I admit it, we love to eat and what better place to eat than Santorini. We have been to Santorini five times, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. We have dined in a lot of places here. Each place we ate in Santorini was good, but the following are our top ten favorite restaurants, so far! In this revision, I only included one new place and kept our tried and true! In 2023 we went back to our most favorites, Mama Lena’s and Let’s Eat, so we didn’t try a lot of new places.
Diary of a Gen-X recommendations for hotels, restaurants, & tours are based on our own experiences. We do not receive compensation for recommending any of these nor are we affiliates of any hotels, restaurants, or tours. The only hotels & restaurants we recommend are places we visit which are clean, comfortable, and provide exceptional hospitality.
Five Senses Restaurant at Astra Suites Hotel, Imerovigli
Our favorite place for a romantic meal and sunset. Astra Suites is not only a good place to stay, but the Five Senses Restaurant is also beyond amazing for so many reasons.
We have eaten here every year and each time it was phenomenal. In addition, we ordered room service in 2021 which we were very happy with. The ambiance here is beyond beautiful. The restaurant overlooks the caldera and The Rock of Skaros, which in my opinion, provides the best sunset on the island. The menu has a great variety and the food is terrific. The food is a bit fancy for us, not traditional Greek, more gourmet, but the ambiance can’t be beat. The below photos are selections from different years we have eaten here. I would recommend reservations. Also note that you no longer have to be staying at the hotel to enjoy eating at this top class restaurant!
Petrino, Megalochori
We noticed this spot in 2022 but had already eaten so remembered to eat here in 2023. It is a traditional Greek Taverna with good food. The Tomatokeftedes (tomato fritters) were extra good here as was the tzatziki sauce. It was a hot day when we were here but the eating area is shaded and we were comfortable. The service was great and I would return here again.
Meze Meze, Finikia
In 2021 we again rented a dune buggy and asked at our hotel where a good place to eat would be. We were told that the small village of Finikia has some great places. (Finikia is close to Oia). After a day of exploring we were ready to eat. We parked outside the village, wandered around, and ended up right in front of the Meze Meze sign, so we decided this was the place to eat. It was perfect! Since it was mid afternoon we ordered some snacks and my mouth is still watering over how good everything tasted!
Aktaion
Aktaion was recommend to me by my friend Constantine who knows Santorini well. Located in Firostefani, we have passed it many times while walking from Imerovigli to Fira. Aktaion has been serving delicious traditional Greek food since 1922! 100 years of great food and hospitality. We did not have reservations but a table was made up for us across from the restaurant along the caldera. Service was fantastic and so was the food. We were more tired than hungry so mostly snacked but will return here again.
Fish Tavern, Ammoudi Bay
Also in 2021, we once again walked down the 200 steps from Oia to Ammoudi Bay. We stopped to eat before trudging back up all of those steps. We have eaten at Ammoudi Bay before, in our opinion, Ammoudi Bay Fish Tavern is the most delicious place to eat along the bay. Once you reach the bottom of the steps you can find this restaurant by turning to the right and walking to the last restaurant along the bay.
Anogi Restaurant, Imerovigli
Another restaurant we ate at in 2018 and 2019 is Anogi. Anogi is close to Astra Suites so this worked well for us. This restaurant has a wide variety of Greek dishes to choose from. With generous helpings and great service it is easy to see why this place is so busy. There are both indoor and outdoor seating in a cheery atmosphere. The chicken souvlaki was very tender and tasty. I would recommend reservations if you plan to eat dinner here.
Let’s Eat
Let’s Eat is a small gyro shop. Although it is in a small space, it is big on taste. Just a short walk from our hotel we discovered this spot in 2022 while wandering around just after arriving. A must try if you love gyros.
Amalthia Restaurant, Kamari
We kind of stumbled upon Amalthea Restaurant while driving to the Black Beach in 2019. Actually, there are a lot of restaurants in this area and this one caught our eye. The menu was written on black boards as we drove by and we saw they had a gyros plate special and that was exactly what we were hungry for. This place did not disappoint. We also ordered bread and Fava. The Fava was especially delicious. We enjoyed chatting with our waiter who gave us good information on the area.
Venetsanos Winery, Megolochori
We visited Venetsanos Winery on a fabulous Blue Shades of Greece Tour in 2018. We enjoyed a wine tasting with amazing small tasting plates as well. I included this as a great place to eat because the foods paired with the wine were not only delicious but authentic Santorini. We had cheeses, tomato fritters, fava, breads, and many other Santorini favorites. The view was beautiful. The wines were very good. As a matter of fact, I ordered several bottles when we returned home!
Mama Lena in Imerovigli
We found this gem in Imerovigli next to Anogi and just a couple of minutes walk from our hotel. We had wonderful service here and the traditional Greek food was very delicious. Mama Lena will always be on our list of must eats in Santorini!
Conclusion
As you can see by our ten favorite Santorini restaurants, we enjoy eating! Can’t wait until next time we are in Santorini to try more great places to add to this list and return to some of our favorites!
Locations
Below is the location of each of our ten favorite restaurants in Santorini.
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Click on these links for more Santorini Posts:
Dune Buggy Santorini Part 4, September 2023
Hike Imerovigli to Oia, revised September 2023
Dune Buggy Santorini Part 3 September 2022
Off the Beaten Path, Santorini, September 2022.
Dune Buggy Ride September 2021
Akrotiri Lighthouse, September 2021
Santorini in a Dune Buggy, October 2019
Amoudi Bay, Santorini, September, 2019
The Path to Oia, Santorini, September, 2019