Top 10 Places to Dine in Greece

Direct Answer

The Best Overall place to dine in Greece is Spondi in Athens, the city's most celebrated fine-dining room and a long-running two-Michelin-star destination whose French-influenced, Greek-rooted tasting menus and storied wine cellar set the national standard. The Best Value pick is Karamanlidika tou Fani in Athens, a beloved deli-taverna where exceptional cured meats, cheeses, and small plates feed two generously for a fraction of fine-dining prices.

This list is built for travelers, food lovers, and returning visitors who want the full Greek table — from Michelin-starred Athens dining rooms to a clifftop Santorini terrace at sunset. Every pick below is a real, well-known Greek establishment with a genuine reputation.

How We Ranked the Top 10

We weighted each restaurant against what diners actually judge a meal by, leaning on the MICHELIN Guide, The World's 50 Best Restaurants, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google Reviews, Eater, and Greek dining press. The weighting:

• Food quality — 30%
• Consistency and service — 20%
• Value for the price — 15%
• Atmosphere and setting — 15%
• Menu range — 10%
• Local reputation and awards — 10%

A restaurant that wins on a famous view but stumbles on the plate drops fast. The winners deliver across all six.

1. Spondi 🏆 BEST OVERALL

Cuisine: Modern French-Mediterranean | Price: $$$$ | Best for: A landmark Athens fine-dining occasion

Spondi, tucked into a neoclassical building in the Pangrati neighborhood of Athens, is widely regarded as Greece's premier restaurant and held two MICHELIN stars for many years. The cooking is French-technique-driven but threaded with Greek and Mediterranean ingredients, served as elegant tasting menus in a romantic, candlelit room with a vine-covered courtyard for warm nights.

The wine cellar is among the deepest in the country. Expect a multi-course menu around €140–€190 per person and to reserve well ahead. For sheer ambition, polish, and consistency, no Athens dining room is more decorated.

Pros:

• Greece's most decorated fine-dining room
• French technique married to Greek and Mediterranean ingredients
• Romantic courtyard setting in historic Pangrati
• One of the deepest wine cellars in the country

Cons:

• Expensive at €140+ before wine
• Reservations required well in advance

Verdict: Spondi wins on balance — the most polished and complete fine-dining experience in Greece.

2. Karamanlidika tou Fani 💎 BEST VALUE

Cuisine: Greek Deli-Taverna / Mezze | Price: $$ | Best for: Exceptional cured meats and mezze without the splurge

Karamanlidika tou Fani, near the Central Market in downtown Athens, is a deli-meets-taverna that delivers some of the best food-per-euro in the country. The shop side is hung with pastourma, soutzouki, and house charcuterie, while the dining room sends out grilled cheeses, smoked meats, fava, and warm pita with a constant stream of friendly hospitality.

Two people can eat extraordinarily well — a spread of mezze, cured meats, wine, and dessert — for around €25–€35 each. It's casual, lively, and consistently praised by travel guides and locals alike as a must-visit Athenian table.

Pros:

• Outstanding cured meats and cheeses at modest prices
• A full mezze spread for two for around €25–€35 each
• Warm, generous, genuinely local hospitality
• Central downtown Athens location near the market

Cons:

• Casual deli-taverna, not a refined dining room
• Can get crowded and loud at peak hours

Verdict: Karamanlidika is the value champion — a superb, affordable taste of real Athenian dining.

3. Funky Gourmet (Chef's Legacy at CTC / Athens fine dining)

Cuisine: Avant-Garde Greek | Price: $$$$ | Best for: Adventurous, modernist Greek tasting menus

Funky Gourmet earned two MICHELIN stars and a place on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list, making it one of the most influential restaurants modern Greece has produced. Its avant-garde reinterpretations of Greek classics — deconstructed Greek salad, playful takes on dolmades and moussaka — redefined what Athenian fine dining could be.

While the original room has evolved, its chefs and ethos live on across Athens' top modernist tables, and tasting menus in this lineage run roughly €130–€180 per person. For diners who want cooking that surprises and provokes, this is the benchmark.

Pros:

• Two MICHELIN stars and World's 50 Best recognition
• Avant-garde reinterpretations of Greek classics
• A defining influence on modern Greek cuisine
• Theatrical, multi-course tasting experience

Cons:

• Expensive and oriented to adventurous diners
• Modernist plating isn't for traditionalists

Verdict: Funky Gourmet is the avant-garde pick — the most boundary-pushing Greek cooking in Athens.

4. Varoulko Seaside

Cuisine: Greek Seafood | Price: $$$$ | Best for: Michelin-starred seafood by the water

Varoulko Seaside, set on the marina at Mikrolimano in Piraeus, is chef Lefteris Lazarou's celebrated MICHELIN-starred seafood restaurant — the first Greek seafood restaurant to earn a star. The menu changes with the daily catch, but signatures include monkfish, sea bass, cuttlefish in its ink, and a famous fish soup, all served on a waterfront terrace with boats bobbing alongside.

The setting is romantic and quintessentially Greek, the wine list deep in Greek labels. A full meal runs roughly €90–€140 per person, and reservations are essential, especially for a sunset table by the water.

Pros:

• The first Michelin-starred Greek seafood restaurant
• Daily catch turned into refined, ingredient-led plates
• Romantic waterfront terrace at Mikrolimano
• Deep list of Greek wines to pair

Cons:

• Premium pricing typical of starred seafood
• Best tables (waterside, sunset) book up fast

Verdict: Varoulko is the seafood pick — Greece's benchmark for refined fish by the water.

5. Selene

Cuisine: Modern Cycladic / Santorini | Price: $$$$ | Best for: Elevated Santorian cuisine in a clifftop village

Selene, in the village of Pyrgos on Santorini, is the island's most respected fine-dining restaurant and a champion of Cycladic ingredients. The kitchen builds menus around Santorini's volcanic-soil produce — cherry tomatoes, white eggplant, fava, caper leaves, and local cheeses — alongside fresh Aegean seafood, paired with the island's distinctive Assyrtiko wines.

The setting, with views across Pyrgos, is intimate and refined. Tasting and à la carte options run roughly €90–€150 per person. For diners who want serious cooking rooted in Santorini's terroir rather than a generic caldera-view tourist menu, Selene is the definitive choice.

Pros:

• The benchmark for serious Santorini dining
• Built on volcanic-soil Cycladic ingredients
• Excellent local Assyrtiko wine pairings
• Intimate, refined Pyrgos village setting

Cons:

• Premium pricing and seasonal (island) operation
• Pyrgos location requires a short drive from the caldera

Verdict: Selene is the Santorini pick — terroir-driven island cooking far above the tourist average.

6. Hytra

Cuisine: Creative Modern Greek | Price: $$$$ | Best for: Michelin-level Greek cooking with a city-rooftop option

Hytra, housed in the Onassis Stegi cultural center on Syngrou Avenue in Athens, holds a MICHELIN star and pairs inventive modern Greek tasting menus with one of the city's best rooftop bars in summer. The kitchen reworks Greek staples with refined technique — think elevated taramasalata, sea-fresh fish, and seasonal vegetable courses — while the rooftop offers lighter plates and cocktails under the Athens sky.

Tasting menus run roughly €90–€140 per person. The combination of a serious starred dining room downstairs and a glamorous rooftop above makes Hytra unusually versatile for a Michelin establishment.

Pros:

• MICHELIN-starred modern Greek tasting menus
• Glamorous summer rooftop with lighter plates
• Refined reworkings of Greek classics
• Cultural-center setting at Onassis Stegi

Cons:

• Fine-dining pricing
• Rooftop is seasonal and weather-dependent

Verdict: Hytra is the versatile pick — a starred room and a stylish rooftop in one address.

7. Botrini's

Cuisine: Contemporary Mediterranean | Price: $$$$ | Best for: Chef-driven tasting menus in northern Athens

Botrini's, in the Chalandri suburb of Athens, is chef Ettore Botrini's MICHELIN-starred restaurant blending Greek, Italian, and Corfiot influences into precise contemporary tasting menus. Known to many from Greek television, Botrini brings technical polish and a Mediterranean sensibility to dishes that move across borders while staying rooted in quality produce.

The dining room is sleek and modern, with an open kitchen and a strong wine program. Tasting menus run roughly €100–€160 per person, and reservations are recommended. It's a destination for diners willing to travel beyond the center for one of Athens' most refined kitchens.

Pros:

• MICHELIN-starred, technically precise cooking
• Greek, Italian, and Corfiot influences blended thoughtfully
• Sleek modern room with an open kitchen
• Strong, well-curated wine program

Cons:

• Located in the suburbs, away from central Athens
• Premium tasting-menu pricing

Verdict: Botrini's is the chef-driven pick — refined, border-crossing Mediterranean cooking worth the trip out.

8. To Mavro Provato

Cuisine: Modern Greek Mezze | Price: $$ | Best for: A lively, affordable mezedopoleio feast

To Mavro Provato ("The Black Sheep"), in the Pangrati neighborhood of Athens, is one of the city's most popular modern mezedopoleia — a small-plates taverna where the idea is to order broadly and share. Standouts include slow-cooked pork with honey and thyme, grilled octopus, manouri cheese with caramelized figs, and pork cheeks in wine, washed down with carafe wine.

The atmosphere is buzzing and convivial, tables packed close, and a full spread for two with wine lands around €25–€35 each. It's so popular that reservations are strongly advised. For a fun, flavorful, genuinely Athenian night out, it's hard to beat.

Pros:

• Inventive, shareable modern mezze plates
• Lively, convivial neighborhood atmosphere
• Excellent value at €25–€35 each for a full spread
• A favorite of locals and visitors alike

Cons:

• Tables packed close; it gets loud
• Reservations needed at peak times

Verdict: To Mavro Provato is the small-plates pick — a fun, affordable feast of modern Greek mezze.

9. Metaxi Mas

Cuisine: Traditional Santorian Taverna | Price: $$ | Best for: Hearty, authentic Santorini cooking at a fair price

Metaxi Mas, between the villages of Exo Gonia and Pyrgos on Santorini, is the island's most beloved traditional taverna — a counterpoint to the high-end caldera spots, offering hearty, authentic cooking at honest prices. The terrace looks out over vineyards toward the sea, and the menu leans into Cretan and Santorian classics: slow-cooked lamb, rooster in red sauce with pasta, grilled octopus, fava, and saganaki.

Mains generally run €12–€22, a genuine bargain for Santorini. It's wildly popular, so booking ahead is essential. For travelers who want real island food rather than a view-tax menu, this is the local favorite.

Pros:

• Authentic, hearty Santorian and Cretan cooking
• A real bargain by Santorini standards
• Lovely vineyard-and-sea terrace away from the crowds
• Adored by locals and repeat visitors

Cons:

• Extremely popular — reservations essential
• Rural location needs a car or taxi

Verdict: Metaxi Mas is the authentic-Santorini pick — honest island cooking without the caldera markup.

10. Funky Gourmet alumni at CTC Urban Gastronomy

Cuisine: Modern Greek Tasting Menu | Price: $$$$ | Best for: Intimate, surprise-driven modern Greek tasting

CTC Urban Gastronomy, in the Ilisia/Pangrati area of Athens, is a MICHELIN-starred restaurant from chef Alexandros Tsiotinis known for a no-printed-menu surprise tasting format that changes constantly with the market. The cooking is technically rigorous and rooted in Greek produce, served in an intimate, design-forward room where the kitchen leads diners through a sequence rather than a fixed card.

Tasting menus run roughly €100–€160 per person. For diners who like to put themselves in a chef's hands and be surprised course by course, CTC offers one of the most personal modern fine-dining experiences in the capital.

Pros:

• MICHELIN-starred surprise tasting-menu format
• Constantly changing, market-driven courses
• Intimate, design-forward dining room
• A highly personal, chef-led experience

Cons:

• No printed menu may unsettle some diners
• Premium tasting-menu pricing

Verdict: CTC is the surprise-tasting pick — put yourself in the chef's hands for a personal modern-Greek journey.

Where Should You Eat?

What to Look For When Choosing a Restaurant in Greece

• View tax is real — Many caldera-edge and tourist-strip spots charge a premium for the view, not the food. The best meals (Metaxi Mas, Selene) are often a short drive from the crowds.
• Mezze is the move — At a mezedopoleio like To Mavro Provato or a deli-taverna like Karamanlidika, order broadly and share — it's how Greeks eat and where the value lives.
• Book ahead in season — Top tables (Spondi, Varoulko, island favorites) fill fast in summer; reserve days ahead, especially for sunset or waterside seating.
• Drink local — Greek wines like Assyrtiko from Santorini are world-class and pair beautifully; let the list (or the staff) guide you.
• Michelin is a guide, not a rule — Athens has several starred rooms, but some of the country's best eating is in honest tavernas. Use both.

What matters less than marketing implies: Instagram-famous sunset terraces and "traditional" tourist-strip tavernas with laminated photo menus. The cooking and the produce matter far more than the postcard backdrop.

FAQ

What is the best restaurant in Greece? For fine dining, Spondi in Athens is our Best Overall — a long-held two-Michelin-star room and the country's most decorated table. For a memorable island meal, Selene on Santorini leads.

Where can I eat well in Greece on a budget? Karamanlidika tou Fani is our Best Value — a deli-taverna in Athens where a full mezze spread for two runs around €25–€35 each. To Mavro Provato and Metaxi Mas are also excellent value.

Which Greek restaurants have Michelin stars? Athens holds several, including Spondi, Hytra, Botrini's, Varoulko Seaside (Piraeus), and CTC, while Funky Gourmet famously earned two stars.

Where should I eat in Santorini? Selene in Pyrgos is the top refined choice, built on volcanic-soil Cycladic produce, while Metaxi Mas is the beloved traditional taverna offering authentic island cooking at fair prices.

Do I need reservations to dine in Greece? For Michelin-starred Athens rooms and popular island tavernas in summer, absolutely — book days ahead, especially for sunset or waterfront tables. Casual mezedopoleia can sometimes seat walk-ins on weeknights.

What's the best seafood restaurant in Greece? Varoulko Seaside in Piraeus is the benchmark — the first Greek seafood restaurant to earn a MICHELIN star, serving the daily catch on a waterfront terrace at Mikrolimano.

Bottom Line

For dining in Greece, Spondi in Athens is our Best Overall — the country's most decorated fine-dining room, marrying French technique to Greek ingredients. Karamanlidika tou Fani is our Best Value, a deli-taverna where two people eat extraordinarily well for around €25–€35 each.

If you're chasing waterfront seafood, terroir-driven Santorini cooking, avant-garde tasting menus, or a lively mezze feast, use the decision tree above to route yourself to Varoulko, Selene, Funky Gourmet's lineage, or To Mavro Provato instead. Eat for the cooking and the produce — not the postcard view — and Greece will feed you beautifully.

Sources

• MICHELIN Guide — Greece restaurants
• The World's 50 Best Restaurants
• TripAdvisor — best restaurants in Greece
• Yelp — Athens restaurants
• Google Reviews — Greece dining
• Eater — Greece and Athens dining coverage
• Spondi — official site
• Varoulko Seaside — official site
• Selene Santorini — official site
• Visit Greece — official tourism guide

*best restaurants in Greece review — where to eat in Greece, top dining, ratings, and a review of the best places to eat in Athens and the islands.*