Santorini .."You came out of the living thunder, shivering in the regretful clouds a bitter, tried, haughty stone", as described by Odysseus Elytis as "daughter of great angerCreating the island of infinite beauty.
The island with the only territory - the white, the dusty soil from the explosion - which shaped the particular local products, wines and the corresponding delicacies.
Very tasty Santorini cuisine relies on the famous and delicious fava in all its versions, in the fluffy tomato meatballs and zucchini meatballs, in the delicious, spicy eggplant salad, in the juicy sun-dried tomatoes and in the delicious tomato paste, in the white aubergines and naturally in the chlorotyri.
If many of the traditional recipes can be found in the taverns of the island, in several restaurants the local products find their apotheosis in the hands of young chefs who with creative spirit and the philosophy of renewing the local cuisine offer inspired and incredibly imaginative dishes.
Those who know, when we talk about modern local creative cuisine or about high gastronomy and island, the mind immediately goes to Santorini. And of course immediately after George Hatzigiannaki, Patriarch of Gastronomy of the Aegean, who since 1985 has thrown the slogan - in words but also in practice - in the shift towards the utilization of local products but mainly in his encouragement to other professional restaurants and winemakers for collaborations in order to highlight Santorini cuisine, resulting in today the Santorini has become the most famous gastronomic destination in the country.
The supreme ambassador of Santorini Gastronomy is of course Santorini wine. Oι vineyards of Santorini 15.000 acres start from the western heights of the island, just above the cliffs of the caldera (300m.) and descend to the eastern beaches. The properties are small and the growers give most of the grapes to the 17 winemakers, who not only use it in the best way, but also export it to the whole world, so that today the PDO Santorini, Assyrtiko variety -in its entirety- to be the most popular and well-paid Greek wine.
We chose 10 gastronomic hangouts from the best taverns, restaurants and cafes of Santorini, as well as 10 wineries that you are not allowed to visit. Also visit our links to over 40 gastronomic attractions of the island.
Best taverns and restaurants of Santorini
Red Bicycle in Oia
Perched on The A since 2004, the Red Bicycle is one of the companies that perfectly express the character and taste of the entrepreneur. Born in Paramythia Chara Kourti is one of the mainlanders who fell in love with Santorini and from the 1980s he settled in Oia. The Red bicycle, built in a privileged position with a great view of the caldera and Fira, at first glance stands out. His kitchen is highly curated by Fanis Maikantis, who with great passion has given his own place in the menu of 2019 and the philosophy of the dishes. Thanks to the fresh ingredients, selected one by one by local producers, the dinner on the Red Bicycle is reduced to a gastronomic experience. I will never forget 2017 Salad with marinated feta in Visanto, watermelon heart with fennel, port and honey and ouzo granita.
Tavern of Dimitris in Ammoudi
As shocking as the spectacle from above, from the edge of the cliff of Oia, where the hundreds of Santorini sunset fans gather, it is just as dramatic and charged to be in Sandy beach on the wave and have the feeling that the imposing red rock with an entire state hangs over your head. The "Ammoudi-Dimitris" is one of the first taverns that opened in Ammoudi, when the locals Dimitris and the Canadian Joy, Two young children who had just turned 20 and were united by love, in 1989 turned a warehouse first into a cafe-bar and then into a tavern. Along with the spectacle of rhythmic dance made by traditional fishing boats rocking in the waves of the sea. in the tavern of "Dimitris" it is certain that you will find to eat fresh fish (sea urchins, ballads, sea bream, swordfish) that are masterfully cooked in front of your eyes on the grill on the sea, while one should not neglect the wonderful tomato meatballs, the seafood salad and of course the classic lobster spaghetti.
Krinaki Tavern in Finikia
If one wants even in mid-August to leave behind the crowds of Santorini and eat in a magical tavern, one has only to go to the picturesque Palm tree where is the Krinaki tavern. With a name taken from flowers of the same name that fill the beach of Baxedes, "Krinaki" was installed on a canvas in 1832 and turned into a traditional tavern in 2007 by Christos Markozane and Antonis Patelis after an extremely successful renovation, where its linens, high-ceilinged domes, wood-fired oven and all architectural elements of the old construction were preserved. Here you will try genuine Santorini barley cookies together with tomatoes and capers. One of the most famous dishes is the "pork herds", greens picked from the island while the most delicious are the white Santorini aubergines with greens and tomatoes, the plate with the local capers, capers and sun-dried tomatoes, the Santorinto tomatoes meatballs with mint.
Fish Tavern in Vlychada
Elevated, overlooking the port of Vlychada on the south side of Santorini, the "Minnow" within a period of five years (opened in 2010) it was established not only in the consciousness of the people of the island, but also made the area - which until then was known only for its imposing beach - a gastronomic destination. Depending on the fish and the season, "Psaraki" serves mainly fish but does not neglect the products offered by the island such as fava beans, tomatoes, capers and white eggplant. Its spaces are spacious with an aesthetic note of a minimal fish tavern. Of course the narrow balcony with the blue wooden pergola, with a "plate" the Aegean is breathtaking, as well as some of its special delicacies: To carpaccio or "fish" of fresh fish, the fresh urchin eggs, the marinated anchovies, the fish skewer but also the white taramas and the white baked aubergines with tomato and feta.
The Cave of Nikolas in Akrotiri
In Santorini, on the south side of the beautiful Akrotiri, by the sea for many years there was a small cave, where the Captain Nicholas he protected his nets, his fishing gear and his small boat. This warehouse often became a small dining room, where he and his friends ate, drank and feasted. When the late professor Spyros Marinatos, in 1967, began the excavations of the archeological site of Akrotiri, he suggested to Barba Nikola to turn this small shelter into a tavern, for the hungry workers of the excavation but of course for himself. Nikolas's wife took over the command Mrs. Efstathia which offered the delicious traditional delicacies of the island, such as tomato meatballs, fava beans, green cheese, garlic macaroni and plenty of fresh fish. It did not take long to become the most must tavern on the island. In 1981 he received the cave of Nicholas, their daughter Margarita, at the time when Tourism started and since then the surrounding taverns increased to reach seven today. In the mid-2000s, Margarita's son took over the reins of the store, the month, that with new ideas better organizes the store, resulting in the Cave of Nicholas to win an award gourmet, as the best traditional tavern 2007-2008 in Santorini.
Separate Wineries of Santorini
Hatzidakis Winery in Pyrgos
Anyone who knows Santorini will definitely have great respect for him Charidimo Hatzidaki, to the pioneer and at the same time modest oenologist who contributed decisively to the work of Boutari, when he settled on the island in 1992 and with his choices changed the wine data. Around 1997, Haridimos made his first vinification with 10.000 bottles, and since then a long time has passed until nowadays his wines are considered today among the best in Santorini. In 2016, after 20 years, Haridimos' dream came true and the new Hatzidaki winery was created in an amazing cave area, on the border of the vineyards of Pyrgos Kallistis and Megalochori. Haridimos' goal was to explore the indigenous varieties of Santorini but unfortunately in 2017 he passed away and today his work is continued by his wife and children.
Sigala Winery in Oia
When the Paris Sigalas young mathematician, studying logic in Paris, began in 1976 to make his first wine for his personal pleasure, on his father's estate, in Baxedes, Oia, with nothing to imagine that 40 years later he would be in the three largest wines of Santorini. The science of logic may have lost a good university professor, Santorini gained a "immovable and endlessly experimenting" winemaker, otherwise the island welcomed the "French May of 68" in its wine. Since 1998, its facilities have been transferred from the small traditional canvas on the shore to a privately owned production, bottling and aging unit for 300.000 bottles of wine per year. Regardless of his travels around the world to promote his award-winning wines, in the summers, Paris is very likely to be found on the veranda of his small wine cellar - as it is the season that follows the viticultural work - and to live up close his passion for wine, for innovation but also for saving the endangered local varieties. Its most famous wines Paris Sigala are the classics, Santorini, Santorini barrel, Vinsanto, Nychteri, Assyrtiko Athiri and the red Mavrotragano.
Gaia Winery in Monolithos
The Gaia winery (has another winery in Nemea) in Santorini located on the east side of the island, on the beach, near the airport and between the settlements Kamari and Monolithos, is housed in an excellent stone building built in the early 20th century and was one of the 13 "tomato shops" of the island. The abandoned cannery, Gaia restored in 1999, having previously bought the building and given it the opportunity to live a second life, this time as a winery. This impressive building, a sample of the early industry in our country, found a new industrial use and through it kept alive its pre-eminently industrial form and function. The winery is equipped with the most modern winemaking systems, which allow the ideal conditions for the production of high quality wines from the Assyrtiko variety. The protagonists of Gaia Winery are Thalassitis, Thalassitis barrel (wines that take their name from the sea breeze that caresses the building, the people of the winery and you discover it in every sip of wine), the Assyria of Gaia, the Vinsanto which are the most important wine fruits of this unique winery, former "tomato shop".
Santo Wines on the Caldera of Fira
Her winery Saint Wines on the Caldera is built at different levels, to take advantage of gravity, due to altitude difference, from grape vines to bottling, reducing the use of pumps and upgrading the quality of wines. Based in a unique area on the edge of the caldera, the Association of Thera Products Cooperatives (ΕΣΘΠ) Santorini has many things to brag about. First of all, it is the largest winery on the island with tanks with a capacity of three thousand tons of wine and holds one of the most complete facilities in Greece. The winery is open to the public, with wonderful views of the caldera from end to end and welcomes more than 100.000 visitors from around the world every year. The main types of wines produced by the Cooperative are Santorini Assyrtiko, Santorini Assyrtiko Reserve, Santorini Assyrtiko Grand Reserve, Santorini Nychteri, Santorini Nychteri Reserve and sparkling white wine made with tradition.
Venetsanou Winery above Athinios
The Venetsanou Winery built in 1949 by the Venetsanou family from Megalochori, was the first industrial winery in Santorini. The family of George Venetsanos, who was one of the most prosperous in Santorini, had left for Cairo, Egypt during the interwar period and returned to the island and bought large areas of land, including one in Megalochori, above his bay. Athiniou. Built on the edge of the caldera just above the bay of Athinios, the winery had the peculiarity that it was designed to take advantage of the law of gravity, given the lack of electricity at that time. Due to the slope of the ground, it was built on four floors, each with a different stage of winemaking and where the transport of wine was done by natural flow. In the first the so-called terrace there was the weighbridge and the grape vines and in the last the basement with the taps of the tanks from where the wine with pipes fell down with pipes in the port to the ships that led it to foreign ports. At some point the winery passed into foreign hands, it collapsed but in 2015 the family took it again through its offspring Nikos Zorzos, worthy mayor of the island, and after an extremely successful renovation, it was put back into operation, creating a very interesting place to visit.
Boutaris Winery in Megalochori
The advent of a company with its size, know-how and activities Boutaris Winery (The Yannis Boutaris then it was still in the parent company) was crucial for the viticultural development of the island. In addition to the scale of the investment completed in 1989 and the new wine-oriented orientations that shook the habits of traditional wine and triggered the awakening of the Santorini vineyard to reach where it is now, its contribution to marketing was crucial. The multi-spectacle hall at the facilities of the Boutari winery in Megalochori, with its white dome and pebbled floors, became the modern concept of the modern concept of promotion and promotion of the Santorini vineyard. Without a doubt, the current position of Santorini wine was started by Boutaris, who located another important viticultural zone with great dynamics and significant prospects for the production of high quality wines, he transmitted his experience and innovative thinking to the viticultural community of Santorini, while an additional was that the oenologists who studied at the Boutari winery, when they became independent, made important wines and starred in the Santorini vineyard (Paraskevopoulos, Hatzidakis). The most popular wines of the company are: the Kallisti, the Kallisti Reserve, the classic Assyrtiko, the Night and Vinsanto.
Canvas of Golden Tselepou in the Tower
Η Hemp of Golden Tselepou located in Santorini tower and is the result of the collaboration of the famous winemaker Giannis Tselepou, with the Chrysos family that has privately owned vineyards of 120 acres in Pyrgos, Emporio, Megalochori and Akrotiri of Santorini, while at the same time it had an old abandoned canvas Pyrgos. Giannis Tselepos - with him George Skouras, Vangelis Gerovassiliou, Angelos Iatridis, Angelos Rouvalis- belongs to the group of Greek oenologists, who in the late 80's after studying in France (Bordeaux, Dijon) made their own wineries and gave a new impetus to Greek wine. In the restored winery but in the new stainless steel tanks, the must enters each vineyard and in the process the blends are made. The first two bottles (2014, 2015) of the Santorini Tselepou label did not go badly, as they received the extremely high score 94/100 from Parker. Their annual production did not exceed 12.000 bottles, while the capacity of the winery reaches 50.000 bottles.
Vassaltis Winery in Vourvoulos
The Vassaltis winery it's not only the newest of Santorini but also what was created by the younger winemakers (Giannis Valampou, Ilias Roussaki and Giannis Papaikonomou). For this reason, the winery located in Vourvoulos, on the coastal road to Oia, exudes the coolness of youth in every aspect. The building is white, elegant with very interesting architectural details and beautiful signage. The reception areas are fresh, with open cement mortar on the floor and a game of black industrial sheet metal and blond wood in the construction of the rehearsal room and the exhibition hall to create a very pleasant atmosphere for the visitors, most of whom are also young. In 2015, the winery opened, opening its doors to the public. The name of the winery "Vassaltis" refers to the rock resulting from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava, a rock that is identified with the peculiarity of Santorini. Labels of the winery Assyrtiko 2015 which had very good acidity, strong minerality and very long aftertaste, the Assorted Barrel aged in French barrels and the Aidani 2015 with complex aroma and full body.
Argyrou Estate in Episkopi Gonia
Η Silver canvas was founded in 1903 by Georgios Argyros and in 1950 the winery passed into the hands of Matthew's son who expanded the vineyard to 60 acres. In 1974 he took over Giannis Argyros who increased the area of the vineyard to 260 acres, modernized the winery and worked hard to ensure quality. Vinsanto Argyros of 1987 is said to be the best Vinsanto created in Santorini while one of the most important awards it won was in 2005 and 2006 when the winery was awarded in the top 100 wineries in the world by the prestigious magazine Wine and Spirits. The vineyard of Argyros in Episkopi Gonia at an altitude of 35-150 meters with east orientation, nowadays has expanded to 400 acres, is the largest single vineyard in Santorini and since 2017 operates its new winery that provides the 500.000 bottles. The most famous wines of the Argyrou estate are Assyrtiko Argyrou, Argyrou estate, Argyrou estate Vareli, Mavritragano Argyrou, Vinsanto Argyrou and Chocolate Vinsanto Argyrou while most of its production is directed abroad.
Artemis Karamolegkou Winery
His story Artemi Karamolegkou winery has its roots in 1952, when grandfather Artemis cultivated his vineyards making wine for the needs of his own family and then sold it on the island and in the rest of Greece. THE Artemis Karamolegos, the grandson who succeeded his grandfather and father in her winery Outside the Corner managed to do a real miracle and lead a family business many steps forward and with great speed. The first and most important step was to renovate part of the old vineyards, to plant new vines and to rebuild with other traditional varieties of Santorini, such as the nightingale, the black-tailed deer, the black-tailed deer and the voodoo. Then followed the creation of a modern winery, where one can watch the entire winery line, tanks, fermentation barrels, impressive aging cellars and finally to taste the wines in the tasting room. The winery of Artemis Karamalegos produces 130-150 thousand bottles per year and the varieties he makes are assyrtiko, aidani, athiri, mandilaria, mavrotragano, vodomato.
Our tribute to best taverns, restaurants and cafes of Santorini, as well as in separate wineries you must visit ends here. Certainly, however, the gastronomic wealth of the island is not exhausted in one article. Stay tuned!
PLACE & HISTORY - TRADITIONAL KITCHEN
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