Santorini's food is as distinctive as its landscape, built on ingredients the volcanic soil makes intense: split-pea fava, cherry tomatoes turned into tomatokeftedes fritters, white aubergine, capers and the freshest Aegean seafood. Eat well and you can escape the view-tax trap — the best tables mix caldera-edge fine dining with village tavernas locals swear by and cheap, brilliant souvlaki. These are the 10 restaurants to plan your dinners around.
€€€€Selene
Area
Pyrgos
Type
Modern Greek
“Ask for a table on the vaulted terrace and let the tasting menu lead — the fava and the local cheeses are the signatures.”
€€€Metaxi Mas
Area
Exo Gonia
Type
Greek / Cretan
“Book days ahead for a terrace table at sunset; if it's full, the meze bar inside is just as good and easier to get into.”
€€€€Ambrosia
Area
Oia
Type
Mediterranean
“Request a front-row caldera table when booking; it's one of Oia's most romantic sunset dinners, so dress up a little.”
€€€€1800 Floga
Area
Oia
Type
Fine Dining
“The rooftop is the draw at sunset, but the elegant dining rooms inside the restored captain's mansion are lovely too if it's windy.”
€€€To Psaraki
Area
Vlychada
Type
Seafood
“Sit on the terrace above the marina and order whatever fish came in that morning; the raw and cured seafood starters are excellent.”
€€€Metaxi Mas Meze Bar / Candouni
Area
Oia
Type
Traditional Greek
“It's set back off the tourist drag in a lovely garden courtyard — a quieter, cooler alternative to Oia's cliff-edge crush.”
€€Aktaion
Area
Firostefani
Type
Traditional Taverna
“One of the island's oldest tavernas — go for honest, fairly priced classics and a caldera view without the Oia mark-up.”
€€€Krinaki
Area
Finikia
Type
Farm-to-Table Greek
“It sits in sleepy Finikia just east of Oia; come for a relaxed dinner of garden vegetables and grilled fish away from the crowds.”
€Lucky's Souvlaki
Area
Fira
Type
Souvlaki / Street Food
“The cheapest good meal in Fira — grab a chicken gyros to go and eat it on the caldera steps for the price of a coffee elsewhere.”
€Pitogyros
Area
Oia
Type
Gyros / Grill
“The best-value bite in pricey Oia — the pork gyros and homemade pita are consistently excellent for the money.”
Santorini restaurants in detail
1.Selene
For decades Selene has set the benchmark for serious dining on Santorini, and its move to the hilltop village of Pyrgos only sharpened its focus on the island's own larder. The kitchen builds refined, contemporary dishes around ingredients grown in Santorini's volcanic soil — the intensely sweet cherry tomatoes, split-pea fava, white aubergine, capers and local goat and sheep cheeses — alongside fish from the surrounding Aegean. Expect elegant plating and a strong list of island Assyrtiko and Vinsanto wines, served either in a stone-vaulted dining room or on a terrace looking out over the vineyards. It is a special-occasion restaurant with prices to match, and booking well ahead is essential in high season. Selene also runs cooking classes and a more casual meze-and-wine bistro alongside the main room for those wanting the flavour without the full tasting-menu commitment. For anyone who wants to understand what makes Santorini's cuisine distinctive, this remains the island's definitive table.
Hours
Dinner in season; reservations essential
Price
Tasting menus in the upper tier; à la carte available
Getting there
In Pyrgos village, inland; ATV/taxi from Fira (about 10 min)
Insider tip: Ask for a table on the vaulted terrace and let the tasting menu lead — the fava and the local cheeses are the signatures.
2.Metaxi Mas
Tucked discreetly beneath the church of Agios Charalambos in the village of Exo Gonia, Metaxi Mas has grown from a local secret into one of Santorini's most loved tavernas — a place islanders and returning visitors rate above the flashier caldera restaurants. The cooking is generous, homestyle Greek with a strong Cretan streak: slow-cooked lamb, wild greens, grilled octopus, fried cheese, and a fava and tomato-based mezes that showcase Santorini's produce. Portions are big, the wine is honest and reasonably priced, and the vine-shaded terrace looks east over the countryside toward the sea rather than the caldera, which keeps prices sane and the atmosphere relaxed. Its reputation means tables are hard won, so reserve several days in advance for dinner, particularly for a sunset slot on the terrace. If you can only fit in a couple of dinners on the island and want the real, unpretentious taste of Santorini rather than a view-tax menu, Metaxi Mas should be near the top of the list.
Hours
Lunch and dinner in season; reservations strongly advised
Price
Mid-to-upper range; sharing meze
Getting there
Below Agios Charalambos church, Exo Gonia; ATV/taxi from Fira
Insider tip: Book days ahead for a terrace table at sunset; if it's full, the meze bar inside is just as good and easier to get into.
3.Ambrosia
Ambrosia is one of Oia's premier caldera-view restaurants, the kind of place couples choose for an anniversary or a milestone dinner. Its narrow terraces are cut into the cliff along the village's main lane, and every table looks straight out over the caldera toward the sunset, so timing a reservation for the golden hour turns dinner into an event. The kitchen deals in polished Mediterranean cooking with Greek foundations — fresh Aegean fish and seafood, prime cuts, and island vegetables — plated with fine-dining care and paired with a deep cellar of Greek and international wines. Service is attentive and the setting genuinely special, though, as with all the front-row Oia tables, you pay a premium for the view as much as the food. Book well ahead and request a caldera-edge table specifically. For visitors wanting to combine that once-in-a-trip Oia sunset with a smart, romantic meal rather than jostling for a spot on a public wall, Ambrosia delivers exactly that experience.
Hours
Dinner in season; reservations essential for caldera tables
Price
Upper tier
Getting there
On Oia's main pedestrian street; walkable in the village
Insider tip: Request a front-row caldera table when booking; it's one of Oia's most romantic sunset dinners, so dress up a little.
4.1800 Floga
Housed in a beautifully restored 1800s sea captain's mansion on Oia's main street, 1800 Floga is one of the village's most established fine-dining names, blending heritage surroundings with contemporary Greek and Mediterranean cooking. The historic rooms retain their neoclassical character — high ceilings, period furniture and old family portraits — while the rooftop terrace opens onto that peerless Oia sunset over the caldera. The menu leans refined and creative, working seasonal Greek produce and Aegean seafood into carefully composed plates, supported by a well-chosen list of island and mainland wines and polished, formal service. As with Oia's other top tables, it's a special-occasion restaurant where you're paying for setting and craft as much as for the food, so book ahead and secure a rooftop table for the sunset if that's your priority. On a windy evening — not uncommon on the exposed cliff — the elegant interior rooms are an equally atmospheric fallback, and arguably show off the historic building better.
Hours
Dinner in season; reservations essential
Price
Upper tier
Getting there
On Oia's main street, in the Nikolas Nomikos mansion
Insider tip: The rooftop is the draw at sunset, but the elegant dining rooms inside the restored captain's mansion are lovely too if it's windy.
5.To Psaraki
Perched above the small marina at Vlychada on the island's south coast, To Psaraki — 'the little fish' — has built a devoted following for doing one thing exceptionally well: serving the freshest possible Aegean seafood in an unfussy, welcoming setting. The daily catch dictates the menu, from grilled whole fish sold by weight to octopus, prawns and a rotating cast of raw, cured and lightly cooked seafood starters that regulars rave about. Vegetables and salads lean on Santorini's own produce, and the wine list favours crisp local Assyrtiko that pairs naturally with the food. The terrace looks out over the bobbing fishing boats of the marina, an authentic, low-key harbour scene far removed from the caldera glamour, and prices — while not cheap for good fish anywhere — feel fair for the quality. It's popular with Greek visitors and in-the-know travellers, so reserve for dinner in peak season. Combine it with a morning on the dramatic grey cliffs of Vlychada beach next door for a fine south-coast day.
Hours
Lunch and dinner in season; booking advised
Price
Mid-to-upper range; fish by weight
Getting there
Overlooking Vlychada marina in the south; ATV/taxi from Fira
Insider tip: Sit on the terrace above the marina and order whatever fish came in that morning; the raw and cured seafood starters are excellent.
6.Metaxi Mas Meze Bar / Candouni
Candouni offers a different side of dining in Oia — not a cliff-edge sunset spectacle, but an intimate, candlelit garden courtyard set back from the main street, where the focus is squarely on warm hospitality and honest Greek home cooking. Housed in a restored old building with a leafy walled terrace, it's a calm, romantic retreat from the crush that descends on Oia's caldera restaurants each evening. The kitchen turns out well-executed traditional dishes — slow-cooked meats, fresh fish, stuffed vegetables, island fava and mezes — using good local ingredients, and the setting under the bougainvillea makes for a genuinely lovely dinner without the premium the front-row view tables command. Service tends to be personal and unhurried. For couples who want the romance of an Oia evening but would rather trade the sunset panorama for a peaceful, cooler garden and more attention to the food itself, Candouni is an excellent choice. Book ahead in high season, as its modest size and good reputation mean tables fill quickly.
Hours
Dinner in season; booking advised
Price
Mid-to-upper range
Getting there
In a courtyard off Oia's main street
Insider tip: It's set back off the tourist drag in a lovely garden courtyard — a quieter, cooler alternative to Oia's cliff-edge crush.
7.Aktaion
Aktaion is one of Santorini's oldest tavernas, run by the same family for generations in the quieter village of Firostefani, a ten-minute caldera-path stroll from Fira. It represents an increasingly rare thing on the island: a genuine, traditional Greek taverna with a caldera view that hasn't priced itself into the stratosphere. The menu is comfortingly classic — Santorinian fava and tomato fritters (tomatokeftedes), grilled meats and fish, moussaka, stuffed vegetables and fresh salads — cooked without fuss and served in generous portions. The terrace enjoys a fine outlook over the caldera, and while it may lack the polish and Instagram gloss of the Oia hotspots, that's rather the point: this is where you come for the flavours of the island at a price locals would recognise. It's a reliable lunch or dinner stop, popular with families and repeat visitors who value substance over spectacle. For an authentic, good-value taste of old Santorini within easy reach of Fira, Aktaion is a dependable pick.
Hours
Lunch and dinner in season
Price
Mid range; good value for the view
Getting there
In Firostefani, a short walk from Fira along the caldera path
Insider tip: One of the island's oldest tavernas — go for honest, fairly priced classics and a caldera view without the Oia mark-up.
8.Krinaki
In the tranquil, largely residential village of Finikia, a short walk or drive east of tourist-thronged Oia, Krinaki is a warm family taverna built on a farm-to-table philosophy. Much of what appears on the plate comes from the owners' own garden and local producers — sun-ripened tomatoes, greens, capers, cheeses and herbs — turned into honest, seasonal Greek cooking rather than showpiece plating. Expect classic mezes, fresh fish, slow-cooked meats and generous salads, paired with island wine at prices that feel fair given the quality and setting. The terrace is relaxed and low-key, catching a pleasant breeze, and because Finikia sees only a trickle of the visitors who pack Oia a few minutes away, dinner here feels calm and unhurried. It's the kind of place that reminds you Santorini has a farming and food culture beneath the caldera glamour. For travellers staying in or near Oia who want a genuine, produce-driven Greek meal without the sunset-strip prices and crush, Krinaki is a rewarding find. Reserve ahead in peak weeks.
Hours
Lunch and dinner in season; booking advised
Price
Mid-to-upper range
Getting there
In Finikia, just east of Oia; short ATV/taxi hop or a pleasant walk
Insider tip: It sits in sleepy Finikia just east of Oia; come for a relaxed dinner of garden vegetables and grilled fish away from the crowds.
9.Lucky's Souvlaki
On an island where a caldera-view dinner can cost more than a night's accommodation elsewhere, Lucky's Souvlaki is a genuine budget hero in the heart of Fira. This no-frills counter turns out the Greek street-food staples done right: pork and chicken souvlaki skewers, gyros wraps loaded with meat, tomato, onion and tzatziki, and crisp fries, all for a few euros. It's fast, filling and reliably tasty, which is why you'll find a mix of backpackers, local workers and savvy travellers queuing at all hours. There's limited seating, so most people grab their wrap to go and eat it perched on the caldera steps or on a bench with a view that costs nothing. For anyone watching their spending — or simply craving an honest, unpretentious meal after one too many elaborate tasting menus — Lucky's is invaluable, and it proves you don't need a big budget to eat well on Santorini. Cash is handy, portions are generous, and it stays open late for post-bar hunger.
Hours
Lunch through late in season
Price
Budget; a few euros a wrap
Getting there
Central Fira, near the main square — walkable
Insider tip: The cheapest good meal in Fira — grab a chicken gyros to go and eat it on the caldera steps for the price of a coffee elsewhere.
10.Pitogyros
Oia is not known for affordable eating, which is exactly why Pitogyros has such a loyal following. This straightforward grill house on the village's main street specialises in properly made gyros and souvlaki — well-seasoned pork and chicken carved fresh, wrapped in soft house-made pita with tomato, onion, tzatziki and a handful of fries — at a fraction of the cost of the surrounding sunset restaurants. The quality is a cut above typical fast food: the meat is flavourful, the pita is freshly griddled, and portions are satisfying. There's some simple seating, but many visitors take their food away to eat while wandering Oia's lanes or watching the sunset. For travellers who want to experience beautiful, expensive Oia without blowing the daily budget on every meal, Pitogyros is a reliable, tasty and genuinely good-value option, and a reminder that some of the most enjoyable food in Greece is also the simplest. It gets busy at peak times, so expect a short wait for that fresh-off-the-grill wrap.
Hours
Lunch through evening in season
Price
Budget
Getting there
On Oia's main street; walkable in the village
Insider tip: The best-value bite in pricey Oia — the pork gyros and homemade pita are consistently excellent for the money.