was a meal worth remembering.
Save this for your next trip to Greece!
Flying out of Frankfurt at the crack of dawn? Stay at the airport, not in the city!
The Hilton Frankfurt Airport is connected to Terminal 1 and the long-distance train station, so the walk to your gate takes a few minutes and no taxi. The rooms are soundproofed so well you barely hear the planes, some have runway views, there’s a sauna, and the bread and butter at Rise are dangerously good. It costs more than hotels farther out. On a budget, the Hilton Garden Inn next door gets you the same walk for less.
Save this for your next Frankfurt layover ✈️
No landmarks, no crowds, no souvenir shops. Otterberg is the everyday side of Germany 🇩🇪
It’s a small town just outside Kaiserslautern. Lunch at Putai inside the historic Das Blaue Haus means crispy chicken in coconut curry and spring rolls with homemade sweet chili sauce, then a slow walk past the old church and quiet streets. The Palatinate Forest and Humberg Tower views are close by. If you want a packed itinerary this isn’t your town, but if you like good food and nowhere to be, you’ll love it.
Save this for your Germany road trip!
Every 6 minutes a new round unlocks, and you can eat your way around the world for two hours. 🌍🍽️
Masons in Kaiserslautern: Korean BBQ, Jamaican jerk chicken, raclette potatoes, crispy baked ricotta from Monaco, and the Belgian cookie cheesecake you’ll still be talking about the next day. €39-45 per person. Bring a group and pace yourself, because they charge for leftovers.
Save this for your next trip to Germany
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
