A restaurant by the sea in Mykonos, Greece.

A restaurant by the sea in Mykonos, Greece.
© Shutterstock

Feast by the Coast in Greece

With an abundance of photogenic coastline, marked by aquamarine coves and pin-up beaches, Greece is a paradise for waterside dining.

Few places can boast waterside dining like Greece. Come for the simple lunches of just-caught fish and crisp salad, nibbled while waves roll by tableside. Stay for the balmy ouzo-soaked evenings, when romantic atmosphere is dialled up and sunset views are even more divine than the food.

PERIPLOUS, CRETE

Even if the food wasn’t great, you’d come for the sunsets: lavishly pink and sky filling, casting warm glow over the slick modern restaurant tables. But the food at Periplous, set on a former industrial stretch of seafront in Chania, is tasty indeed. Dishes echo classic Greek island flavours – catch of the day or ravioli with rabbit – but with an added city cool that’s miles from the cliché. periplousrestaurant.gr

PELAGOS, ATHENS

Pelagos means ‘sea’ in Greek, and it’s a fitting name for this Michelin-starred spot in the Four Seasons Astir Palace. The swish indoor-outdoor space looks right over the waves, a theatrical stage for decadent dishes that reference the sea while simultaneously thinking outside the box. Don’t expect souvlaki or spanakopita here – rather, caviar pasta with clam emulsion or dry-aged wild sea bass with kumquat.
fourseasons.com/athens

SPILIA, MYKONOS

Restaurant settings don’t get more romantic than at Spilia, an open-air waterside platform spilling from atmospheric Agia Anna cave. Visitors to Mykonos have been coming with their nearest and dearest for more than 30 years to feast on Aegean sea urchins, mussels and crayfish under the arch of a pergola. Order a round of zingy cocktails to wash everything down, building up to an evening enjoying Mykonos’s legendary party scene.
spiliarestaurant.gr

 

DON’T MISS

The Greek islands are packed with architectural treasures, and Crete is no exception. Break up the feasting with visits to the epic ruins of the Palace of Knossos outside Heraklion or the underrated Minoan Palace of Phaistos.

Alicia Miller
Discover more
Seaside restaurants in Spain.
Europe
Feast by the Coast in Spain
The Spanish have perfected the art of the long lunch and the ritual takes on a whole other magical...
By Alicia Miller
Find out more
Malta has been described as a 'pearl of the Mediterranean'.
Destinations
Malta: a fortress of taste
Malta, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and rich in history, has long been a popular tourist...
By Philipp Elsbrock