Kastellorizo may be one of Greece’s smallest inhabited islands, but its restaurant scene is surprisingly good.

Most dining revolves around the beautiful harbour, where tables sit beside the water and fresh fish and seafood naturally dominate the menus. Away from the waterfront, traditional tavernas provide a different experience, with home-style Dodecanese cooking and several dishes particular to Kastellorizo.

This is an island where I’d recommend eating local food rather than simply looking for the restaurant with the highest rating.

Try stuffed onions, chickpea fritters, fresh fish, octopus and local sweets such as katoumari and strava.

Here are some of the best places to eat in Kastellorizo.

Kastellorizo Restaurants at a Glance

Restaurant	Best for
Alexandra’s Restaurant	Fresh seafood
Ta Platania	Traditional local cooking
Old Time	Relaxed Greek food
Lazarakis	Waterfront seafood
Billy’s	Traditional fish taverna atmosphere
Athena Fish Tavern	Fish and seafood
Agora	Casual meal
Stratos	Coffee, breakfast & drinks

These aren’t names scraped from old travel content. All are represented in current 2026 Kastellorizo restaurant listings.

1. Alexandra’s Restaurant

Best for: fresh seafood

Alexandra’s is one of Kastellorizo’s best-established waterfront restaurants and currently tops Tripadvisor’s Kastellorizo restaurant listings.

Seafood is the obvious reason to come.

Rather than deciding beforehand exactly which fish you’re going to order, I’d ask what is particularly good that day.

That’s generally the better approach on a small fishing island.

Alexandra’s waterfront position also makes it an attractive choice for a long lunch when you’re in no hurry to go anywhere afterwards.

What to look for

Fresh fish
Seafood
Traditional Greek dishes

2. Ta Platania

Best for: traditional Kastellorizo cooking

If I could choose only one restaurant specifically to experience the island’s traditional food, Ta Platania would probably be it.

It’s away from the main line of harbour restaurants in the Horafia area and specialises in home-style cooking.

Recent Kastellorizo food coverage particularly highlights dishes such as stuffed onions, chickpea fritters, lemony goat, vegetable dishes and spoon sweets.

That’s exactly what we want from this article: somewhere that introduces visitors to Kastellorizo, rather than simply another plate of generic tourist-area Greek food.

Try

Stuffed onions if they’re available.

They’re one of the island’s characteristic dishes and something I’d actively seek out during a visit.

3. Lazarakis

Best for: waterfront seafood

Lazarakis is another established name on the harbour.

The business has roots going back to a family kafeneio established in 1947 and has evolved into a seafood restaurant with both traditional and more contemporary dishes.

Current listings classify it as a seafood and Mediterranean restaurant.

Depending on what’s available, dishes can range from grilled seafood to prawns, octopus and lobster pasta.

This would be another good choice for a leisurely waterfront lunch or dinner.

Best for

Seafood with a harbour view

4. Old Time

Best for: relaxed traditional meal

Old Time — sometimes appearing online as Old Story – Old Time — is another genuine Kastellorizo restaurant rather than the unrelated businesses that had found their way into the old article.

Current listings classify it as seafood/Mediterranean, with dishes mentioned by diners including fish soup, salads, fish and other Greek staples.

It suits the kind of evening Kastellorizo does particularly well:

sit outside, order several dishes for the table and don’t worry about rushing anywhere afterwards.

5. Billy’s

Best for: old-fashioned waterfront atmosphere

Billy’s is another long-standing waterfront choice.

A recent Kastellorizo guide describes it as retaining the feel of a traditional kafeneio-ouzeri, with grilled fish and seafood and close connections to local fishermen.

That’s a slightly different proposition from choosing a more polished restaurant.

Sometimes on a Greek island, that’s exactly what you want.

A cold drink.

Fish.

A few meze.

The harbour immediately beside you.

Best for

A simple, traditional waterfront meal

6. Athena Fish Tavern

The name tells you what to expect.

Athena is another established Kastellorizo seafood restaurant, currently appearing among the island’s active restaurant listings.

It’s another useful option if your priority is fresh fish rather than elaborate dining.

With several seafood tavernas around the harbour, there’s no need to decide months in advance where every meal will be.

Walk around.

Look at the day’s offerings.

See which tables appeal to you.

Then choose.

7. Agora

Best for: casual and inexpensive meal

Not every meal on Kastellorizo needs to involve an entire fish and a bottle of wine.

Agora provides a more casual alternative, with current reviews particularly mentioning gyros and straightforward Greek food.

That’s useful if you’re staying for several days.

After two or three substantial seafood dinners, sometimes what you really want is something simple.

8. Stratos

Best for: breakfast, coffee and drinks

Stratos broadens the selection beyond traditional tavernas.

Current listings describe it as a café with pizza among its offerings, while recent Kastellorizo coverage recommends it from coffee and brunch through to evening drinks.

I’d particularly consider it earlier in the day.

Have coffee or breakfast overlooking the water before setting out for the Blue Cave or walking into the hills.

Then come back to the traditional tavernas for dinner.

What Food Is Kastellorizo Known For?

This is where Kastellorizo becomes considerably more interesting.

Its cuisine reflects the Dodecanese, the sea and the island’s historic relationship with the nearby coast of Asia Minor.

There are several things worth actively looking for.

Stuffed Onions

One of Kastellorizo’s characteristic dishes is salantourmasi, onions stuffed with rice, herbs and spices.

This is something I’d choose over a familiar dish such as moussaka simply because you may not encounter it very often elsewhere.

Ta Platania is particularly associated with stuffed onions in current travel coverage.

Chickpea Fritters

Chickpea fritters are another traditional local dish worth trying.

They’re particularly good as part of a table of shared meze rather than necessarily as an entire meal.

Fresh Fish

Unsurprisingly, fish is central to eating on Kastellorizo.

Several of the island’s established restaurants specialise in seafood, including Alexandra’s, Lazarakis, Billy’s and Athena.

Ask what is fresh.

And if you’re ordering a whole fish priced by weight, ask the price before ordering.

Octopus

You’ll encounter octopus prepared in various ways.

One particularly interesting local variation is octopus meatballs, which are among the dishes associated with Kastellorizo’s cuisine.

Again, that’s something I’d choose if available because it’s more distinctive than ordering the same meal you could have anywhere in Greece.

Goat

Traditional slow-cooked goat is another dish to watch for, particularly at tavernas specialising in home cooking.

Ta Platania has been specifically associated with slow-roasted or lemony goat.

Katoumari

Don’t finish your Kastellorizo food exploration after the main course.

Katoumari is one of the island’s characteristic sweets.

It’s made from coiled pastry dough, fried and finished with sugar and aromatic spices including cinnamon and clove.

This is one local speciality I’d definitely try.

Strava

Another traditional sweet is strava.

These are pastry rolls containing walnuts, sugar and spices before being fried and soaked in syrup.

If you’re choosing between a generic dessert and katoumari or strava, choose the local one.

That’s the entire point of travelling.

Where Should You Eat for Seafood?

I’d shortlist:

Alexandra’s

Lazarakis

Billy’s

Athena Fish Tavern

All four are currently established seafood choices.

Rather than declaring one objectively “the best”, I’d look at the day’s fish and choose according to what appeals.

Where Should You Eat Traditional Kastellorizo Food?

Ta Platania would be my first choice.

Its home-style menu and association with stuffed onions, chickpea fritters, goat and other traditional dishes make it particularly useful for someone who wants to taste the island rather than simply eat beside the harbour.

Where Should You Eat for the Harbour View?

You have plenty of choices.

The waterfront itself is effectively Kastellorizo’s dining district.

Alexandra’s, Lazarakis and Billy’s are among the established options.

And because Kastellorizo’s harbour is one of the prettiest parts of the island, I’d deliberately have at least one long waterfront dinner during a stay.

Where Should You Go for Coffee?

Stratos is an obvious option, but there are several cafés around the settlement.

You don’t need a detailed coffee itinerary.

One of the pleasures of Kastellorizo is simply walking around the harbour until somewhere looks appealing.

Sit down.

Order coffee.

Watch the boats.

Continue your day when you feel like it.

Where Should You Go for Drinks?

Kastellorizo isn’t a nightlife destination.

That’s worth making clear.

Recent local coverage recommends Stratos, Meltemi and Faros among the places for an evening drink around the waterfront.

Think sunset cocktails, wine or another drink beside the harbour rather than clubs and all-night parties.

If nightlife is one of the main purposes of your Greek island holiday, Kastellorizo probably isn’t the right island.

Can Vegetarians Eat Well in Kastellorizo?

Yes.

Although seafood plays a major role, traditional Greek and Dodecanese cooking provides plenty of vegetarian possibilities.

Look for:

stuffed onions,
chickpea fritters,
vegetable dishes,
salads,
beans and pulses,
cheese,
bread
and vegetable meze.

Ta Platania would be particularly interesting because its traditional cooking goes well beyond seafood.

Do You Need Restaurant Reservations?

For an ordinary visit, I wouldn’t organise the entire trip around restaurant bookings.

But Kastellorizo is tiny.

During busy summer periods, the number of visitors can increase substantially relative to the island’s permanent population.

If there’s somewhere you particularly want to eat, ask earlier in the day about reserving a table.

That’s especially worthwhile if you want a particular waterfront table.

How Expensive Are Restaurants in Kastellorizo?

Rather than publishing exact prices that will quickly become outdated, I’d divide meals into two broad categories.

Traditional cooked dishes, meze and casual meals should generally be more predictable.

Fresh whole fish and lobster can become considerably more expensive, particularly when priced according to weight.

Always ask the price before ordering if it isn’t obvious.

That’s not Kastellorizo-specific advice — it’s sensible throughout Greece.

A Perfect Food Day in Kastellorizo

Start with coffee beside the harbour.

After breakfast, take a small boat to the Blue Cave.

Return for a light lunch — perhaps seafood or a few shared dishes.

Spend the afternoon swimming or escape the heat at your accommodation.

Later, walk through the settlement towards Horafia and have a traditional dinner at Ta Platania, looking for stuffed onions or another local dish.

On another evening, do the opposite.

Stay beside the harbour and have a long seafood dinner at Alexandra’s, Lazarakis, Billy’s or Athena.

Finish with katoumari or strava if you find them.

That’s more than simply eating well.

It’s experiencing Kastellorizo through its food.

Final Thoughts

Kastellorizo has a much better dining scene than its tiny size might suggest.

For seafood, start with Alexandra’s, Lazarakis, Billy’s or Athena.

For traditional island cooking, I’d particularly seek out Ta Platania.

And don’t limit yourself to familiar Greek dishes.

Try the stuffed onions.

Try chickpea fritters.

Ask what’s fresh from the sea.

Look for katoumari and strava.

The old version of this article tried to make Kastellorizo’s restaurant scene larger by accidentally dragging restaurants in from completely different places.

It doesn’t need them.

Kastellorizo’s real food scene is interesting enough.