The sinews of Exohora’s thousand-year-old olive tree are living proof that the world’s healthiest oil has been produced in Zante for centuries, and many of the local specialties are infused into this olive tree, including the meltingly rich beef stew sofigadoura and the garlic-laden eggplant dish grupdostoubi. Other unique homegrown ingredients include sweet white Belousiotiko onions and tiny wild strawberries that color the hillsides in spring. Complement any meal with ladotiri, the island’s spicy sheep cheese, and sherry-like Verdea wine, and you’ll agree that the gastronomy of this island where Apollo once wandered is fit for the gods.
For more Zante inspiration, check out our guides to the islands’ best hotels, nightlife and things to do. Plan an extended visit with our ultimate guide to planning a holiday around the Greek islands.
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Blink and you’ll probably miss this tavern, where half a dozen plastic-cloth-covered tables sit on a strip of bamboo-covered concrete, almost level with the rippling waters of Zante town’s kaiki boat-dotted harbour. Once a hangout for local fishermen, today it is one of the best (and most expensive) seafood restaurants in town. Here, globe-trotting owner Giannis draws on numerous culinary influences to create hearty, flavor-rich dishes based on local recipes. Highlights include squid in a garlicky, tomato Verdea wine sauce and pan-fried fried sardines covered in crunchy sesame seeds.
To contact: komis-tavern.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Price:%s: £££
Best table: There aren’t many and they all have harbor views overlooking the water
eucalypts
Located in the peaceful poolside garden of one of the island’s oldest hotels, this delightfully idyllic restaurant – named after the island’s oldest eucalyptus tree that still grows there – was one of the first restaurants on the island to source ingredients locally and serve only traditional local cuisine. The menu includes regional (mostly organic) wines. Enthusiastic owner Maria Lougari, whose parents opened the hotel in the ’90s, is ready to chat (and pamper the waiters) while you dine on delicious lamb and pasta giouvetsi and moscharistifado, a veal, onion and tomato stew, under the silver-leaved olive trees. and other traditional dishes.
To contact: castellihotel.com
Reservations: It has been recommended
Price:%s: ££
Best table: In warm weather, choose a table by the pool
Stathmos
A common gift from a man to his lover in ancient Greece, the humble kouneli – rabbit – is a staple of Zante cuisine. Stathmos (meaning “stop”) in Zante’s old Chora bus terminal doesn’t look like much, but this cheap and cheerful sidewalk cafe is locally famous for its kouneli stifado rabbit stew: tender rabbit chunks marinated overnight in red wine vinegar with spices in olive oil fried, then slowly simmered in a garlic-rich tomato and wine sauce. Other specials written on the chalkboard each day include salted cod served with scoredalia; If you want to be at lunch, run like a rabbit.
To contact: 00 30 26950 24040; facebook.com/stathmos.ktel.gr
Reservations: not necessary
Price:%s: £
Best table: Anything you’re lucky enough to get
Ladofanaro
Locals flock to this popular fish restaurant overlooking the warm shallow waters of Amboula beach, an easy drive from Zante town. Meals (served on chunky tables set with blue linen tablecloths and wildflowers in vases) are charcoal grilled or oven-baked and served in earthenware pots. Try the shrimp saganaki, sautéed in olive oil, glazed with fragrant anise ouzo, then cooked in a spicy feta and tomato sauce, or the grilled red sea bream, served rough-cut with its smoky-crisp skin splitting to reveal the tender meat inside. , potatoes with lemon.
To contact: 00 30 26950 62655; facebook.com
Reservations: not necessary
Price:%s: ££
Best table: By the beach, especially when there’s a refreshing sea breeze
Diachroniko
This is one of the island’s best farm-to-table restaurants. From apple-cheeked Asimina tomatoes in hearty sauces, to lamb in dishes like delicious parchment-baked kleftiko, to wines served straight from the barrel, every ingredient used to prepare casseroles or roast dishes at Diachroniko (the name means ‘timeless’) is right here in Plessas. It is grown on his family’s farm. Located in Skoulikado, it is a beautiful village full of bougainvillea at the foot of the forested Vrachion mountains. They also make their own crusty bread in the wood-fired oven, so you can mop up the juices, too.
To contact: taverna-diahroniko.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Price:%s: ££
Best table: Anywhere in the shade
Lithies Organic Farm
Located in the courtyard of their working farm, surrounded by olive trees and banana trees, the Giannoulis family’s organic restaurant consists of a group of tables covered in red-and-white checkered fabrics, scattered on a terrace decorated with huge olive millstones, where chickens happily cluck and goats happily cluck. Blea and leap under the silver-leaved trees as you eat specialties like slow-cooked rabbit stew (kouneli kokkinisto) in a deep red wine sauce or katsoika lado rigani (goat cooked with olive oil and rosemary) served on the farm. Your own wine directly from oak barrels.
To contact: lithieshouses.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Price:%s: ££
Best table: On cool evenings, the covered terrace offers a welcome shelter
Taverna Stavros
Reaching this simple tavern with cozy brick interiors and exposed beams requires a long, winding drive along rock-strewn mountain roads, about 40 minutes’ drive from the town of Zante, but it’s worth the effort to enjoy some of the island’s best country cooking. Situated 800 meters above the hamlet of Kampi, in an impressive spot (and overlooking the hamlet’s massive cross), on a rocky ledge jutting out over the cobalt layer of the Ionian Sea far below, the sunsets here are as spectacular as their specialty: hearty home-cooked beef stew stifado.
To contact: campitavernastavros.gr
Reservations: not necessary
Price:%s: ££
Best table: Sit close to the terrace railings for the best view (not for the brave)
Taverna Scloubou
Just two kilometers from the infamous nightlife strip of Laganas, the Lykouresis family’s farm restaurant on the outskirts of the seaside resort of Agios Sostis, which has been serving traditional home-cooked meals since the 1990s, is another world. Under olive trees and palm-frond umbrellas, surrounded by bright pots full of geraniums and fragrant herbs, you can choose from freshly prepared dishes written on a blackboard every day. Most popular options include lamb kleftiko cooked in white wine, richly filled cheese and egg saganaki, and kyria Lykouresis’ homemade moussaka served bubbling hot in individual bowls.
To contact: sclouboustaverna.gr
Reservations: Recommended
Price:%s: ££
Best table: Close to the kitchen if you don’t want to wait too long when busy
Taverna Porto Limnionas
The mountain village of Agios Leon, with its red-roofed tiled houses clustered around a chunky 14th-century church, is the gateway to Porto Limnionas, one of the island’s most secluded fjord-like bays on Zante’s picturesque west coast. A narrow path surrounded by seal-grey rocks and spiky wild thyme leads down to the tavern that bears the bay’s name; This tavern is surrounded by sweet-smelling pine trees, where friendly owners roast freshly caught calamari over charcoal fires or whip up bowls of shrimp-studded linguine. as they sit and sip their homemade tsipouro. Portions are huge, so order wisely.
To contact: 00 30 26957 72072
Reservations: not necessary
Price:%s: ££
Best table: Sit by the charcoal grill and bathe in those wonderful scents
Votsalo
Although not the easiest place to find, the journey through olive groves and arid landscape to find this cozy tavern overlooking the island of Marathoni, where the endangered Loggerhead turtles come to breed, is worth the effort. The decor is eclectic – crazy upholstered pillars like turtle backs and strings hanging in random loops from the ceiling – but the sea views are spectacular and there’s a small menu of seafood dishes – fish cakes with crispy shrimp fried in olive oil, grilled calamari skewers served on the grill or fresh octopus with lightly spiced pasta is equally impressive.
To contact: votsalotaverna.gr
Reservations: not necessary
Price:%s: ££
Best table: On the edge of the terrace overlooking Marathoni Island
Damaianos Cave
Located near the village of Agalas, famous for its 12 wells and the cave where, according to legend, a dragon once lived, the remote tavern of the Doxaras family is the best place on the island for breathtaking sunset views towards the little Strofades. Islands. The food is hearty and healthy: expect homemade pies, meltingly soft kolokifthedes (zucchini dumplings) and fresh seafood. The décor is almost as magical as the setting, featuring seats carved from concrete, plump cushions, a stone waterfall and lots of fairy lights.
To contact: Cavedamianoszante.com
Reservations: Not necessary.
Price:%s: ££
Best table: Anywhere with this magnificent view.
Ampelostrates
Expect a unique gourmet experience at this delightful rustic farm restaurant owned by the Maroudas family, located on several acres of land near the once lost hamlet of Koiliomenos. Using his own farm produce, foraged produce and locally sourced ingredients, owner Antonis serves sweet Zakynthian wines in the tavern’s cozy stone-hewn log space, as well as a storm of traditional local dishes, including the island’s iconic garlicky eggplant dish marjodostoumpi. -in the decorated main dining room or, when the weather is nice, at a table under orchards and broad-leafed walnut trees.
To contact: 00 30 69469 58790
Reservations: It has been recommended
Price:%s: ££
Best table: Choose one of the tables outside for a wall-to-wall farm experience.