Astypalaia Restaurants
Astypalaia keeps its eating along the harbour and the beaches, and the busiest place to eat is the waterfront of Pera Gialos below the Chora, lined with tavernas, cafes and mini-markets. This is a small, quiet island with no mass tourism, so the food is simple and local rather than showy. Rather than name places that come and go, this guide points you to the four areas where you will find the tavernas: Pera Gialos, Livadi, the Chora and Maltezana (Analipsi).
- Harbour
- Pera Gialos
- Best beach
- Livadi
- Up top
- Chora
- Quiet east
- Maltezana
Pera Gialos and the harbour
The port of Pera Gialos, below the Chora, is where most of the island's facilities gather and where the most tavernas, cafes and mini-markets are found. You eat along the small harbour, looking out over the fishing boats, with an ATM and shops close by and the town beach a few steps away. It is the natural place for dinner if you are based in the Chora, since the two are joined by stairs, and it stays busy through the evening by Astypalaia's quiet standards.
Livadi beach
Livadi, 3 kilometres from the Chora and just over the hill from Pera Gialos, is the main tourist centre and holds tavernas, cafes and a mini-market among the citrus gardens behind the beach. It is the place to combine a day on the best beach of the island with a lunch or dinner by the sand, and the fertile plain of orange and mandarin trees behind gives the setting its green, garden feel. Several quieter coves lie within walking distance to the south if you want to earn your meal.
The Chora
Up in the Chora, the whitewashed capital, family kitchens and small tavernas fill the lanes and squares below the castle and the windmills. Eating here trades the harbour bustle for the views: over the sea, the neighbouring islets and the amphitheatre of white houses spilling down to Pera Gialos. It is a short, atmospheric climb by stairs from the port, so many visitors eat in one and stroll to the other.
Maltezana (Analipsi) and beyond
Maltezana (Analipsi), 9 kilometres east of the Chora, is the island's second base and has a few seaside tavernas by its long sandy beach and small harbour, where the fishermen's coloured boats float in the bay. Further out, the remote beaches keep a taverna or two in high season only — Agios Konstantinos, Vatses and Kaminakia among them — while isolated Vathi in the north-east has a couple of tavernas by its lagoon-like bay. Away from the main centres, always check that a beach taverna is open before you rely on it.
Eating on a quiet island
Astypalaia is remote and quiet, so its restaurant scene is small and seasonal. Outside the peak weeks, opening hours shorten and the beach tavernas may be shut, so the safe bases for a meal are Pera Gialos, Livadi, the Chora and Maltezana, where something is usually open. Expect straightforward Greek cooking — fresh fish, grills, local vegetables from the fertile valleys of Livadi and Maltezana — rather than a wide choice, and carry cash, since the ATM in Pera Gialos is the most reliable on the island. The wider island, and where to stay near the food, is set out on the Astypalaia island guide.
