Restaurants & Tavernas
Authentic Greek cuisine and fresh seafood with stunning views
Porto Limnionas Taverna
A tiny terrace built into the rocks at Porto Limnionas cove, serving the freshest seafood on Zakynthos — caught that morning, cooked that afternoon.
Malanos
A Zakynthos Town institution since 1949 — unpretentious, generous, and consistent in a way that only multi-generational family tavernas can manage. The octopus in wine sauce is non-negotiable.
Nobelos Seaside Lodge
Zakynthos' most refined dining experience — a clifftop restaurant at Agios Nikolaos with Ionian Sea views, inventive Greek cuisine, and a wine list worth planning your evening around.
Prosilio
A hillside restaurant in Argassi with the best sunset view in southern Zakynthos — modern Greek cooking, an excellent wine list, and the kind of evening that justifies the splurge.
Arekia
Kalamaki's best-kept secret — a family-run taverna where the locals eat, the portions are enormous, and the grilled lamb chops arrive with enough bread to make it a meal on their own.
Mesogeios
Zakynthos Town's only real fine dining restaurant — seasonal tasting menus, an exceptional Greek wine list, and a kitchen that takes the local larder seriously. Reservations essential.
Pandesia Restaurant
Kalamaki's beloved family taverna since 1993 — a cheerful flower-lined garden restaurant serving generous Zakynthian classics, live Greek music nights, and the kind of warm hospitality that earns repeat visits.
Taverna Lofos
A family-run hilltop taverna in Zakynthos Town with century-old recipes, panoramic harbour views, and the best slow-cooked rabbit on the island.
Bassia Restaurant
Seafood restaurant on the Akrotiri coast with a terrace overlooking the water. Family-run since 2015, they source directly from local fishermen and keep the menu honest.
The Olive Tree Taverna
Tsilivi's oldest taverna, cooking with passion since 1984. A garden sanctuary under centuries-old olive trees, serving authentic family recipes with their own organic olive oil and garden herbs.
Taverna To Kanoni
A no-frills mountain taverna in Volimes serving the kind of slow-cooked stifado and village bread that remind you why Greek food exists — no tourists, no menus, no pretension.
Zakanthi Restaurant & Bar
Garden restaurant in Kalamaki since 1979. Candlelit tables under palms and old trees, creative Greek cuisine, and a bar that takes cocktails seriously. One of the most atmospheric dinner spots on the island.
Akrotiri Restaurant
The best address in Argassi for a proper sit-down dinner — a terrace restaurant on the coastal road with sea views, a menu that takes Zakynthian seafood seriously, and a kitchen that earns its prices.
Il Porto
Right on the Zakynthos Town harbour with boats moored ten metres from your table — the freshest fish on the island, simply prepared, with a view that earns its slightly higher price.
Marathia
A hidden mountain taverna in Agalas that most tourists never find — wood-fired cooking, wild herbs from the hillside, and a terrace that looks out over the Ionian in absolute silence.
Target Taverna
Perched on the hillside above Argassi since 1992, Target Taverna serves authentic Greek cuisine with one of the most breathtaking sunset views on the island — a panorama across Zakynthos Town, the bay, and the Ionian Sea.
To Trivio
A hidden village taverna at the crossroads of Volimes — no English menu, no tourist prices, just grandmother's cooking served under a fig tree since 1967.
Akis Fish Tavern
A small seafood taverna in Alykanas run by a fisherman's family — what's on the menu each day is a direct function of what came off the boat that morning. The freshest fish on the north coast.
Allegro Restaurant
Contemporary Greek cuisine a short walk from the Zakynthos Town waterfront. Allegro updates traditional dishes with seasonal produce and a wine list that takes the island's growing winery scene seriously.
Il Fischio
An Italian-run trattoria in Zakynthos Town making proper pasta from scratch daily. The antipasti board and homemade tagliatelle with wild boar ragu put this in a different category from the generic 'Italian' restaurants that Zakynthos usually produces.
Meandros Restaurant
A contemporary Greek kitchen in Argassi with a rooftop terrace overlooking the bay, focused on creative takes on island ingredients. One of the few restaurants in the area treating the local wine scene seriously.
Base Cafe
The best all-day breakfast spot in Tsilivi — proper coffee, thick Greek yogurt with local honey, and a shaded terrace that makes morning the best part of any day on Zakynthos.
Il Borgo
An Italian-Greek fusion restaurant in Tsilivi where Venetian history meets Ionian produce — handmade pasta with local clams, risotto with Zakynthos saffron, and a terrace that makes summer evenings last forever.
Benikos Taverna
Family-run taverna in Tsilivi with a long menu of Greek classics and fresh seafood. Open from morning until late, which makes it useful in a way most dinner-only restaurants here aren't.
Varkarola
A waterfront institution on the Zakynthos Town harbour, known for fresh fish sold by weight and proper Zakynthian seafood dishes. The kitchen has been running the same way for decades — because it works.
Folia Restaurant
Garden restaurant on the outskirts of Zakynthos Town serving modern Greek plates in a courtyard shaded by grapevines and fig trees. The menu is short, seasonal, and cooked by a chef who trained in Athens.
Psarotaverna Agios Nikolaos
A proper fish taverna on the small harbour of Agios Nikolaos in the north — the ferry port for Cephalonia. Grilled fish from local boats, eaten at tables almost touching the water, with nobody else around.
Almyra Taverna
A modern Greek taverna on the southern edge of Tsilivi with a terrace over the sea. Almyra updates the taverna format with better wine, more precise cooking, and a seasonal menu — without losing the Greek directness.
Dennis Taverna
Yes, it's on the Laganas tourist strip — and yes, it's actually good. Dennis has been doing reliable Greek food for twenty-five years and earned its reputation the hard way: by not cutting corners.
Kosta's Grill House
Tsilivi's most reliable family restaurant — generous souvlaki platters, bottomless bread, high chairs, and prices that don't ruin a family holiday budget.
Alykes Seaside Restaurant
Sits at the edge of Alykes village where the salt flats meet the beach, with an unobstructed view north across the Ionian. Traditional Greek cooking, good fish, and one of the more peaceful dinner settings on the island.
Komis Restaurant
Old-school Greek taverna on the edge of Zakynthos Town, popular with locals for grilled meat and honest Zakynthian dishes. No view, no frills — just food cooked by people who know what they're doing.
La Bella Vista
Hilltop restaurant above Laganas with views across the bay to Keri and the Ionian Sea. Mediterranean menu with an Italian lean — good pasta, decent grilled fish, and a sunset that earns the name.
Porto Keri Restaurant
A quiet harbour taverna at Keri Lake, where pleasure boats moor in the summer and the water is so calm it reads as a mirror. Traditional Greek food with a focus on whatever came off the fishing boats that morning.
Boukadoura Taverna
A neighbourhood taverna in Zakynthos Town's residential backstreets, where the menu changes depending on what was at the market that morning. The kind of place you'd walk past unless you already knew about it.
Mouria Taverna
An old mulberry tree (mouria) shades the terrace of this Argassi neighbourhood taverna, which has been feeding locals and a loyal repeat-visitor crowd since the 1980s. Traditional Zakynthian cooking, nothing invented.
Skinaria Beach Bar
A remote beach bar on the wild south coast at Skinaria, accessible by a rough track or by boat. Simple food, cold drinks, and a black-pebble beach ringed by cliffs where the snorkelling is genuinely exceptional.
Vassilikos Taverna
The main taverna in Vassilikos village, serving the locals and the well-heeled visitors who rent villas in this quiet southeastern corner of Zakynthos. Good Greek food, proper portions, a terrace shaded by old bougainvillea.
Sea Breeze Restaurant
Argassi's most straightforward seafood address — on the beachfront road with direct water views, a menu of grilled and fried fish done without pretension, and a kitchen that's been consistent for years.
Taverna Nikos Tsilivi
A second-generation Greek taverna two streets back from the Tsilivi beach road, cooking traditional dishes at prices the family-holiday market can live with. The daily specials board is worth reading before you look at the menu.
Dionysios Taverna
Family-run taverna in Laganas serving generous portions of traditional Greek food at honest prices. Reliable, unpretentious, and consistent — exactly what the area needs more of.
Lithakia Taverna
Village taverna in Lithakia, a traditional inland community south of Laganas. Local produce, wood-grilled meat, and the kind of low-key lunch that most visitors to Zakynthos never find because they never leave the beach zone.
Volimes Village Taverna
A working village taverna in Ano Volimes, the lace-making village in the north of the island. Simple food, local wine, and the quietest lunch in Zakynthos. Mostly used by locals and the odd traveller heading to Shipwreck Beach.
Strofilia Taverna
A roadside taverna on the edge of the Strofilia pine forest in the northwest, serving robust grilled meat and local wine to the farmers, hikers, and the occasional visitor who's found their way to this quiet corner.
Porto Zoro Beach Bar
Operates directly on Porto Zoro beach, one of the best sandy coves on the Vassilikos peninsula. Simple beach food done cleanly — Greek salad, grilled wraps, cold drinks — and the most turquoise water in the south of the island a few metres away.
Caretta Beach Restaurant
Right on Tsilivi beach — sun loungers at midday, candlelit dinner tables by night. The kitchen does solid Greek and international dishes across a long menu, and the location makes it hard to argue with.
Keri Lighthouse Taverna
At the very southern tip of Zakynthos, next to the Keri lighthouse, this small taverna serves simple grilled food and cold drinks to the people who've made the drive or the walk. The view from the cliffs is the main event.
Takis Taverna
No-nonsense grill house near Kalamaki beach doing charcoal-grilled meats from morning until late. Owner Takis has been manning the same grill for 20 years. The souvlaki are the reason people come back.
Agalas Village Taverna
At 400 metres in the hills above the west coast, Agalas is one of Zakynthos' highest and most isolated villages. The taverna on the square is a working local, serving traditional food and local wine to the handful of people who find their way here.
Gerakas Beach Restaurant
The only restaurant at Gerakas beach — one of the best and most protected beaches in Zakynthos, managed by the Sea Turtle Protection Society. Simple beach food at the end of the road in the Vassilikos peninsula.