For our last few days in Greece, our visit to Santorini forced us to take it up a notch in terms of food prices and dinner views. Our eating experience was different from our time in Crete mainly because it was so centered around getting the best seats for sunset.
I managed to find ways to balance out the price of our view-centered dinners. Alas, we could not have experienced the best of what Santorini had to offer without recommendations from our villa stay host. We ended up taking up several of his suggestions and they were all excellent.
The best part was the last night when I finally got to eat one, single vegetable that he insisted we must not miss: a Santorini cucumber.
The Least Expensive Meals
I’m usually on more of a budget when I travel. Santorini was the splurgey exception. But that didn’t mean I ate a pricey meal every time or that there were no low-cost options on Santorini.
One of the least expensive ways to eat well and still get the cultural experience is to eat gyros! I ate a gyro for two meals in Santorini—one gyro on my hike to Oia for lunch ($13) and one gyro for lunch after a morning volcano tour ($7).
They were delicious, filling, Greek, chicken souvlaki made fast and cheap to carry on-the-go. No fancy dining and the view is up to you!
Of course, I also wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also visit a supermarket upon my arrival to any new location. Even for this short stay, we went to get some snacks especially for the morning at our accommodation.
These breakfasts weren’t going to be like the spreads we had on Chania mornings but some groceries helped us keep our food costs balanced.
Our villa host, Alex, made lots of recommendations to us for food, among other things to see and do, during our stay. He talked our ear off literally for over an hour explaining everything to us about Santorini.
We were quite tired after our overnight flights as we politely waited for him to finish talking. His recommendations turned out to be excellent regardless and he even gave us ice cream bars as we patiently listened! Alex also left fruit in the room which we gladly snacked on throughout our stay. I was very grateful!
The Most Expensive Dinner
So let’s rip off the band-aid. Our second night in Santorini led us to our most expensive meal in Greece. This was at Catch Bar in Oia by Chef George Kyrtsalidis. This restaurant was recommended to me by another travel blogger. I wanted something that would be top notch dining with a view. I didn’t exactly expect the menu to be as pricey as it was but once we were in we decided to just go with it and enjoy.
On the table, they placed different breads, olives, cheese, oil, and dip.
I ordered the red snapper entrée ($37) with parnsip puree, mussels, ikura (salmon eggs) and fish coconut broth. It was good but I honestly wasn’t crazy about it!
Carolina had the chicken dwarf entrée ($34) which was caramelized and grilled with dauphinoise potatoes and chicken jus. She found the potatoes to be the best part.
Carolina was on a mission to try all of the local beers—Blue Monkey ($9) was the one for this occasion.
I went for Santorini white wine from Assyrtiko that was recommended by Alex. This happened to be the least expensive wine on the list. I made a rookie mistake, though. I thought I was getting maybe a small bottle for $26 but it was $26 by the glass—ouch!
I have to admit, though… it was really good wine and I’m glad I ticked off one of three wine recommendations from Alex (the other two were Vincanto and Athiri)! Carolina also caught up to me price-wise by having a couple more beers!
With tax and tip tacked on, our bill came to $158. We definitely did not intend to spend so much on one single meal. Alas, the views were great.
A throwback to my Oia sunset the night before, we now could enjoy it from a different angle. Catch Bar has a West-facing roofdeck perfect for sunset views. We had the roof to ourselves when we arrived and it wasn’t too crowded as we left.
I feel we paid for the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful views more than the dining experience itself.
Highly Recommended, Highly Delicious
Alex recommended a bunch of places for us to eat including Pelican Kipos in Fira about a 5-minute walk from the villa.
On my way back from the bus stop after my hike in Oia, I stopped by Pelican Kipos for a to-go dinner. I wanted something local, quick, and delicious that I could take back to the villas and eat before a restorative jacuzzi soak.
The staff there were super accommodating. They had me sit to the side in some comfy chairs among the beautiful potted plants and glowing lanterns as I waited for my to-go order. I hopped on their Wi-Fi and noted the sign describing their brunch.
I decided to go with their Santorinian salad ($10). Alex suggested this salad because it is a special version of the traditional Greek salad.
The Santorinian salad had locally grown and cultivated ingredients including tomato, caper, caper leaves, sun dried tomato, fresh soft cheese, lettuce, rocket-rucola (arugula), olives, vinaigrette sauce with balsamic and honey.
I took it back to our villa and carried out my plan—dinner and hot tub time!
I enjoyed that salad so much that I had to return. Carolina and I decided to go for their brunch on our last day.
In the daylight, the outdoor area really brightened up and we could truly appreciate being immersed in this garden patio as we ate. We ordered and shared an omelet, plate of bacon, and a large salad and it was all delicious!
With a real, sit-down meal here, we were served the traditional Greek after-meal dessert for free. This time it was donuts in a honey glaze. They were served warm and crispy and they were possibly the best damn donuts I’ve ever had. I’m usually not crazy about donuts but I liked these!
As we ate, we were treated to live music. A pianist played beautifully and the others in the restaurant clapped after each tune throughout the meal.
What we ate at Pelican Kipos was possibly the best I had in all of Santorini and it did not break the budget at only about $16 each.
Akrotiri Lunch
On our last day, we visited the town of Akrotiri. After exploring the area, we worked up an appetite enough to order a plate at Theofanis. This was another recommendation from Alex—we really took up the recommendations from him and he turned out to have great taste!
Still somewhat full from brunch, we were just peckish enough to order and share a bowl of mussels ($13). Yes, we were still on our mussels kick after the amazing mussels we had (twice!) in Crete.
They served for free after the meal a lovely, fruit and cream dessert.
Fira Sunset Dinner
We had one more evening meal to catch before heading to the airport and I wanted to make this one count.
Restaurants in Fira with sunset views have reservations booked out weeks and even months in advance of people’s travels. We didn’t book anything in advance. But we were able to hack the code!
We found out that if we popped by various restaurants about an hour before sunset, we would have a chance at taking over a reservation no-show! That’s how we were able to land a table with sunset views at the esteemed Argo Restaurant in Fira—another Alex recommendation!
We started off with drinks. I ordered a house white win this time—a smarter ask than picking from the wine list! Carolina continued her beer tasting tour with a Mythos and then a Yellow Donkey.
Not long after we sat down and ordered, we could already appreciate the caldera views from our table.
I decided to keep my order light after so many healthy meals and snacks all day. I ordered a traditional Greek salad ($12). I munched on some pita bread and dips and Carolina and I shared some fried calamari ($15).
One reason I ordered this particular Greek salad was twofold. One, I wanted to have a simple Greek salad one last time while I could in Greece. Two, the menu said it included cucumbers.
A running joke Carolina and I had stemmed from Alex’s suggestion that we make sure to have the Santorini grown cucumbers. He said they were the best! What was funny about this was how he said cucumber—”coo-CUMber!”
He said it over and over in his Greek accent, “You have to try the coo-CUMber. The coo-CUMber is grown right here from the Santorini Earth. You never taste coo-CUMber like this coo-CUMBer before. Coo-CUMber, don’t forget it!"
Oh, we won’t, Alex. And we didn’t. Here is a nice close up of Santorini’s infamous coo-CUMber:
Spoiler alert! …it tasted like a coo-CUMber. (shrug)
Alas, my attention at Argo was not really on the food—it was on the views. While we were inward a bit from the open windows at Argo, we could still easily see out and walk over to the edge to steal a few photos without people blocking the way.
With COVID-19 creeping at the edges of our travel experience, I was soaking in the vibes of being open-air and around other humans. Sometimes, people in the photos actually added to the atmosphere and more accurately depicted the essence of our experience.
We were here, among our fellow travelers all drawn to this location for its sunsets, enjoying this moment together over good food and good drink.
In Conclusion
If I went back to Santorini, I would probably take up more of Alex’s recommendations! Other missed recommendations from Alex were:
In Oia, he recommended Skiza Cafe and Terpsi N Oia.
In Fira, he recommended Niki and Rastoni for views, Iriana and Nektar (coffee shop) any time of day, and Tropical Bar for drinks. He specifically recommended getting meletini for dessert from Manos pastry shop. He also mentioned Taverna El Greco, a favorite among locals and one of the only restaurants that stays open all year even long after tourists are gone in winters.
In Pyrgos village, he recommended Kantouni.
He also recommended eating gemista (stuffed peppers and tomatoes), fava beans, and sweet white eggplant
Overall, I enjoyed my time eating my way through Santorini and learning the different price points you can go for. I spent an average of $25 per meal in Santorini compared to $13 per meal in Crete. While it cost about twice as much, the food experience was phenomenal and the views and atmosphere were worth the higher cost.
