In Kefalonia, here are our picks of where to eat to get fresh, great tasting, authentic and well priced Greek food. Of course, we didn’t eat in every single restaurant on the island, but we did seek out recommendations from locals.
Skala
The landlord of the villas we are staying in suggested a restaurant across the road called Old Times. Despite the not-very-Greek name, Old Times was close and after arriving quite late in the day, we decided that it would do. As it turned out, we had a fantastic meal of meze that included tzaziki, grilled octopus, deliciously smokey village sausage, greek salad and amazing mushrooms. For mains I had the local speciality which they called a meat pie, obviously Greek style. It was packed with cinnamon, which may sound weird but I assure you it tasted great and the pastry was done well. Very moorish. We washed it down with a Fix beer, a nice light-ish tasting lager style beer. Dinner cost 16 Euro each. Superb value. There were stunning sea views from the terrace, a gorgeous lawn area to the side and an impressive vegetable garden. We had such a good meal there that we went back the next day for lunch.
The view from Old Times, Skala Kefalonia
Kefalonia meat pie at Old Times
Village sausage, Old Times in Skala, Kefalonia
Nautilus looks like a typical tourist trap, I mean, the restaurant is made to look like boat and it’s painted blue and white. I was skeptical of this recommendation, but went against my own judgement and was more than pleasantly surprised. I’d go as far to say that it was the best meal we had on the island. Super fresh seafood, quaffable house wine, uninterrupted views of the beach below and out to sea, and great value. The meze was all delicious and the chargrilled octopus was something else, smokey flavours with tender tentacles that just melted in the mouth. The whole grilled calamari had the skin left on and was just as tender as the squid. Fresh crunchy Greek salad, delicious tzaziki with undertones of garlic (not overpowering), good bread too. We ate there twice.
Nautilus in Skala, Kefalonia
You can’t escape tourists in Skala, it’s a tourist town. But those two restaurants are a little out of the main town of Skala and I’d say they are worth the walk.
Treat yourself and go to the Sugaro Patisserie in Skala at 9.30am to get ‘spanakopita’ or spinach pie. The best spanakopita any of us have ever had – the flakey crisp pastry was out of this world. They also make kalatombouriko to order – worth the effort to place an order the day before.
Spanakopita from the Sugaro Pastry Shop in Skala, Kefalonia
Kalatombouriko from the Sugaro Pastry Shop in Skala, Kefalonia
Don’t’ bother going to Apostilis Taverna – despite the high Trip Advisor rating, it’s very average compared to the other places listed above and full of British tourists.
FISKARDO
We took a day trip to Fiskardo which is just under a two hour drive from Skala. It’s beautiful with a marina lined with an esplanade filled with shops and restaurants. It’s very touristy, so we decided to head away from the marina where large tour groups were lunching and found Mareipeio / LaGoudera Restaurant. We all expected it to be tourist food and not very good, but surprisingly, everything was fresh and we had a terrific lunch there. It cost us 16 Euro per person.
Myrtos Beach
There aren’t any restaurants at Myrtos Beach, one of the top ten best beaches in the world. It’s a must visit when in Kefalonia. Eat in the town before your eyes are dazzles by the iridescent azure sea. We had fulfilling gyros at Strofi Taverna for just two euro each. Yes, 2 Euro. I almost felt guilty for eating such cheap food.
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Old Times
Skala, Kefalonia (head south along the coast away from the town of Skala)
+30 26710 83575
Natuilus
Skala, Kefalonia (head south along the coast away from the town of Skala)
+30 26710 83629
Mareipeio / LaGoudera Restaurant
Fiskardo, Kefalonia
+30 26740 41275