10 Best Restaurants
Santorini rewards a holiday with more than one perspective. From the caldera rim, white villages and hotel terraces look across a vast volcanic seascape. At water level, old harbours and dark beaches give the island a different scale. Inland, vineyards and villages reveal a landscape shaped by agriculture as well as tourism. Choose your base around the experience you want. Oia has the classic cliffside setting and a remarkable concentration of hotels and restaurants; Imerovigli offers another commanding caldera position. Fira adds museums and town life, while the south and the hills around Pyrgos invite a less concentrated itinerary. The distinction between a caldera stay and a beach stay matters more than a hotel's headline description. Our edit brings those contrasts together: carefully designed places to stay, restaurants that range from ambitious tasting menus to accomplished island tavernas, and experiences that explain the landscape. Make time for Akrotiri and the prehistoric museum, taste the wines among their vines, and leave an afternoon free for the sea. Santorini is most rewarding when the schedule allows you to look beyond the sunset.
Lycabettus
Oia, Greece
Lycabettus makes the most of its terrace at Andronis Luxury Suites, where dinner unfolds above Oia's volcanic shoreline. The kitchen combines contemporary technique with Greek ingredients, and the menu offers a considered way to experience the island beyond its familiar taverna dishes. Choose it for a special evening when setting and cooking deserve equal attention. Reserve ahead and discuss dietary requirements directly, allowing the restaurant to explain the available menu formats for your date.
A theatrical caldera dinner
Selene
Fira, Greece
Selene brings Santorini's culinary heritage into the courtyard of a former Catholic monastery in Fira. Ettore Botrini's kitchen interprets local flavours through contemporary tasting menus, while the wine programme places the island's vineyards in a wider Greek context. Choose it for a dinner that rewards attention to both food and wine. Leave time for the meal to develop, and discuss the pairing options when reserving rather than treating wine as an afterthought.
Santorinian gastronomy and wine
Lauda
Oia, Greece
Lauda pairs Oia's caldera setting with cooking shaped by Emmanuel Renaut and resident chef Orestis Sotiriou. Greek ingredients are treated with the precision of French fine dining, creating an evening with a clear culinary point of view. Choose it for a tasting-menu dinner that feels closely connected to its location. Check the seasonal reopening date before planning a visit, and raise dietary requirements at reservation so the kitchen can confirm how it can accommodate them.
French precision with Greek identity
Botrini's Santorini
Oia, Greece
Botrini's Santorini brings Ettore Botrini's Greek and Italian influences to Katikies Santorini in Oia. The open-air setting makes the caldera part of the evening, while the cooking gives the restaurant an identity beyond its view. Choose it when you want a carefully paced gastronomic dinner within the village. Book this Santorini branch explicitly, and discuss the current menu and wine options with the restaurant when arranging a special occasion.
A Greek-Italian fine-dining conversation
Elements
Oia, Greece
Elements at Canaves Epitome builds its identity around modern European cooking with Greek influences. Executive chef Tassos Stefatos uses a progressive menu format, while volcanic stone, water and the sea-facing setting give the evening a distinctive backdrop. Choose it for a dinner where the food is intended to surprise as well as satisfy. Ask about the different table settings when reserving, since the floating-deck experience should not be assumed for every booking.
Inventive cooking above Ammoudi
Petra
Oia, Greece
Petra at Canaves Oia Suites offers a concentrated fine-dining experience with views of the caldera and volcano. The kitchen's degustation format places Greek cooking at the centre, with the setting encouraging a slow, deliberate evening. Choose it for an intimate dinner rather than a spontaneous stop between village sights. Clarify your preferred seating and dietary needs directly with the restaurant; the separate Panorama Balcony experience is an individual arrangement, not the standard reservation.
An intimate Oia tasting menu
Varoulko Santorini
Imerovigli, Greece
Varoulko Santorini gives Grace Hotel a dining identity shaped by Greek ingredients and the sea. Its Imerovigli terrace looks across the caldera, while the menu takes a contemporary approach to familiar culinary traditions. Choose it for a polished evening in which the location supports the food rather than replacing it. Ask the restaurant about its current menu choices and Greek wine suggestions, and check access arrangements if the cliffside setting presents practical concerns.
Seafood-minded Greek cooking
Metaxi Mas
Exo Gonia, Greece
Metaxi Mas draws visitors to Exo Gonia for Cretan and Santorinian cooking in a village setting. The terrace and homely atmosphere make it a rewarding change from the caldera's formal dining rooms. Choose it for a generous meal shared across the table, with local vegetables and Greek comfort dishes providing the character. Reserve directly and ask about outside seating if that is important; the restaurant's reputation means a village address does not guarantee a quiet walk-in.
A convivial village table
Aktaion
Firostefani, Greece
Aktaion has served Santorini since 1922, and its Firostefani setting gives a traditional meal a remarkable backdrop. The small restaurant celebrates local produce and established recipes, with the owner's art adding personality to the interior. Choose it for an evening that feels rooted in the island rather than in international hotel dining. Tables are limited, so reserve ahead and clarify whether you prefer the intimate dining room or an outdoor table overlooking the caldera.
Traditional cooking with history
To Psaraki
Vlychada, Greece
To Psaraki looks over Vlychada's fishing harbour, a setting that makes a seafood lunch feel naturally connected to the island. The appeal is direct, ingredient-led cooking and a taverna atmosphere rather than a formal tasting-menu performance. Choose it as part of a day exploring southern Santorini, perhaps after the nearby Tomato Industrial Museum. Ask what fish is available and reserve a harbour-facing table if the view is important to your plans.
Seafood by a working harbour