Restaurants
Price categories reflect the cost of a meal per person with modest drink intake. Except where suggested, reservations are not necessary (or even possible) – one waits, or an extra table is fitted in. Unless otherwise stated, tavernas are open daily for lunch and dinner, early May–late Oct. Payment by cash unless ‘Credit cards’ indicated.
€€€€ = 33–43 euros €€€ = 26–33 euros
€€ = 19–26 euros € = below 19 euros
Ambavris € Ambávris hamlet, 800m/yards south of Casa Romana, tel: 22420 25696. Well-loved farmhouse-courtyard taverna. Choose a mezédes medley which might include lamb meatballs in ouzo sauce, husked beans with garlic, snails, pinigoúri, pikhtí, spicy loukánika, fáva purée and stuffed anthí. Affordably priced bottled or bulk ouzo and tsípouro. Dinner only May–early Oct.
Barbouni €€€€ Georgíou Avérof 26, tel: 22420 20170. Classier-than-normal waterside seafood spot gazing across to Turkey. All usual fishy suspects plus novelties like risotto with cuttlefish and its ink, shellfish linguini in dilled white sauce, spinach salad with pine nuts and krasotýri, plus a surprisingly full dessert list. Thanks to Turkish clientele, some rakı labels. Credit cards.
Degli Amici (Tony’s) €€–€€€ Vasiléos Georgíou 22, tel: 22420 26568. Genuine Italian trattoria with sea views (across traffic) doing pasta, mussel and meat dishes, plus pizzas. Italian desserts (panna cotta, tiramisu) to order, grappa or limoncello as kérazma; bulk rosé palatable if expensive. Service copes well with crowds, but booking advisable. Credit cards.
Koako €€ Vasiléos Georgíou 8, tel: 22420 25645. A seafront favourite good for magirevtá, stuffed anthí and seasonal fish like koliós or gávros. Prices reflect the prime location but portions also big, quality high, and ordering bulk wine (rosé is okay) pushes down bill totals. Lunch and dinner Apr–Nov.
Mavromatis €€ Georgíou Papandréou, start of Psalídi, tel: 22420 22433. Venerable seaside eatery with beach loungers, and staple dishes like grilled mackerel, moussakás and a rocket-parmesan salad that isn’t (as elsewhere) mostly lettuce. Tourist tastes mean you’ll have to specifically ask for real, hand-cut chips and not packaged frozen ones. Lunch and dinner, most of the year.
Pote tin Kyriaki € Pisándrou 9, Old Town, tel: 22420 48460 or 6930 352099. This mezedopolío’s signature platters include marathópita (fennel pie), stuffed anthí, mushroom sautée with vegies, kavourdistí (pork fry up) and assorted seafood at encouraging prices, complemented by proprietress Stamatia’s strong tsikoudiá, and a soundtrack of Greek music for Greeks. Booking needed after 9pm. Open dinner only late May–Oct Mon–Sat, Nov–mid-May Fri–Sat.
Votsalakia €–€€ Georgíou Avérof 10, tel: 22420 26555. The locals’ favourite seafood taverna, thanks to fair fish prices, cheery seating indoors or out according to weather, non-cheesy soundtrack and friendly staff. Do try the grilled cuttlefish and wild hórta. Open daily lunch and dinner except mid-Dec–mid-Jan.
Around the island
Ambeli €–€€ 2.5km east of Tingáki beachfront crossroads, towards Lámbi, tel: 22420 69682. Rural taverna where you might skip mains and choose starters like pikhtí, yaprákia, bekrí mezé and crispy medallion-cut chips, washed down with draught beer or wine from the surrounding vineyard (ambéli). Portions are big, don’t over-order. May-Oct daily; Nov-April weekends.
Esperos €€ waterfront, east from shore junction, Tingáki, tel: 22420 69753. Better-than-average resort taverna with the usual grills and magirevtá, pizzas and island wine; token Thai and Indian dishes are ersatz, and avoidable. Friendly service, and free beach sunbeds over the road. Open all year (winter weekends only).
Gin’s Place €–€€ corner Kerámou & Attálou, Platáni, tel: 22420 25166. The most casserole-orientated of four Kos-Turk tavernas here, with chickpeas, bámies (okra), yaprákia, stewed pork (obviously not strict Muslims here), and glóssa (sole) plakí amongst offerings. Fare can be a bit salty; good bulk rosé wine from Crete, the land of proprietor Rasim’s ancestors. Lunch and dinner, all year.
Hasan € Central junction, Platáni village. tel: 22420 20230. New on the scene of Platáni tavernas, it is now reckoned the best, without Anatolian-style mezédes but serving creditable Adana kebab, generous okra stew, grilled vegies in yoghurt and a full drinks list, including good bulk red from the Peloponnese. Open all year (weekends only in winter).
Limiónas €€ Limiónas cove, tel: 6932 422002. Classic, isolated fish taverna that has elevated prices for small-portioned starters and scaly fish, but food is still tasty and (it’s claimed) all non-frozen. The view encompasses Kálymnos, Psérimos and the coast from Mástihari southwest.
Magic Beach €–€€ tel: 22420 71894 or 6944782789. The most accomplished and friendliest of the snack bars/tavernas above the southwesterly beaches. The terrace, allowing sweeping views across to Nísyros and Tílos islands, is lapped by junipers at the top of the sand dunes. Prices reflect the remoteness and local monopoly. Starters include well-done kolokythokeftédes and khtapódi xydáto.
Makis €€ One lane inland, Mastihari, tel: 22420 59061. Whilst unpromising looking, this has always been one of the island’s best seafood tavernas. Outermost tables catch the breeze and permit oblique sea views, but fresh-off-the-boat (if starkly presented) fish and seafood remain the chief attraction, with token salads and dips preceding. Open all day, all year.
Neromylos/Watermill € Platía Karydiás, Ziá, tel: 6972 292109. Dusk is the time to sit under Neromylos’ giant walnut tree and savour a drink (perhaps house lemonade), or cake with ice cream. Also crêpes, fruit salad, sandwiches and a short cocktail list. This is the site of the last intact watermill on Kos, which ground grain until the 1960s. Open 10am–evening Apr–Nov.
Oromedon €€ Ziá access road. tel: 22420 69983. Come here after climbing Hristós to watch the famous sunset, while savouring hortópita (greens pie), yaprákia, keftedákia and good bread; there are roast-goat or -pork mains for bigger appetites, and grilled vegies or mushrooms in balsamic vinegar for vegetarian palates. Lunch and dinner, late Apr–late Oct.
Old Pyli €€ Paleó Pylí access road, Amanioú village, tel: 22420 41659. Giorgos, originally a Mastihári fisherman, keeps this taverna below the ruins of medieval Pylí. He serves his son’s daily catch, plus vegetarian starters, wood-oven-baked bread and his own wine (a bit heavy). Unbeatable terrace views.
Palia Pigi € Pigí district, Pylí village, tel: 22420 41510. Basic but honest fare (loukánika, caper salad, biftékia, marinated octopus, pikhtí, anthí, bakaliáros, beets) at this taverna tucked away under a giant ficus, beside a cistern fountain with lion-headed spouts amidst a bird-filled oasis. Lunch and dinner, late March–Nov.
Plori €€ 100m/yards west of shore plaza along beach promenade, Tingáki, tel: 22420 69686. A good selection of mezédes like tangy krasotýri, lamb-and-liver tiganiá and aubergine mash; also standard mains for bigger appetites. Good beer and wine selection, oddly sparse ouzo list. Both Greeks and foreigners attend. Lunch and dinner all year (winter weekends only).
Teos €€ Seafront, Kardámena, tel: 22420 92034 or 6988 145692. Kardámena’s go-to seafood place; their own trawler brings in the daily catch, with keen per-kilo prices. Both fried-courgette starter and sargós (white bream) were perfect, the fish appearing with an appreciable side-salad and chips. Good Cretan bulk wine. By Kardámena standards, it’s ancient (founded 1984), and tellingly the only local taverna open in winter. Lunch and dinner all year (may shut weekdays in winter).
Nísyros
Astradeni €€ Pálli waterfront, tel: 22420 31061. Despite being opposite the yacht mooring (often a kiss of death), Astradeni has reasonable per-kilo prices for perfectly grilled fish, a limited range of starters (including the best melitzanosaláta on Nísyros) and lovely chips – a normal portion will feed three. Friendly service, well-priced beer and wine.
Bacareto Margarita €€ Lekandió seafront Mandráki, tel: 22420 31842. Despite the name, chef Davide Sacco purveys a repertoire of Venetian meat or seafood dishes, every imaginable pasta recipe, gnocchi, a range of salads, creative Greek mezédes, and (in high season) Italian desserts. Dinner only, May–Oct.
Balkoni tou Emboriou € Emboriós central plaza, tel: 22420 31607. Always packed for the sake of keftédes, beets with greens, capers, lahanodolmádes, baked swordfish with vegetables, pittiá (vegetable risolles) and (by night) grills – and for the amazing view over the volcanic zone.
Limenari € eponymous cove west of Pálli, tel: 22420 31023. This secluded taverna, in a terraced valley, captures many local diners thanks to fair prices and portions for caper-topped salads, fish, a few dishes of the day like papoutsáki, and made-to-order tyrokafterí (which takes time to arrive; service generally lags). Islanders and army conscripts go all year.
Kálymnos and Télendos
Georgios Mamouzelos €€ Linária promenade, 22430 47809. The best seaside taverna on this coast, featuring swordfish with impeccable medallion chips, stuffed peppers with balsamic vinegar, superior lamb chops and fried aubergines covered with grated parmesan. You’ll reserve a table or wait for one, and tolerate often erratic service.
Kafenes € Platía Hristoú, Póthia, tel: 22430 28727. Working since 1950, this hole-in-the-wall purveys generous platters like crunchy maridáki, exceptionally tender khtapodokeftédes (octopus rissoles), local cheese or mountainous salads fit for two; try the ‘green’ with purslane, rocket, sun-dried tomato and lots of parmesan. Expect to wait for a table after dark. Lunch and dinner year round.
Plaka € East shore promenade, 200m/yards north of jetty, Télendos, tel: 22430 47921. The only shoreline taverna here that doesn’t tout; they don’t have to, with very fair prices for tasty fresh tuna, swordfish, wild sea-bass, some meat dishes and typical salads or starters. Beer, ouzo or bulk wine to drink.
Stukas €–€€ Yacht marina, Póthia, tel: 6970 802346 or 6957 406977. A good all-rounder with big portions, pleasant service and traffic-free waterside tables. Pork kopsídia (round-bone chops), a starter and a beer falls in the first price category; ordering seafood pushes bills up a notch. Lunch and dinner, all year.
Léros
Dimitris O Karaflas €–€€ Spiliá district, off the Pandéli-Vromólithos road, tel: 22470 25626 or 6977 080599. Some of the heartiest food on Léros, and knockout views of Vromólithos. Standouts include kremmydópita (onion pie), smoked mackerel, roast pork kotsí (shank) and heaping salads. Open all year, lunch and dinner.
O Mylos €€€–€€€€ Beside sea-marooned windmill, Agía Marína, tel: 22470 24894. Mezédes include garidopílafo (shrimp rice) and kolokythokeftédes (courgette patties). Best order simple mains like grilled fish – ‘seafood’ makaronáda consisted of precisely four prawns atop a pile of spaghetti drenched in inedible sauce. Minus points for exorbitantly priced ouzo; decent Lafazanis bulk rosé is contrastingly affordable. Open lunch and dinner late Mar–late Oct; reservations mandatory July–Aug, when Turkish yachties crowd Léros’s most romantic setting. Credit cards.
Paradisos €€–€€€ Vromólithos beach, tel: 22470 24632. Best for mezédes and light platters like crispy atherína (sand smelt), beets, superior melitzanosaláta, hórta or big salads. Broad range of beers, and premium Greek wine list. Ordering proper mains entails the higher price category. Try for a sea-view terrace table, and afterwards one of the sunbeds on the beach just below.
To Steki tou Dimitri € far north end of Álinda, tel: 22470 22413. Superior mezédes like kolokythokeftédes and aubergine roulade baked with cheese and bacon. Cheap but cheerful hýma white wine, friendly service too. You need to reserve Thursday and Saturday nights when there’s live music, or for a table on the sand next to the tiny anchorage here.
Pátmos
Hiliomodi € just of the Hóra road, Skála, tel: 22470 34179. This 1980s-founded seafood ouzerí has benefitted enormously from changed management. Expect a drawerful of scaly fish like scrumptious black bream, and starters like non-pink taramosaláta and stiforádiko, a springtime hórta. Good hýma wine from the Peloponnese, seating in the charming reed-flanked alley behind or up on the roof terrace. April–end Nov, 6pm–midnight.
Ktima Petra €€ Pétra beach, south of Gríkou, tel: 22470 33207. Chunky melitzanosaláta, brown bread to scoop it with, lush rocket salad, own-made yaprákia and pork giouvétsi are typical lunchtime offerings, with grills too after dark; most ingredients are from their own ktíma (farm). Excellent retsína from Thebes. Some patrons take a dip off the pebble beach while waiting for orders. Lunch and dinner Apr–late Sept, lunch only early Oct. Summer reservations advisable.
Lambi €–€€ Lámbi beach, north end of island, tel: 22470 31490. Another reliable beach taverna, since 1958; simple presentation for top ingredients. Try the faultlessly grilled fresh squid served with delicious chips. Some tables set out on the famous pebbles. Open noon until sunset, Easter Weds–Oct.
Panagos tou Sarandi € central junction, Kámbos village, tel: 22470 31570. A beacon of magirevtá such as baked palamídi (north Aegean tuna), chickpea hotpot or soupióryzo (cuttlefish-rice), plus good bulk wine. A museum’s worth of old photos inside; some outdoor seating. Lunch and dinner, all year.
Tzivaeri €€ behind Theológos town beach, by car park, Skála, tel: 22470 31170. Durable upstairs ouzerí with all standard platters present and more than correct, including yaprákia, tangy tyrokafterí, succulent grilled plevrótous and snails in rosemary. Good hýma wine, pricey ouzo. Much sought-after summer terrace, tasteful interior for cooler months; live Greek music Fri or Sat (reservations needed). Dinner daily, May–Oct; weekends only Nov–April.