Santorini's tastes - The nightlife

Santorini’s tastes 

The Aegean island and especially Santorini's cuisine is renowned as one of the world's best. It is considered to be one of the most attractive and balanced cuisines of the world because of the variety of its recipes, its use of natural ingredients and its flavours and tastes that seem to have bilaterally influence the famous Mediterranean kitchen.


Santorini's cuisine is, in a sense, a bridge between the Aegean kitchen based in fish, and the Mediterranean based in fresh vegetables, with the accent always on enhancing the natural taste and flavour of the ingredients. Santorini has also a specialty in cultivation. Santorini's soil is very rich in minerals and this is why, according to scientists, that all kind of groceries can be well grown. The most popular products besides grapes and wine is the "Santorini type small cherry tomatoes" and "fava" witch are the local beans, cooked until they melt completely.


Santorini's cuisine has been remaining within it's regional and geographical borders for centuries, until the recent years that was discovered by visitors who adopted it's tastes and spread them all over the world. Santorini's kitchen started to become famous by the beginning of 80's when it was discovered and evaluated by the visitors according to the hard efforts of local chefs to show local products and dishes to the world. Nowadays Santorini is one of the few touristic destinations in Greece hosting hight standard services and quality restaurants that have won significant rewards in international contests, while still serving in affordable prices.


Famous Santorini plates a visitor shouldn’t miss are meatballs made with tomatoes, pasta with lobster, grilled fish, fava (pureed beans) and salad with the small Santorini-only-tomatoes. Santorini' food is healthy, fresh and enjoyable.


Seafood is very common to eat at the local taverns (local type restaurants) located lengthwise the beaches of Perisa and Kamari. Besides the local tastes, visitors can meet with tastes from all over the world in restaurants serving exclusively Italian, Chinese, Mexican, or Thai food. Tastes from the island can be found in many high class restaurants worldwide.


A main meal will usually start with the "meze", a variety of small cold and hot dishes, which are made for sharing. In many restaurants, a waiter will bring these around on a tray for you to look and make your choice. Tarama salad, tzatziki, dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice), pastries, feta cheese, small meatballs, maridaki which is fried small fish, cubed fried liver, are amongst the many types of mezedes found in most of the restaurants. Mezedes are usually offered with wine, ouzo or raki an also white spirit made of grapes.


The main course is usually meat or fish. Santorini's meals are always served with bread and the main courses are usually served with potatoes or rice. Typically, a salad made of tomato, cucumber, parsley and onion, dressed with olive oil will be offered as a side dish. Beef and lamb are the most popular meat and prepared in a variety of ways, including the "kebab" (grilled cubes of seasoned meat) offered in most of the restaurants. But what a visitor shouldn't miss on the island is tasting the fish. Fish and seafood restaurants are widely found all over the island. Fish is usually grilled to bring out its natural flavour and there is a wide variety of seafood mezedes including maridaki which are small fish eaten with their bones, "gopes", "bacaliaros", "solomos", "fagri", tuna, octopus, calamari, fried mussels, mussels stuffed with seasoned rice etc. It is worth asking for the catch of the day but some of the tastiest fish are sea bass, sea bream and the Aegean type tuna. Fish is usually sold by weight in restaurants where some customers prefer to make their choice from the fish offered on a large display. 


Visiting Santorini it would be nice to taste fava (ask for the local, the "product designation of origin" one, even if it's price is higher), the local white eggplants fried,
mousaka (especially the one with the local white eggplants), fresh fish served with vegetables, zucchini pie, the local version of the omelette called "sfougato" consisting with potatoes, eggs and home made sausage, octopus with vinsanto wine, and "kakavia" which is a soup made from many different kind of fish mixed all together.



Santorini's nightlife 

Going out in the evening in Santorini and over the Caldera is magical. Fira heads the nightlife section with many clubs, bars, pubs and cafes located on the caldera, some of them built into renovated cave houses, while others, as well as the large clubs, are inside the city's small streets, the "strip" as it's been also called.


At Fira clubs you can listen from international mainstream and Greek pop, to rock music as well as having the style you want, wearing from casual wear to formal evening dresses. There is no dress code entering the clubs, but it's preferable to wear casual. Bars and clubs welcome all ages but are mostly preferred by the young. Music to all clubs is not very loud and almost all drinks served are good quality. There is no admission fee and customers pay per drink. 

During the summertime and especially August, "Fira strip" turn into a party place with all clubs and bars being close to one another, making easy to the visitors to enter all clubs they like. Santorini and especially Fira town used to be and still is one of the most famous destination in Greece for it's night life entertainment.
Fira also have some of the best restaurants all over Greece located on Caldera offering great tastes combined with the magnificent view of the lightened cliffs.
Fira and Oia have many stylish and classy cafes and bars over the Caldera, visitors can go to enjoy the sunset or take a rest while drinking their coffees. 


Perissa, Perivolos and Kamari have a lot of beach bars and clubs that remain open up to late at night, hosting groups playing live music. Beach bars especially when having live events are a very good choice for relaxation. Cafes can be found everywhere, the decor varies from traditional to atmospheric, and "frappe" (iced coffee, actually it's a Greek invention!) is the favourite Greek summer beverage served everywhere.