Santorini: The Volcanic Plate, the Assyrtiko Glass, and the Island That Refuses to Apologize for Its Prices

A food and drink guide by Tomás Rivera

The Volcano Never Asked for Permission

Santorini does not grow food the way other Greek islands do. The volcanic eruption of 1600 BC did not politely enrich the soil—it scorched it, drained it, and forced every plant that survived to fight for existence. The result is produce that tastes like survival: cherry tomatoes so concentrated they border on jam, fava beans with a sweetness that makes you question every split-pea dish you have ever eaten, capers that thrive where nothing else will, and white eggplants so mild and creamy they barely resemble their bitter purple cousins.

This is not a farm-to-table story with gentle breezes and rolling hills. This is a story of basket-shaped vines pressed flat against the ground to survive the meltemi winds, of roots digging 30 meters through volcanic pumice to find moisture, and of a cuisine built from scarcity so extreme that simplicity became the only option—and, eventually, the highest art form.

I came to Santorini expecting sunset dinners and overpriced wine. I left understanding why chefs from Athens and Paris make pilgrimages here. The island does not care about your expectations. It gives you what the volcano allows, and what the volcano allows happens to be extraordinary.

Tomás Rivera: Who I Am and Why I Wrote This

I am a food writer based in Barcelona and Mexico City, which means I spend half my year chasing pintxos and the other half hunting down the perfect taco al pastor. I have eaten my way through Oaxaca’s markets, San Sebastián’s Michelin basements, and Lima’s ceviche counters. I do not write about restaurants where the view is the main course. I write about places where the kitchen would survive even if the windows were bricked over.

Santorini tested that principle. The caldera views are genuinely staggering, and many of the best restaurants happen to have them. But I chose every spot in this guide based on what comes out of the kitchen first and what you see from your table second. If a place made the cut, the food justifies the price—or, in a few cases, the price is so reasonable that the view feels like a bonus you did not earn.

I spent eight days on the island in late May, eating two lunches and two dinners daily, visiting five wineries, and talking to every server, sommelier, and baker who would tolerate my questions. This guide is what I found.

What to Eat: The Dishes That Define the Island

Before you choose a restaurant, you need to understand what Santorini actually produces. The island has five PDO-protected products—fava, cherry tomatoes, capers, Assyrtiko wine, and Vinsanto—and the best kitchens build their menus around them rather than importing ingredients from the mainland.

Fava (Φάβα)

Not to be confused with fava beans. Santorini fava is made from Lathyrus clymenum, a local yellow split pea that has been cultivated on the island for over 3,500 years. The peas are slow-cooked until they collapse into a silky purée, then finished with olive oil, raw onion, and capers. The texture should be smoother than hummus, almost pourable. The flavor is earthy, slightly sweet, and mineral in a way that makes you taste the volcanic soil without knowing why. It is served warm or at room temperature, spread over bread or eaten with a spoon.

Where it is best: Every traditional taverna serves it, but the version at Metaxy Mas (Exo Gonia) has a depth that suggests long cooking and real care. At Selene (Fira), it arrives deconstructed with caper leaves and pickled onion, which is clever without being annoying.

Tomatokeftedes (Τοματοκεφτέδες)

The island’s most famous dish: fritters made from Santorini’s intensely sweet cherry tomatoes, mixed with mint, basil, onion, and flour, then deep-fried until the exterior is crisp and the interior is soft and jammy. They should be eaten immediately, while the steam is still escaping, with a squeeze of lemon and a cold glass of Assyrtiko.

What to look for: The best versions use only Santorini tomatoes, which are smaller and sweeter than standard cherry tomatoes. Some tourist-oriented kitchens cut them with regular tomatoes to save money, and the result is bland and watery. If the fritters taste like generic fried batter, you are in the wrong place.

White Eggplant (Μελιτζάνα Σαντορίνης)

A variety unique to the island, with creamy white flesh that is milder, sweeter, and less bitter than the common purple eggplant. It appears grilled, baked, fried, and whipped into melitzanosalata (eggplant dip). The grilled version, simply dressed with olive oil and herbs, is the purest expression of it.

Chlorotyri (Χλωροτύρι)

A soft, fresh goat cheese made only on Santorini, traditionally served as a meze with bread and local capers. It is tangy, creamy, and nearly impossible to find off the island because production is tiny and unregulated. If you see it on a menu, order it immediately.

Local Capers and Caper Leaves

Santorini capers grow wild in the island’s rocky crevices, and they are sharper, saltier, and more floral than capers from elsewhere. The leaves—often pickled—are less common but equally worth seeking out. They appear in salads, as garnishes on fava, and fried as a meze.

Apochti (Αποχτί)

Air-dried pork loin marinated in vinegar and spices, then sliced thin and served as a cured meat. It is Santorini’s answer to prosciutto, with a sharper, more acidic edge. Hard to find but worth asking about.

Fresh Seafood

The Aegean provides the obvious protein: grilled octopus, sea bream, red mullet, and calamari, typically prepared simply with olive oil, lemon, and oregano. The best tavernas display the day’s catch on ice and let you choose your fish before it hits the grill.

Where to Eat: The Restaurants That Earn Their Reputation

Metaxy Mas — The Island’s Best All-Around Meal

Address: Exo Gonia, Santorini 847 00, Greece
Hours: Daily, 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Phone: +30 22860 31323
Price: €25–40 per person for a full meal with wine
Reservations: Strongly recommended for lunch (12:00–4:00 PM) and dinner (7:30 PM–close). Walk-ins accepted 4:00–7:30 PM.

Exo Gonia is a village in the island’s interior, far from the caldera edge, and Metaxy Mas sits at the end of a narrow road that feels like you are driving into someone’s farm. The restaurant is housed in a converted winery with stone walls and a terrace that looks toward the sea but not from the famous cliff. The view is pleasant. The food is why you come.

The fava here is the benchmark: slow-cooked until it has the texture of velvet, finished with excellent olive oil and just enough raw onion to cut the richness. The tomatokeftedes are consistently crisp and intensely tomatoey. The grilled octopus is charred properly—smoky, tender, not rubbery. The lamb kleftiko, slow-baked in parchment with potatoes and tomatoes, falls apart with a fork.

The wine list is short but smart, with several Santorini Assyrtikos by the glass at €6–9. The service is warm and unhurried. This is the restaurant I send people to when they ask where the locals eat, and it is the restaurant I return to every time I am on the island.

Selene — Fine Dining Without the Attitude

Address: Katikies Garden Hotel, Fira, Santorini 847 00, Greece
Hours: Dinner only, 6:30 PM – 12:30 AM (seasonal, roughly March to early December)
Phone: +30 22860 22249
Email: [email protected]
Price: €60–90 per person for tasting menu; à la carte €45–70
Reservations: Essential. Book 2–3 weeks ahead in peak season.

Selene has been operating in various forms since 1986, which makes it an elder statesman of Santorini dining. The current iteration, located in the garden of the Katikies Hotel in Fira, is the most refined version yet. Chef Ettore Botrini has a Michelin star from his Athens restaurant, but the cooking here is not trying to be Scandinavian or Japanese. It is Greek, modernized: local ingredients treated with technique rather than deconstructed into oblivion.

The tasting menu moves through the island’s PDO products with intelligence. The fava is reimagined with caper leaves and caramelized onion. The white eggplant is smoked and paired with chlorotyri cheese. The Vinsanto dessert—poached pear with Vinsanto reduction and yogurt ice cream—is the kind of ending that makes you sit back and exhale.

The wine pairing (€35–50) is worth the cost. The sommelier knows the island’s wineries intimately and will pour wines from small producers you will not find elsewhere.

Lycabettus — The Sunset Dinner You Will Actually Remember

Address: Nik. Nomikou, Oía 847 02, Greece
Hours: Dinner, 6:30 PM – 10:00 PM (seasonal)
Email: [email protected]
Price: €80–120 per person
Reservations: Essential. Book well in advance for sunset slots.

Yes, it is in Oia. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, every travel blogger has photographed the infinity pool and the caldera view. But Lycabettus is the exception to the rule that sunset restaurants serve mediocre food to captive audiences. The kitchen here is serious, the ingredients are local, and the execution is precise.

The menu changes seasonally but always features the island’s signature products: grilled white eggplant with tahini and pomegranate, lobster pasta with Santorini tomato sauce, and a Vinsanto-poached fig dessert that justifies the entire bill. The wine list is heavy on Assyrtiko and Nykteri, with verticals from several top producers.

The catch: children under 13 are not permitted, and neither are pets. This is an adults-only restaurant in the truest sense, and the atmosphere reflects it. If you want a romantic, expensive, genuinely excellent dinner with the most famous view in Greece, this is where you book.

To Psaraki — The Seafood Taverna That Fishermen Actually Use

Address: Vlychada Harbor, Vlychada 847 00, Greece
Hours: Lunch and dinner, approximately 12:00 PM – 11:00 PM (seasonal)
Price: €20–35 per person
Reservations: Recommended for dinner; lunch is usually walk-in.

Vlychada is a working fishing harbor on the island’s southeastern coast, and To Psaraki sits at the water’s edge with plastic chairs, paper tablecloths, and a display case of fish that were swimming that morning. There is no caldera view. There is no Instagram aesthetic. There is grilled octopus that tastes like smoke and the sea, fried calamari that is crisp without being greasy, and a Santorini salad with tomatoes so sweet they barely need dressing.

This is where you come when you are tired of paying €18 for a cocktail and want to remember that Greek island food was simple and perfect long before it became a luxury product.

Argo — Reliable, Affordable, and Right in Fira

Address: Fira, Santorini 847 00, Greece (main pedestrian path)
Hours: Daily, 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Price: €18–30 per person
Reservations: Walk-in friendly for lunch; recommended for dinner.

Argo is not going to win any awards for innovation, but it is the most reliable mid-range option in Fira. The menu covers all the Santorini classics—fava, tomatokeftedes, moussaka, grilled fish—executed consistently well at prices that do not require a credit limit increase. The terrace has partial caldera views, and the house wine is drinkable. When you want a good meal without drama, Argo delivers.

Breakfast, Bakeries, and the Art of the Morning

Santorini’s breakfast culture is split between tourist-oriented brunch spots with Dutch babies and Greek yogurt bowls, and traditional bakeries where locals buy their morning bread. I gravitated toward the latter, but both have their place.

Svoronos Bakery (Φούρνος Σβορώνος)

Address: 25is Martiou, Thira 847 00, Greece
Hours: Claimed 24 hours, though seasonal variations apply; morning is safest bet
Price: €2–5 for pastries and coffee

The best traditional bakery in Fira. Walk in and you will find a glass case filled with baklava, galaktoboureko (custard pie), and spinach pies (spanakopita) that are still warm from the oven. The bread is baked fresh daily, and the cheese pies (tyropita) are flaky and salty in the right proportions. This is where you come for a €3 breakfast that keeps you full until lunch.

Ilios Bakery

Address: Main road, Imerovigli 847 00, Greece
Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM – 12:00 AM; takeaway from 5:00 AM
Price: €3–7

A more modern, all-day bakery with an extensive menu of breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, and pastries. The quality is high, the coffee is good, and the location in Imerovigli makes it a convenient stop if you are hiking the Fira-to-Oia trail. The Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts is a proper breakfast, not a tourist approximation.

Galini Cafe

Address: Firostefani, Thira 847 00, Greece
Hours: Breakfast and brunch, approximately 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Price: €8–15

If you want the caldera-view brunch experience, Galini is the best option in Firostefani. The Dutch babies are the specialty—particularly the lemon cream version—and the outdoor seating looks directly over the caldera. It is not cheap, and it is not where locals eat, but the view is genuine and the food is competent.

Wine: The Assyrtiko That Justifies the Hype

Santorini’s wine culture is inseparable from its food culture. The island’s Assyrtiko is one of the great white wines of the Mediterranean—crisp, mineral, high-acid, and capable of aging for a decade or more. The Vinsanto dessert wine, made from sun-dried grapes, is a PDO-protected treasure that tastes of honey, dried apricot, and volcanic smoke.

Santo Wines — The Essential First Stop

Address: Pyrgos Kallistis 847 00, Greece
Hours: Daily, 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM (summer until midnight)
Phone: +30 22860 22596
Website: santowines.gr
Price: Tasting flights €18–€55; daily tour €12 (includes 2 tastings)

Santo Wines is the largest winery on the island, a 1,200-grower cooperative founded in 1911 that welcomes over 600,000 visitors annually. The production tour (€12, about 20 minutes) is informative but basic. The real reason to come is the terrace: a multi-level, caldera-edge seating area with the best sunset view of any winery in Greece.

You do not need a reservation for a standard tasting—just arrive, sit down, and order a flight from the menu. A typical four-wine flight with snacks runs about €45. The wines to prioritize are the bone-dry Assyrtiko, the Nykteri (a traditional overnight-harvest style), and the Vinsanto. The on-site restaurant serves full meals, including a €110–€125 prix fixe gastronomy menu for two.

The catch: this is a commercial operation, not an intimate family cellar. If you want personal attention, visit a smaller winery. But if you only have time for one wine experience on the island, Santo’s view-plus-wine combination is unbeatable.

Hatzidakis Winery — For Serious Wine People

Address: Pyrgos Kallistis area (check website for exact directions)
Hours: By appointment
Price: Tastings €25–€45

Hatzidakis is the cult favorite among sommeliers: organic, minimal-intervention, family-run, and producing some of the most complex Assyrtiko on the island. The winery was founded in 1997 by Haridimos Hatzidakis and is now run by his daughter Stella. Tastings are by appointment only and include wines you will not find at Santo: single-vineyard Assyrtiko, aged Vinsanto, and rare indigenous varieties like Aidani and Mavrotragano.

Venetsanos Winery — The View Alternative

Address: Near Megalochori, caldera edge
Hours: Daily, 10:00 AM – sunset
Price: Tastings €20–€40

Venetsanos is smaller and more intimate than Santo, set in a restored industrial building on the caldera with views that rival its larger neighbor. The wine is excellent—particularly the Assyrtiko and the Nykteri—and the atmosphere is quieter and more personal. It is the best option if you want the sunset view without the 600,000-person crowd.

What to Skip: The Traps and the Overrated

Sunset Dinners in Oia (with exceptions)

Oia is beautiful. Oia at sunset is genuinely magical. But most of the restaurants along the main caldera path are charging €80–€150 per person for food that would not survive a single season in Athens. The exception is Lycabettus, which is expensive but excellent. Everything else is paying for the view. Eat a cheap gyro, watch the sunset from the castle ruins, and spend your dinner money at Metaxy Mas or Selene.

Restaurants with “Caldera View” in the Name

If a restaurant’s primary selling point is its view, the kitchen is usually an afterthought. There are exceptions, but the correlation is strong enough that I treat “caldera view” as a warning sign unless the restaurant has independent culinary credibility.

The €25 Cocktail Bars

Santorini’s cocktail scene is adequate but wildly overpriced. A negroni that costs €8 in Athens costs €22 in Fira, and the quality is not three times better. Drink wine instead—it is what the island does best, and even the house Assyrtiko at most restaurants is better than a mediocre cocktail.

Pre-Packaged “Greek Nights” with Buffet and Folk Dancing

These exist at several hotels and tourist restaurants. The food is reheated, the dancing is choreographed for tour groups, and the entire experience is designed to extract money from people who will not return. Skip it. Go to a local panigiri (village festival) if you want genuine Greek music and dancing.

Beach Tavernas at Kamari and Perissa

The beach resorts on the eastern coast serve generic tourist food at inflated prices. The grilled fish is often frozen, the salads are wilted, and the service is indifferent. If you want seafood, go to To Psaraki in Vlychada or a proper taverna in a working harbor, not a beach lounge where the kitchen is an afterthought to the sunbed rental.

Practical Logistics: How to Eat Your Way Through the Island

Getting Around

Santorini’s KTEL bus system connects Fira to Oia, the beaches, and the airport. Buses are cheap (€1.60–€2.40) but infrequent and crowded in summer. The bus to Santo Wines stops right outside the winery—tell the driver when you board. For restaurants in Exo Gonia, Vlychada, or Pyrgos, a rental car or ATV is almost essential. Taxis are expensive and hard to find; call ahead or use a local taxi app.

When to Eat

Greeks eat late. Lunch is typically 2:00–4:00 PM, dinner 9:00–11:00 PM. Many restaurants close between lunch and dinner (roughly 4:00–7:00 PM), though tourist-oriented places in Fira and Oia stay open continuously. If you want to eat with locals, show up at 2:30 for lunch and 9:30 for dinner.

Reservations

In July and August, book high-end restaurants 2–3 weeks ahead. Metaxy Mas and Selene fill up quickly. Lycabettus requires advance booking for sunset slots. For casual tavernas, walk-ins are usually fine at lunch but less certain at dinner.

Budget Reality

Santorini is expensive. A simple taverna meal with wine costs €25–€35 per person. A nice dinner with wine runs €50–€80. Fine dining starts at €80 and climbs past €150 if you order aggressively. The bakeries and gyro shops are your budget allies: a €4 spinach pie and a €2 coffee can carry you to dinner.

Tipping

Service charge is typically included, but rounding up or leaving 5–10% for good service is appreciated. At fine dining restaurants, 10% is standard for excellent service.

The Final Word

Santorini’s food scene is not a hidden secret. It is expensive, it is touristed, and it requires effort to find the places that justify their prices. But the volcanic soil produces flavors you cannot replicate elsewhere, the wine tradition is centuries deep, and the best restaurants—Metaxy Mas, Selene, To Psaraki—are run by people who care about what they serve.

Come hungry. Come curious. And come willing to pay for the privilege of eating food that only this island, with its scorched earth and stubborn vines, could produce.

Yamas.