PELOPONNESE & THE ARGOSARONIKOS GULF 2024

ALMYRIKI
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Almyri Beach, Corinth
+30 2741 034230
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors, by the sea.

On the beach of Almyri, just a few minutes away from Loutra Oreas Elenis, the chef is Kostas Bampalikis, a skilled chef with extensive experience in restaurant and large hotel kitchens - he has even worked at the famous Lytrivi Brothers` Edodi restaurant. He presents a modern Greek cuisine focusing on seafood, expectedly, given the restaurant`s seaside location. He oversees the quality of ingredients, ensures that the restaurant is supplied with fresh fish, sources vegetables from his father-in-law`s garden, selects Greek products from small producers, enjoys experimenting and loves his work.

ANAMA
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Pedestrian Street of Gialova, Messinia
+30 698 2257869
€50-75 per person
Open from Easter to October and winter weekends

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors.

Chrysanthos Karamolegos is one of the most prominent Greek chefs and is credited with a major contribution to modern Greek cuisine. Leaving his position at Costa Navarino during the pandemic, he discovered this wonderful seaside industrial space in Gialova, which used to be a raisin factory. There, he created a restaurant of very high standards. Now permanently residing here, he is possibly experiencing the best phase of his career, constantly discovering even more interesting local produce and producers. With his inexhaustible creativity and incredible talent for flavour combinations, he transforms the ingredients into a cuisine full of palate blasts, contrasts, and delightful harmony that anyone in the broader vicinity should try!

ARMYRA BY PAPAIOANNOU
FISH RESTAURANT

Pylos, Costa Navarino Hotel
+30 27230 97186, +30 27230 97000
€50-75 per person
Open from April to October

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors, with its own parking or valet service.

The "school" of Giorgos Papaioannou in Doric seafood cooking is a guarantee for the cuisine of Armyra at Costa Navarino. Armyra stands tall again this year, with its chef faithfully adhering to a unique pattern that emphasises simplicity in handling the ingredients and amazing grilling and frying techniques.

ELIES
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Kardamyli, Mani, Xenonas Elies
+30 27210 73140, +30 27210 73021
Up to €25 per person
Open from May to October

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors, with its own parking or valet service.

Within an olive grove, Elies stands out, once again, for its achievements. This is a high-quality traditional restaurant with a homely atmosphere reflected in its food. Their cooked dishes and everything from the oven deserves a standing ovation. One should try the unparalleled Fani’s Moussaka, one of the finest of its kind, currently served throughout Greece.

EVIVA
STEAK RESTAURANT

255 Vrachati-Nemea Provincial Road, Vochaiko, Corinth
+30 2741 056531
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving outside, outstanding wine list.

In the central square of Vochaikos, Corinthia, the Eviva of brothers Dimitris and George Mavronasios have taken up a post. They opened their tavern in 2013, and four years later, they decided to develop it into a meat restaurant. So, alongside the traditional ribs, they added breeds and cuts from Greek and foreign farms, matured in the restaurant for forty to sixty days and roasted with only quality salt. "Good wine elevates the meal," declares George Mavronasios, who continues to enrich the already remarkable - in variety and vintage - wine list from the Greek and international vineyards

KAVOS 1964
FISH RESTAURANT

Isthmia, Corinth
+30 2741037906
€50-75 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors, by the sea, with its own parking or valet service.

A few oil lamps and glimpses of the flame from the grill`s burning charcoal—that`s how Kavos was illuminated when it first opened in Isthmia in 1964. More than half a century later, this exceptionally well-maintained and famous fish tavern of Tasos Vlassis, located at the beginning of the old Corinth-Epidaurus road, impresses with the excellent quality of the ingredients used and the combination of a pretty sea view with a charmingly unpretentious, skilfully crafted cuisine.

KOOC
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Pylos, Costa Navarino Hotel
+30 27230 97000
€50-75 per person
Open from April to October

Restaurant serving both indoors and outdoors, with its own parking or valet service.

The presence of Yiannis Parikos at Kooc guarantees the excellence of this restaurant at Costa Navarino, where he presents a modern cuisine bursting with Greek flavours, meticulous execution, and “generous” deliciousness. The equation is complete with ingredients locally sourced from exceptional producers.

KREOPOLION 29
STEAK RESTAURANT

29 Faron, Kalamata
+30 2721028249
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving outside.

Nikos Maniateas took over his father`s traditional butcher`s shop and slowly brought it to where he dreamed it would be while earning an FNL star. Kreopolion 29 is one of the most exciting meat restaurants we`ve encountered. It`s sleek and modern, has a "hand" in the kitchen, and looks complex at local ingredients - like all exciting restaurants in the city - but has something rare in its trump cards: "vertical" logic. From the small livestock unit to the butcher shop and finally to the restaurant, Butcher 29 has an element of uniqueness that makes it stand out.

MANNA HOTEL-RESTAURANT
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Korfoxilia Magouliana, Mountain Arcadia
+30 2710 309009
www.mannaarcadia.gr/el
€50-75 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving outside.

The restaurant of the high-end Manna Hotel overlooks the fir forest of Mainalos, which is why its menu, signed by chef Athenagoras Kostakos, is characteristically connected with the nature of mountainous Arcadia. Using local raw materials of exceptional quality, the chef delivers the flavours of the Peloponnesian cuisine with a more modern look—which chef de cuisine Michalis Hantzos executes with the appropriate skill.

An interesting wine list and impeccable service contribute to the quality of the dining experience.

MOURTOKALIS - TA BAKALIARAKIA
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

30 Karaiskaki, Argos
+30 27510 68038
Up to €25 per person
Closed in summer

It is a classic, family-run tavern with almost half a century history. Well-cooked dishes with deep flavours based on carefully selected ingredients in an area not mainly known for its good food. One should try the cod with their excellent skordalia (thick garlic sauce).

MPLE KANARINI
GASTRO TAVERN

34 Kritis, Kalamata
+30 27210 43075
Up to €25 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

A surprise modern kitchen in Kalamata opened in the summer of 2021 by Kostas Vassiliadis, nephew of the -also award-winning- Kostas Vassiliadis with the famous "Stu Kostas". This chef is no accident, and although he could play with relative ease on more creative and ambitious tracks, he chose to return to his roots, to his place, the blessed land of Messinia. And to do what he can. Only that what he can do is neither little nor goes unnoticed, far from it.

OLIVIERA
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino
+30 27230 99888
www.mandarinoriental.com/el-gr/costa-navarino/messenia/dine/oliviera
€100-140 per person
Open from April to November

Restaurant serving outside, restaurant with own parking or valet parking, very good wine list.

The top Mandarin Oriental group has a tradition of strong F&B, and the Costa Navarino Hotel is no exception! But it also has the advantage of being led by the top Bertrand Valegeas, who has found his best here and signs every restaurant project at the hotel. The logic of sustainability and viability is pervasive everywhere; the search for local raw materials is impressive, and an ever-evolving garden tips the restaurants with unique products.

Oliviera is the hotel`s main restaurant, and its theme is Greek. Particularly on the evening menu, Valegeas, with Executive Sous-Chef Spyros Georgakis and their talented team, delivers lessons on how Greek cuisine can evolve with substance, excellent technique, and inspiration without resorting to fanfare and deconstruction. On the plus side is an exceptional wine list and impeccable service.

OUZERI SKOTADIS
FISH RESTAURANT

46 Leof. Dimokratias, Paralia Aegina, Aegina
+30 22970 24014
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

Ouzeri Skotadis is a culinary landmark in Aegina, immersing diners in a rich tapestry of flavours that seamlessly bridge the gap between past and present. It offers both classic, traditional Azeri cuisine and more contemporary seafood dishes, which are fresh and comforting.

SOULIS
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

11 Saronikou, Agioi Theodoroi
+30 27410 67236
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating

This is a small, charming taverna with a sui generis operation, so you should call before you go. The menu is simple and Doric, but everything is excellent: sumptuous tomatoes and eggs, top-notch fries, and burgers.

On national holidays, the cod scordalia is impeccable. At the closing, homemade spoon sweets in various varieties are available.

STERNA
EUROPEAN CUISINE

Agios Stefanos, Monemvasia, Kinsterna Hotel
+30 2732066300
www.kinsternahotel.gr
€50-75 per person
Open from June to September

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, with its own parking or valet service.

Under the expert guidance of Apostolos Trastelis and Arnaud Bignon, the cuisine of this charming restaurant at the beautiful Kinsterna Hotel is expectedly impressive. It offers a menu with a contemporary approach that makes the most of the produce of their garden. The wine list also deserves your full attention.

STOU KOSTA (VASILEIADIS)
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Kalamata, Bournias (behind the Industrial Area)
+30 2721083957, +30 6984028266
Up to €25 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating.

On the city`s outskirts, at Bournias, an area in the middle of nowhere, you will find Kostas Vasileiadis` restaurant. It only opens for lunch and honours the Greek culinary tradition with delicious dishes made with high-quality ingredients and pure, substantial flavours that can calm the soul of anyone searching for a cooked balm. From souvlaki and cheese pie with local cheeses to a slow-cooked dish with handmade pasta and their rendition of moussaka, the accomplishments of this kitchen are beyond remarkable.

TAHIR
FUSION & ETHNIC - LEVANTINE CUISINE

Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino
+30 27230 99888
www.mandarinoriental.com/el-gr/costa-navarino/messenia/dine/tahir
€75-100 per person
Open from April to November

Restaurant serving outside, restaurant with own parking or valet parking.

In the evenings, the restaurant by the main pool transforms into the best Lebanese restaurant in the country! Chef Abed Wehbe, under the guidance of executive chef Bertrand Valezeas, proposes an expressive, well-rounded Lebanese cuisine full of aromas, flavours, authenticity and notes of creativity, such as these fantastic cherry kebabs. Tasting the silky hummus or the amazing manti is worth visiting the restaurant!

THE PRIVATE KITCHEN
INTERNATIONAL HIGH GASTRONOMY

Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino
+30 27230 99888
www.mandarinoriental.com/el-gr/costa-navarino/messenia/dine/the-private-kitchen
over €140 per person
Open from April to November

Restaurant serving outside, restaurant with own parking or valet parking, excellent wine list.

The Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino`s almost-private gastronomic restaurant, follows the Japanese fine dining logic with a comfortable, luxurious bar, with 14 comfortable armchair-style chairs around an open kitchen and private terrace lounge. This is Bertrand Valegeas` "playground"! The space where he freely expresses himself goes crazy but also satisfies the "wrong moods" of the most remarkable clients who can book the whole place. In the evenings, when it is open to the public, the chef proposes a luxurious and creative menu where his virtuosity meets the region`s best ingredients and beyond to create the ultimate gastronomic experience that can be lived in the Peloponnese!

PHOINO
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

35 Ypapantis, Kalamata
+30 6940886536
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

The elegant wine restaurant opened in Kalamata by chef Giorgos Choraitis and his wine-making partner Dimitra Poulopoulou, who returned from a few years of working abroad, is reminiscent of a modern London bistro in the atmosphere. Choraitis`s cuisine is based on local and seasonal ingredients and good technique. It is a creative look at Greek cuisine, but it is not limited by the country`s borders, as it is grafted with the chef`s international experience. The wine list—perhaps the most extensive in the city—is also very interesting.

VERSALLIES
CONTEMPORARY GREEK CUISINE

Evangelistria 46, Kalamata
+30 27210 81858
€25-50 per person
Open all year round

Restaurant serving outside.

A modern surprise restaurant in Kalamata. At lunchtime, it resembles a traditional—slightly tweaked—kitchen, but at night, chef and owner Yannis Koumanis leaves his creative self free to be inspired by whatever good product he found that day in the local market. The result? Modern Greek idiosyncratic cuisine with bold and highly successful combinations, technique, and originality. It`s the most interesting culinary experience in town this year!

ZERZOVA
TRADITIONAL GREEK CUISINE

Markou, Gortynia Arcadia
+30 693 284 7358
€25-50 per person
Open all year round, Friday-Monday, noon-evening

Restaurant serving outside.

A mountain tavern with a comprehensive, magnificent view from the plain of Megalopolis to Taygetos and the Ionian Sea. One of the few in the country would deserve the title of custodian of local tradition, given that the cuisine it offers is local and purely traditional. Its most important asset, of course, is that most of its raw materials come from its herd, its bosque or the surrounding nature. Yannis Aggelakopoulos, a natural forager, collects greens, roots, bulbs, truffles and other mushrooms, and the excellent cook Vangelio Mavrikis simmers them with knowledge and unparalleled passion or roasts them in the wood-fired oven. A remarkable, small wine cellar allows wine lovers to combine their food with quality wines - including several local wines.

The arrow pointing up next to the awarded stars marks those restaurants that are moving towards the upper end of their rating and we think are more likely to move up to the next rating level in a subsequent review