Selene
€€€€€
Must orderthe tasting menu with wine pairings
The most-considered modern Greek kitchen on Santorini — founded 1985 by George Hatzigiannakis (who's since departed); now in Fira under Michelin-starred chef Ettore Botrini (formerly of his eponymous Etrusco on Corfu). Tasting-menu only, deeply rooted in the Santorinian pantry: fava in three textures, sun-dried tomatoes from Mesa Gonia, capers from Akrotiri. The wine list takes Assyrtiko more seriously than anywhere on earth. Book a month ahead in season.
Chef Ettore Botrini since 2021FiraBook a month ahead
InsiderDo the full tasting with the Assyrtiko pairings — the wine list is the real event. Book a month ahead in summer, come early for the room in good light.
Lauda
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Must orderthe seven-course tasting on the cliff terrace
The dining room at Andronis Boutique Hotel in Oia — the island’s first restaurant, opened 1971, now consulted by three-Michelin-star chef Emmanuel Renaut (Flocons de Sel in the French Alps). Cliff-edge terrace facing west into the caldera; the tasting menu pairs Renaut's alpine precision with Santorinian ingredients. Book three weeks ahead; the sunset booking is the move.
Chef Renaut consultingOia · cliff terraceSunset booking
InsiderBook the sunset seating three weeks out, west over the caldera — Renaut’s alpine precision on Santorinian produce; the seven-course on the terrace is the move.
1500 BC
€€€€
Must orderthe seafood platter + Mavrotragano
A cliff-edge seafood room in Fira above Town Hall square — named for the Akrotiri Bronze Age date, the kitchen leans hard on what came in at Vlychada that morning. Whole grilled fish, raw seafood platters, an excellent Santorinian wine list. The kitchen’s better than a cliff-view address usually is. Reserve the terrace.
Fira · cliffsideSeafood-ledReserve terrace
InsiderReserve a caldera-side table for the sunset hour — the room steps down the cliff in levels, so ask for one on the rail. It runs on the day’s catch from the Santorini boats; start with the fava and the grilled octopus.
Roka
€€€
Must orderslow-cooked lamb shoulder + fava
A modern-Greek room in an old Oia building — food-led, no cliff view, smaller and more deliberate than the caldera spots. Book a week ahead in season.
OiaModern GreekFood-led
InsiderTucked off a quiet pedestrian lane, away from the Oia crush — book ahead (Resy or e-table) and ask for the back patio, which faces west for the sunset. Lunch 12:30–3, dinner from 6:30.
Argo
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Must ordergrilled octopus + fennel salad
The old cliff-side Argo relocated in recent years to a large garden venue in Kontochori, ~5 minutes from Fira — gave up the cliff view in exchange for room to breathe. Modern Greek-Mediterranean in a calmer setting. The right pick when you want the food without the cruise-deck volume.
Kontochori (inland)Garden venueQuieter alternative
InsiderBook a dinner table (from 7:30) — it’s a big garden venue, so where you sit makes the night. Order the octopus risotto with mastic; come early and the underground cellar does wine tastings. Open April–October.
Pelekanos
€€€
Must ordersea-urchin spaghetti + chilled rosé
On the Oia caldera edge — restaurant and bar, the rare cliff-side address where the food still respects itself. Mediterranean, seafood-led, an outdoor terrace cantilevered over the rim. Less touristy than Ambrosia next door; book the sunset table.
Oia calderaCliff-edge, food-ledSunset terrace
InsiderBook the sunset table on the cantilevered terrace — the calmer caldera-edge seat next to the Ambrosia crowds.
Krinaki
€€
Must orderslow-cooked rabbit + the family Assyrtiko
A traditional family taverna in Finikia, the small village a kilometre east of Oia — Cycladic-mainland menu, charcoal-grilled meat, fava, the local Assyrtiko in carafes. The dinner most travellers don't think to drive to. Five-minute cab from Oia.
Finikia villageFamily taverna5-min cab from Oia
InsiderThe dinner most people don’t leave Oia for — five-minute cab to Finikia. Slow-cooked rabbit, family Assyrtiko in a carafe, a quieter night than the cliff.
Botargo
€€€€
Must orderthe seasonal tasting menu
Mediterranean-Greek fine dining inside the medieval Kasteli fortress of Pyrgos — tasting menus, a terrace looking across the entire caldera. Modern technique on Cycladic ingredients. The Pyrgos splurge dinner, paired easily with a daytime wine tasting nearby.
Pyrgos KasteliCaldera terracePair with a wine day
InsiderInside the Kasteli fortress at the top of Pyrgos — book the terrace for sunset, when the island views open up unobstructed. Jazz in the background, a serious wine list, and cocktails worth lingering over after the meal.