Restaurants:

• Metaxy Mas

The proprietor hails from Haniá, so there’s unsurprisingly a Cretan flair to the menu here: Sfakian píttes, apáki (cured pork), stamnagáthi (sweet spiny chicory) greens, and the tumbler of rakí that comes with your preliminary nibbles of olives, barley rusks and cheese.

There are also local dishes like fáva and white aborigine or pan-Cycladic revytháda (chickpea stew) with lime, dill and smoked trout, while the bulgur wheat topped with lamb in yogurt sauce is stellar, as is kritharotó (orzo hotpot) with shrimp, mussels and saffron. Speaking of mussels, we had them here recently delightfully grilled. Mains tend towards the meaty, but there is plenty for vegies- eg: broccoli soufflé and grilled plevrótous (oyster mushrooms). Salads will feed two – for example the ‘Rodi’ with pomegranate seeds, lollo rosso lettuce, orange sections and parmesan. There’s a reasonable choice of beer, bulk wine and also island bottles in the €18–39 range (most around the €26 mark). Seating is either on outdoor terraces looking across to Anáfi island, or inside the vaulted old converted house. The treated pud varies daily; most recently ours was a creditable cheesecake.

Address: Éxo Goniá, 100m down stair-lane from top church
Contact: 00 30 22860 31323
Opening times: 1pm until late, most of the year (closes for two months in winter, usually Dec-Jan)
Reservations: always a good idea, even in low season
Price: allow €24–29 per person for a starter, mains
Payment type: cash or credit cards

• Cava Alta

The hybrid name tips you off that the proprietress is Spanish, and indeed generic Mediterranean flavours happily meet Cycladic/Cretan ones here. Mezédes  (starter platters) like domatokeftédes  (tomato risolles) or mushrooms sautéed with black Iberian ham are a strong point, as are mains such as ham cheek with local white- aubergine purée, or tiganiá (stir fry) of chicken, chorizo and peppers in spicy ouzo-tomato sauce.

More straightforward offerings include creative salads, mushroom risotto, oxtail with capered fáva and Cretan apáki (cured pork). Our smoked sausage was tops, accompanied with chips and valerian salad; sautéed mushrooms were disappointing, being merely supermarket buttons despite the menu promise of ‘wild’. Service is courteous and quick, conjuring a complimentary basket of olives, croutons, chilli sauce and rakí before orders are taken. Dessert, chocolate mousse with orange zest and toasted almond chips, was more than satisfactory; the kérzama (sweet treat) most recently was semolina halvás. The summer roof terrace allows views up to the castle and belfries, or over the village rooftops to nocturnally illuminated ferries in the shipping lane. For cooler nights, sit in the vaulted interior, which with its ornate chandelier is something else, even by the standards of Santoríni káva conversions. There’s an unobtrusive aural wallpaper-think covers of the Black Orpheus soundtrack.

Address: up a stair-lane from main plaza, Pýrgos village
Contact: 00 30 22860 33932, cavaalta.gr
Opening times: March-Nov, daily, 1-10.30pm
Price: allow €16 for two starter plates, or €19-30 for one starter and one main course. All puds are €6 .
Reservations: suggested in busy seasons
Payment type: cash only

• Kokkino Podilato (Red Bike)

With last year’s success as its starting point, the cuisine that Gikas Xenakis created in the charming restaurant of Oia is revving up this year in the hands of Nikos Koutsoukos. Dishes such as the exquisite cod with garlic-and-potato dip and tomato jam; the caramelized chicken thighs in risotto; and the Macedonian halva mousse with spearmint-scented praline and lemon sorbet are expressions of the cuisine’s modern perspective in this atmospheric balcony. Greek Cuisine Award 2017.

Address: Oia
Contact: 22860/71918
Opening times: May-October 15th, daily, evening
Price: € 59 – €76
Reservations: suggested in busy seasons

• ROKA

Although not on the main strip in Oia, it’s worth searching out. Roka (spelled “POKA” on an occasional sign along the way) is a warm and inviting place with unpretentious paper tablecloths and napkins. Roka is a cozy, out-of-the-way restaurant that feels like dinner in a big house. A bit difficult to find but only a minute away from the main marble walk way along the border of the caldera. Seating is on the balcony or indoors and the small patio on the backyard has a beautiful sea view. Some of the specialties include a variety of meze (Greek starters), salads, risottos and onion pies, fried cheese, thin-sliced eggplant with feta and tomato sauce, snails with tomatoes, mussels and many others.

The drinks are reasonable house wine (featuring lots of local wines), high quality bottled wines and soft drinks. The staff make you feel like long-time friends. You shouldn’t miss it if you come for the sunset to Oia.

Address: Oia
Contact: +30-22860-71896
Opening times: May-October 15th, daily, evening
Reservations: suggested in busy seasons

• La Maison Restaurant:

When you see the sun set behind this little town it’s such a magical sighting. The view of the Caldera and the calm sea. Believe me when I say that having dinner in Santorini is a real treat! The food at La Maison is really delicious and the service is very good. They work a lot with local ingredients and the dishes taste just as good as they look.

Address: Imerovigli 84700
Contact: +30 2286025649
Opening times: May-October 15th, daily, evening
Reservations: suggested in busy seasons

• The Cave of Nikolas Tavern

Santorini… Akrotiri beach… By the sea, lies for many years a small, traditional cave, build by Uncle Nikolas with his own hands when he was young.

Made with lots of love and passion, the cave offered a kind of shelter to himself and his little boat.

Always by his side was his wife, Aunt Efstathia, whom her “magical” cuisine made everybody crazy. Unforgettable Spiros Marinatos, headmaster of the excavation project in the archaeological place in Akrotiri, suggested to Uncle Nicolas to alter this shelter in a small tavern, for the hungry workmen of the excavation, offering them traditional and delicious treats such as tomatoballs, fava, “chloro” cheese, spaghetti with sauce and plenty of fresh fish.

Over the years, the cave grew fast known to the visitors of the island, since after their visit at the excavation they used to direct to the beach to taste Aunt Efstathias’ popular snacks and the rich in taste and spice wine of Uncle Nicolas.

Address: Akrotiri, Santorini
Contact: +30 2286082303, +30 2286082304
Opening times: May-October 15th, daily, evening
Reservations: suggested in busy seasons

Bars and Clubs: 

• Enigma Club

Nestled through an arched doorway that leads to an all-white courtyard, Enigma has made its home in Santorini’s Fira since 1979. From June through August visitors arrive to the super-stylish nightspot for DJ dance parties that start around midnight and boom their way through dawn. The dance club is divided between three separate rooms including a super-cozy main bar under a tight barrel-roof ceiling with freestanding bar and flirty scene of under-40 singles. The centerpiece of the interior space is the DJ podium surrounded by an all-white Cycladic decor of VIP banquettes, stone-encrusted walls and tile floors.

Through a more intimate seating area for privy to two-handed cocktails and conversation that doesn’t require yelling, an outdoor courtyard features an additional tiki-style bar with illuminated palm trees surrounded in low-lying bamboo chairs and banquettes reserved for bigger spenders and celebrities during August high-season. The entire club is infused with a mix of electronic dance beats and occasional remixed hip-hop track that keeps the dance mood flowing as well as the bottles of Rose and occasional Ouzo shot.

• Tango Club

Along a cobblestone street on the outer rim of Fira town, Tango Bar is hidden just behind a white-painted wall and stucco doorway. Down a narrow staircase an amazing Caldera view sits on the horizon, as a fashionable crowd of dressy revelers that span the European map enters. Sunsets are one of the most popular times to visit this surprisingly stylish bar that mixes elements of modern Athenian and native Aegean design. The main bar is covered under a palapa-style room with stucco counter and industrial barstools with flattering wood detail. Outside, a series of low-flung sofas line the terrace with upholstered cushions and stools that host evening bottle service during summer’s busier months.

• Koo Club

An island known for romantic weddings and getaway honeymoons, Santorini isn’t regularly associated with great island nightlife like its nearby neighbors of Mykonos and Crete. But Koo Club is an obvious exception with its legendary indoor-outdoor dance experience located in the island heart of Fira.. The indoor space is a two-story arched roof ceiling suspended with crystal-strewn chandeliers and glittery disco balls. A long counter-style bar runs the length of the room with backlit display case of high-end alcohols and flexed-up collection of local bartenders.

During warm summer months a lot of the action happens on the terrace where a two-story lounge space offers an upper-level cocktail bar with banquette and table seating that overlooks a livelier lower-level bar area. A small staircase connects the two spaces and inconveniently acts for as overflow seating for those too cheap or lazy to inquire for a table. The music is tended by a single DJ mixing a mostly techno soundtrack of summertime hits and radio favorites.

• Franco’s Bar

One of the “must” places to see when you visit Santorini, is Franco’s bar. Located in Fira, the picturesque main town of the island, and boasting the most spectacular panoramic caldera view, Franco’s bar is a cult classic.

Serving champagne and a wide variety of wines and sumptuous cocktails, Franco’s bar plays classical music exclusively, and was the venue that established classical music on the island. The reputation for its magical atmosphere has made it world famous and its unique position by the caldera makes it quite unforgettable.

As the sunset in Santorini is a truly unique spectacle, make sure you arrive early to get a good “front row” seat on the veranda -surprisingly enough on a sun lounger! Sit back, relax, enjoy a simple yet impeccable martini or a champagne cocktail and let the intensity of the classical melody lift your spirit and fill your soul. The music and the colors of the sunset, the grandeur of nature, orchestrate a symphony against the most beautiful backdrop in the world.