Kos Restaurants: Where to Eat by Area
The widest choice of restaurants on Kos is in Kos Town, where the pedestrian centre and harbour front sit among ancient ruins, while each beach resort and the mountain village of Zia has its own cluster of tavernas. This guide points you to the eating by area rather than by name, from the town waterfront to Kardamena, Mastichari, Tigaki, Zia and the beach tavernas of the southwest. For the whole island see the Kos island guide. Hire a car to explore Kos at your own pace, covered in our Kos car hire guide.
- Island
- Kos
- Widest choice
- Kos Town
- Harbour village
- Mastichari
- Mountain village
- Zia
Kos Town waterfront & old town
Kos Town holds the widest choice of restaurants on the island. It is the tourist and cultural centre, on the north-east coast facing the Turkish mainland, and much of it is pedestrian and Italian-built after the 1933 earthquake, so you eat among wide boulevards and ancient ruins. The old marketplace, the agora, sits in the centre, and the harbour front runs below the 14th-century castle of the Knights of St John. Stay in the town and most of the eating is within an easy walk.
Kardamena
Kardamena, the biggest resort in the south, packs tavernas in among its bars and discos. It is a mostly modern, hotel-filled village with a crowded beach and a harbour of excursion boats, so the eating runs from quick beach food to full sit-down tavernas and stays busy late. Come here for a lively night out as much as a meal.
Mastichari
Mastichari is a quieter option on the north coast, the largest village there, with tavernas by its good sandy beach and its boat quay for Kalymnos. It is calmer than Kardamena, so it suits a relaxed harbour-side dinner. West of the village the coast runs on to the long, quiet beaches of Agios Ioannis and Lakos.
Tigaki & Marmari
Tigaki (Tingaki), 11 kilometres north-west of Kos Town, and Marmari to its west are the north-west beach resorts, with restaurants set behind a very long sandy shore popular with windsurfers. Marmari, on the west side of Lake Alyki, is organized with beach beds, restaurants and accommodation. The flat land behind is good for cycling, so it is easy to ride between the two for lunch.
Zia & the inland villages
Zia is the best-known mountain village on Kos, set on the slopes inland from the north coast among the island's smaller settlements. It is the usual drive when visitors want a change from the beach and a look at the greener, higher part of the island. A car or a scooter reaches it easily from Kos Town or Tigaki.
Kefalos & Kamari
Kefalos and Kamari, 45 kilometres from Kos Town in the fertile, quiet southwest, have beach tavernas strung along the sand. Kamari has the largest beach in the south, beside the remains of an ancient agora, and the beaches running east from the airport towards the far west each keep their own taverna. Eat here for a beach lunch in the most unspoilt part of the island.
