Santorini dining can be spectacular, but the best meals are not only about the view. This ranking balances cliffside fine dining, island institutions, seafood tavernas, and restaurants that showcase Santorini’s volcanic ingredients, local wines, and Cycladic hospitality.
#10 Aktaion
Cuisine: Traditional Santorinian / Greek taverna
Neighborhood: Firostefani
Price: $$
Best For: Classic island cooking with caldera-adjacent charm
Must Order: Tomato fritters, fava, moussaka, grilled octopus
Why It Made the List:
A century-old Firostefani institution, Aktaion delivers the kind of grounded Santorini cooking that keeps the island from becoming only a luxury-view destination. The room is simple, the flavors are deeply local, and the history gives dinner a sense of place.
Known For:
- Serving Santorini since 1922
- Family-run taverna character
- Traditional local recipes
- Easy Firostefani setting near the caldera walk
#9 To Psaraki
Cuisine: Seafood / Cycladic fish taverna
Neighborhood: Vlychada Marina
Price: $$$
Best For: Fresh fish away from the busiest caldera crowds
Must Order: Catch of the day, fish carpaccio, fava, grilled seafood
Why It Made the List:
Perched above Vlychada Marina, To Psaraki makes Santorini seafood feel relaxed, direct, and ingredient-led. The cooking is clean and confident, built around the daily catch and the island’s no-frills seaside rhythm.
Known For:
- Vlychada marina views
- Sea-to-table identity
- Fresh Aegean fish
- More relaxed southern-island atmosphere
#8 Metaxi Mas
Cuisine: Santorinian / Cretan
Neighborhood: Exo Gonia
Price: $$
Best For: Generous local cooking outside the tourist center
Must Order: Baked white eggplant, fava, pork in orange sauce, fillet in Vinsanto sauce
Why It Made the List:
Metaxi Mas is the island’s great reminder that not every memorable Santorini meal needs a cliff-edge tasting menu. The food is hearty, local, and full of Cretan-Santorinian personality, with a warm terrace atmosphere that rewards the detour inland.
Known For:
- Cretan and Santorinian specialties
- Hillside village setting
- Loyal repeat visitors
- Relaxed island-house feel
#7 Koukoumavlos
Cuisine: Creative Greek fine dining
Neighborhood: Imerovigli
Price: $$$$
Best For: Inventive tasting-menu dining with Santorini history
Must Order: Seasonal degustation menu
Why It Made the List:
Koukoumavlos carries one of Santorini’s most distinctive fine-dining legacies into a new luxury setting. Its appeal is the sense of playful Greek creativity: polished, theatrical, and rooted in the island’s long-running culinary ambition.
Known For:
- Iconic Santorini fine-dining name
- Creative Greek gastronomy
- Katikies-era revival
- Caldera-facing luxury setting
#6 Varoulko Santorini
Cuisine: Modern Greek seafood
Neighborhood: Imerovigli
Price: $$$$
Best For: Michelin-awarded seafood cooking with caldera views
Must Order: Seafood tasting menu or chef-led fish preparation
Why It Made the List:
Varoulko brings Lefteris Lazarou’s acclaimed seafood language to one of Santorini’s most dramatic hotel terraces. The experience is elegant and contemporary, with Greek wines, refined fish cookery, and a sunset-ready Imerovigli backdrop.
Known For:
- Lefteris Lazarou culinary identity
- Modern seafood focus
- Grace Hotel setting
- Greek wine pairing potential
#5 Petra Restaurant
Cuisine: Creative Greek / Mediterranean fine dining
Neighborhood: Oia
Price: $$$$
Best For: Romantic caldera dinner in an intimate setting
Must Order: Degustation menu with Greek seafood and seasonal vegetables
Why It Made the List:
Petra matches Canaves Oia’s polished cliffside setting with a refined Greek menu that feels built for a special-occasion Santorini night. The small-scale, high-touch format makes the experience feel intimate rather than simply scenic.
Known For:
- Canaves Oia Suites setting
- Caldera and volcano views
- Intimate fine-dining room
- Creative Greek presentation
#4 Lycabettus Restaurant
Cuisine: Mediterranean / Greek fine dining
Neighborhood: Oia
Price: $$$$
Best For: A dramatic balcony dinner above the Aegean
Must Order: Tasting menu with wine pairing
Why It Made the List:
Lycabettus is one of the island’s most cinematic restaurant settings, a cliff-edge balcony designed for a once-in-Santorini evening. The food is polished and modern, but the real power is the combination of service, view, and occasion.
Known For:
- One of Santorini’s most famous balconies
- Oia cliffside setting
- Romantic special-occasion dining
- Fine-dining presentation
#3 Botrini’s Santorini
Cuisine: Contemporary Greek / Mediterranean fine dining
Neighborhood: Oia
Price: $$$$
Best For: Chef-driven luxury dining on the caldera
Must Order: Signature tasting menu
Why It Made the List:
Botrini’s brings a high-profile Michelin-starred culinary name to Oia’s most coveted view corridor. The Santorini version feels tailored to the island: polished, coastal, and dramatic without losing the chef-driven edge.
Known For:
- Ettore Botrini culinary brand
- Katikies Santorini setting
- Caldera-view luxury dining
- Contemporary tasting menus
#2 Selene
Cuisine: Santorinian fine dining
Neighborhood: Fira
Price: $$$$
Best For: A refined deep dive into Santorini ingredients
Must Order: Santorinian tasting menu with local wine pairing
Why It Made the List:
Selene is essential for diners who want Santorini’s agricultural identity treated with seriousness and elegance. Its strength is not just luxury, but the way it turns fava, tomatoes, capers, wine, herbs, and volcanic-island products into a complete gastronomic narrative.
Known For:
- Santorinian ingredient focus
- Fine-dining tasting menus
- Historic island reputation
- Wine-friendly cuisine
#1 Lauda Restaurant
Cuisine: Modern Greek fine dining
Neighborhood: Oia
Price: $$$$
Best For: A polished destination dinner in Oia
Must Order: Chef’s tasting menu
Why It Made the List:
Lauda earns the top spot by pairing Oia’s destination-restaurant drama with a refined, highly polished Greek tasting-menu experience. It feels complete: sense of place, luxury service, strong presentation, and the kind of memorable setting travelers come to Santorini hoping to find.
Known For:
- Historic Oia restaurant identity
- Luxury tasting-menu experience
- Chef’s Table option
- High-end Santorini hospitality
