The Saronic Gulf Islands Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Saronic Gulf Islands - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Saronic Gulf Islands - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
The go-to taverna for the islanders, Tholos is nestled in the pine forest spilling down from the temple of Afaia on the road down to Ayia Marina. The wonderful views through the trees down to the sea are complemented by the flavorsome rustic dishes served at this establishment. Meat grilled to your taste is the staple here. The veal in a rich herby tomato sauce with macaroni is another favorite, and most of the vegetables are either home grown or locally sourced.
Don't leave Hydra without some traditional almond macaroons in your suitcase. The Tsagkaris family, led by octogenarian matriarch Anna Tsagkari, have been lovingly making them in their workshop for more than 70 years.
Ask a local to name the best restaurant in Aegina, and the response is invariably Vatzoulias. In summer the garden is a pleasant oasis, scented with jasmine and honeysuckle; in winter, nestle inside the cozy dining room to dine on expertly prepared taverna classics. Eggplant in garlic sauce or zucchini croquettes are can't-go-wrong starters. Continue with a dish such as veal in red sauce; thick, juicy grilled pork chops; or moussaka, oven-baked eggplant and potatoes with ground meat enlivened with cinnamon and a wonderfully fluffy béchamel. In winter try the hare stew. A 10-minute walk from Aegina Town center gets you to this rustic taverna where only dinner is served, and only on four evenings a week, usually Wednesday and weekends.
No Greek experience is complete without a quick gyro pita on the hoof. And if that's what you're after pop into Kai Kremmidi for the best of that ilk on Hydra. Also try the tasty lahmacun, an Arabic-style mini pizza with spiced mince meat and a dash of lemon. It's located a couple of blocks up from the harbor.
This seafront taverna, the oldest and most established one in Ayia Marina, has been here since 1950, when Kyriakos Haldaios brought out a gas stove and started frying fish and fries under the pine trees for local sunbathers. Today, it is owned by his grandson, also named Kyriakos, and offers traditional Greek specialties like moussaka, the famous dish of layered eggplant and ground meat, and plenty of fresh fish, especially gilthead and sea bass. In the summer these are served in the spacious veranda overlooking the crystal-blue waters.
This familly-run taverna, passed from father to son, is set in a typical Hydriot walled garden, down one of the anonymous winding alleyways in town. Adding to the allure, Andreas, who runs the show, has a double life as a fisherman, and the cook expertly serves up his catch of the day. Apart from the supremely fesh fish you can enjoy a plethora of mezedes like the fava dolmades and kolokithokeftedes (fried courgette balls). Take note the house wines go down very easily.
The owners of this spot are as unapologetic about the bad pun in their name as they are about the super tasty souvlaki they dish out. Order traditional gyro or souvlaki wrapped in a lighly grilled pita bread, to eat in or take out. They even cater to vegetarians, with haloumi, fresh summer veggies, or mushrooms wrapped in pita bread.
You don't get the swish, trendy, and inventive modern island styles here, what you do get though is a traditional Greek taverna with swift service and good value for your money, which more than make up for a lack of atmosphere. Pass up the grilled dishes for the goat slowly cooked in a clay pot and oven-roasted potatoes lightly flavored with lemon and oregano. Not to be missed: the small homemade cheese pies for starters and the fried kalamari.
Fast food all over Greece usually consists of souvlaki or gyro wrapped in a pita and that is available at Tenekdakia, but this spot also has the added draw of being in a superb harbor-front location. The pork gyro is crispy yet juicy and the pita is also stuffed full with fries, onion, tomato, and cooling tzatziki. By the way, if you're missing spicey heat (rarely found in Greek food) make sure to ask for a generous sprinkling of tongue tingling hot red pepper.
Christina and Manolis, the former owners, have now passed the baton to their son Constantinos, who has modernized the home-style Greek dishes served here, in his traditional old Hydriot house with stone floors and wooden ceilings, where time seems to have been standing still since the 1950s. If it's available, try the fresh fish that is prepared to perfection. It's a good idea to arrive before 9 pm for dinner; there are only 20 tables under the open-air vine-covered pergola upstairs, and they fill up quickly.
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