A journey to Sifnos will lead us to its beauties, its picturesque settlements, its unique fairs, its famous potters, its noble inhabitants, its exquisite and gentle tourism, because Sifnos is a destination for those who love the Aegean and the Cyclades in the romantic and their human dimension. And of course it is the ideal destination for gourmets… especially for those who love the goat!The gastronomy of Sifnos stands out for her maneuver (her wine cheese), the caper salad, the revitades, Their chickpea meatballs and mastelo (the kid that is cooked with dill in the homonymous tsoukali), delicacies that you can find in most taverns of the island.
Of course, the fame of Sifnos cuisine is due to Nicolao Celemente, the Sifnios chef who at the beginning of the 20th century wrote history by reforming the Greek urban cuisine, but without this influencing the corresponding local.
We traveled from its northernmost point, the Herronisos, to the south, at Deep, and we chose 7 of them best taverns of Sifnos, among many other memorable taverns, which we present together with two special cases of special gastronomic interest.
Herronisos Tavern
Η Herronisos At the beginning of the 20th century it was a place full of kilns (25 in number limited to 7 in 1970 and only one nowadays) and potters who made mainly pitchers and pots. In this picturesque port - which is now connected by a highway - nothing has changed in terms of ecological burden. The kilns were extinguished and now they are only inhabited in the summer for the summer holidays by the locals while the two taverns from 1970 are holding up well.
Left at the port o Konstantinos and Margarita Fyssa they had set up a tavern, Herronisos his name, since 1973, while now it has been taken over by son of Antonis Fyssas with his beautiful and kind wife Stella. From appetizers as if not a day had passed. Tsiros made by their own hands, juicy-juicy to start with ouzo, maridoula, potato and string beans local dry. Chickpea meatballs, spinach pie with homemade leaf, octopus and grilled shrimp and beyond that every day catches fish!
Fish tavern in Limanaki in Faro
On the beach Lighthouse is the fish tavern of his family George Kakakis, the Port, one of the few taverns on the island where you can find fresh fish even in August. The reason is simple. Mr. George is first a diligent fisherman and much later he became a tavern owner! I met him at the beginning of September 2018 and I asked him: "Difficulties that you would have this summer, with the North, the boats in Paros did not move, from the port." The answer was disarming: "What are you saying, there is not a day in the summer that I do not go out in the glass, no matter what the weather does, because what will the customers of our fish tavern eat?"
"Forty years later, my family and I continue the same profession. We keep the tradition. My father is a fisherman, I am a fisherman too! Our boat, as then, so today puts a bow every day, through the port of Faros, for sergiani seeking the good fish. Lobsters, red mullets, sea urchins, magpies, christmas fish, rockfish, beetles and everything else the sea gives birth to ".
Tavern Flaros in Faro
Sifnos in 2015 acquired a new tavern, the Flashlight, in the beautiful port of Faros. Two young people, the Elias Anastasiadis and Maria Dimou, with acquaintance from their adolescence, studies at the Higher School of Tourism Professions of Rhodes and with about twenty years of professional career in catering, they decided to make their leap, in the beautiful Sifnos. "We are fortunate and happy to make a profession that gives us great satisfaction, so, after more than 20 years of experience in hospitality, we created a restaurant that expresses exactly what we are looking for when we travel, hospitality"
Cooking teacher at school Le Monde Hlias from his thirties, in addition to the typical Sifnos recipes - which also bother them a bit - wanted to try others using typical Greek ingredients "We stood out from the menu: Fish roe salad, fluffy mousse of white tarama and extra virgin olive oil, tuna tartar, fresh yellowfin tuna sustainable fishery marinated with sea salt and herbs, lheart, traditional, homemade lakerda made with herbs from the Sifnos land, with citrus jelly and black mayonnaise, fish sausage, production of the store from cod, sea bass and salmon, flavored with thyme and lime.
Tavern the Hangout in Platys Gialos
Η tavern the Steki is in the middle of it Plati Gialos, place name in the local lalia from Platis Aegialos, a beach that has a relatively large width. And of course it is the most beautiful, largest, most sought after beach of Sifnos and one of the most famous in the Cyclades. It is no coincidence that it was one of the first in the 1960s to be chosen to welcome HENIA, the hotels of EOT. The owner of the tavern Antonis Venakis, Sifnios learned the kitchen as a cook in Athens and in 1984 he opened his first tavern "to Steki" in Xabela, near his house, where he keeps it to this day for winter use. He "came down" to Platys Gialos in 1990 and since then he has starred together with his son Apostolos who studied art from him, but also from school The world.
In a beautiful environment under the tamarisk trees and by the sea, where the waves break, one can enjoy one's swim, cool down and enjoy one's food. The cuisine of the tavern is famous, it is no coincidence that it is considered one of the best on the island. Its protagonists are the famous chickpea meatballs, the traditional mastelo and a wonderful caper salad.
Taverna Nero kai Alati in Platys Gialos
Η tavern Nero ki Alati at Platy Gialos is the natural evolution of the Narli estate. And this is because on the one hand it is his shop Alexandrou Narlis, of his son George Narlis which created the most beautiful visitable estate in Sifnos, but also for the reason that the production of the estate with the dry products supplies daily with the freshest the kitchen of the store.
Ο Alexandros Narlis is no accident. He was born in Sifnos with strong references to his place, and then studied Business Administration in Crete. He continued his studies in London, but there he became involved in gastronomy, food marketing and finally ended up in Hay-on-Wye - a village between Wales and England where one in ten buildings is a bookstore - where he was in charge of a very gourmet restaurant for 4 years. In 2014 he created "Water and Salt" with a very interesting cuisine.
Ω3 Fish Bar in Platys Gialos
From 2013 Sifnos can be proud that in a tiny Fish-Bar, the Omega 3 can try perhaps the most sought after and creative fish appetizers of the Cyclades. In a place that does not fill your eye, on the sandy beach of Platys Gialos Vassilis Vlachogiorgakis as a businessman, the Chef George Samoilis and Giannis Arvanitis curated the wine list created an oasis of fine multicultural fish food. Some typical suggestions from the menu to understand what it is about:
Rocket, chloro manure, pistachio and fig, sucker fillet with seaweed crumbs and sea asparagus, slow cooked octopus stew with Sifnos chickpea, shrimp from Kavala with black garlic, cherry tomatoes and basil…
You do not need more to understand what is happening in this kitchen where all products have an identity and are prepared in various culinary schools (Peruvian, Japanese, Mediterranean, creative Greek). Something I really liked about Ω3 was the proof that the high kitchen can be consumed with a dressing code much more relaxed and of course in a casual summer atmosphere.
Tsikali Tavern in Vathi
Η Tsikali tavern is built on the beach, two steps from the picturesque church of Agioi Taxiarches. Here, under the thick shade of the tamarisk trees and the wooden pergola, one can enjoy the wonderful view of the calm sea and taste the recipes of the shop. The visitors here are regular and many of them remember "Tsikali" from the time when it was only accessible from the sea, 35 years ago when the Nikos Frazeskaros, sailor in bottles landed on the island.
They know that here they will taste the wonderful casserole with siphneiko wine and dill, the oregano rabbit, the stuffed pork with cheese, tomato and pepper and the traditional chickpea meatballs, cheese meatballs (from local cheese), caper salad, eggplant salad, wood oven oven, And the pies of Mrs. Flora. Fish lovers will only taste it fresh (when available), they will even eat the delicious fresh cod with lemon sauce in the pan.
Theodorou Confectionery in Artemonas
Inside the alleys of Artemonas hides a legend, its confectionery-cafe Theodoros family. Ο King is the third generation of Theodoros who deals with traditional confectionery and who for about a century sweeten the people of Sifni and their visitors. Sitting next to his mother, her Katina, tells us their story: "In 1922, his grandfather, George, went to Syros to learn Turkish delight and halva pie, to return ten years later and open his own patisserie."
My father, Mr. Nikos, we lost him unfortunately last year (2016), he took over the business in 1967, when they moved to the store where we are today and it operated for a long time as a cafe. I got it in 1994. In our workshop we prepare all the traditional sweets of both the island and the Cyclades: loukoumia and halva pies, pastelia (the most traditional Sifna dessert served at weddings, christenings and festivals), patties (Christmas mainly) chocolate chip cookies, macaroons and underwater, but also spoon sweets. ”
Narli Estate in Xabela
Descending from Apollonia to the Castle, just before we reach Kato Xabela, it is located Narli estate. I visited it for the first time and I was really impressed. One of the most interesting experiences on the island of Sifnos! Because there you will meet in a typical Sifnos farm all the dry crops of the island, you will see the food in its processed form (dried, pickles, sweets, cheese), you will watch cooking, you will dine in a beautiful place the typical dishes, made in the original place.
From the procedures of the estate, visitors can participate in the collection of fruits, such as capers and caper leaves. In the summer one can admire the garden with the pears, a variety of a hundred years, maybe even longer that endured against people and elements of nature, and of course, after consultation, the relevant tastings and snacks are made.
The best taverns of Sifnos - Greek Gastronomy Guide
PLACE & HISTORY - TRADITIONAL KITCHEN
TAVERNS - RESTAURANTS - CAFES
SIGN INTO YOUR ACCOUNT