Eat Like Ushi

After staying in Oia 10 years ago, the prices (which were already high) have not unexpectedly risen even higher. I think the cave house we stayed at was $150/night and now about £250/night. Wow. In any case this time I had read that Imerovigli had a higher setting and therefore better sunset view than Oia. Additionally a sunset private jacuzzi would make it even more memorable, made possible (and affordable) only by the fact that there was 10% of the usual tourists and accommodations were often discounted.

I found Kasimatis to be the most affordable with the honeymoon suite at £196/night down from £250/night. Luck would have it that we were given an upgrade to the junior suite (£300/night) which had an excellent view of the world, although people did have to cross past the front of the outdoor area to get in and out of the place.

Our host was a stunning Greek woman dressed as classic Athenians would have, and very attentive and friendly to match. The breakfasts were collections of yoghurt, fruit, pastries, eggs and more.

How I miss it already.

After leaving a few beachy days on Perissa, we were headed to the sunset glory west side toward Imerovigli. Enroute I wanted to visit some small towns of Santorini, namely Pyrgos. After roaming around there, it was a little early for lunch and I couldn't find anywhere too inspiring. Therefore we went to Megalochori to seek out Geromanolis. There's a massive carpark opposite it which is convenient. I had read about the antihristo and was keen to get it, but unforunately the roast lamb is only available Friday to Sunday dinner.

Nonetheless Homemade bread ok.

- Santorini salad €6.5 - Santorini tomatoes with some ruffled green pepper sheep/goat feta and giant olives;
- Moussaka €6 - this was a perfect combination of texture and flavour, with mash, mince, eggplant and potato. Truly the best;
- Lamb chops €8 - given no roast lamb, I had high hopes for the lamb chops. Unfortunately they were under seasoned and cooked fully, which was a bit disappointing to say the least.  

Complimentary yogurt topped with (would never have guessed) zucchini soaked honey was an excellent finisher.

I would gladly go back for the food and prices, although would make sure to save it for a antihristo dinner.

When staying in Perissa, I wanted to eat some grilled meat or gyros. Unfortunately To Souvlaki tou Papou was closed the couple of times I looked, and so the other options were Aris or Gyros Place. Aris has a ridiculously high Google rating of 4.9 (50+ reviews) although Gyros Place seems to be the favourite that everyone knows about. Since Aris is closer, I thought we'd try that.

For a very early lunch, there were no other dine-in guests. There was someone who I think had a very very large takeaway order and so it took 40mins to cook, which is much more than you'd expect for a place like this with no other diners.

Variety of grill €14 was all ok. Pork kebab was nice, chicken and pork shreds with charred sides, sausage was ok. The burger was moist but not much flavour. Only a tiny amount of tzatziki to wash all the meat down with.

I'd try one of the other ones next time.

I wanted to go to Lolita's in Oia, but it is closed on Sunday. The next closest option was Kayak.

Pistachio great colour and little crushed bits but flavour very mild not very sweet, but creamy. Yogurt smooth and a tiny bit tangy. It was really expensive at €3.5 per scoop, but to enjoy the sunset with a gelato is priceless (or at least worth €3.5 each).

Also sold in some cafes on the island but easy to skip if you can find another decent and cheaper one instead.

When we were last in Santorini in 2010, we went swimming in Ammoudi Bay, but in the boat docking area. That was where other people (including older Greek people) were swimming. I don't know why we weren't told about the swimming area around the corner that opens up brilliantly into the caldera while you are in the sea.

In any case after that (probably best sea scenery of my life) swim, it was a choice of where to eat. Ammoudi Fish Tavern is new (since my last visit) and some suggestions online the best of the otherwise similar seafood lot. They did have their octopus drying on display too.

As expected for Oia and this bottom section of the seafront, the prices are relatively high. The fresh fish is enticing although the prices definitely on the high side. The draw is the octopus as per the display.

- Cretan dakos (Cretan rusk, peeled tomato, goat feta, olives, capers, caper leaves, oregano, olive oil) €7.8 - rusk was a crisp base bread and soggy on top with firm cherry tomatoes, oddly squishy structureless olives, capers and even stronger flavour caper leaves. Feta made it overall a nice combination.
- Sundried grilled octopus €17.8 - a little chewy but grilled to a crisp and therefore really intense flavour. I was a bit disappointed over the serving size (as the lady told us it was a serve for 2);
- Seafood quartetto €26 - salmon and white fish were very soft and juicy, the prawns were ok with one very squishy, and clams very small amounts of meat. Saffron sauce a little sweet and served with rice with raisins. May have been better just to pay that money and get something on charcoal.

Overall the food was quality which lessened the blow a little, but still expensive overall for the servings. Once every 10 years here isn't so bad I guess.

Oh how I enjoy gyros. I spent a good deal reading online about where the best would be in Santorini, and quite a few places suggested this one in the middle of touristy Oia. It definitely has a higher price tag to accompany the expensive area, but €4.5 isn't too bad (in the scheme of things) and it was excellent.

Crisp fries. Yoghurt sauce. Thick bread. Pork ribbons delicious and full of flavour. Chicken also nice and tender. 

I could have (or should have) easily eaten another.

Reading online a lot of sources suggest that Metaxi Mas is the best restaurant in Santorini. It isn't the most luxurious or having ocean views, but it is the combination of being inland and harder to get to, popular with locals and Greek tourists, a stunning view over the island and also excellent and not too expensive food.

Usually you would have to book well in advance, particular for July where 1 week is not unheard of. Luckily I booked on the same day due to only 10% tourists coming in this season. It is also quite close to the lovely Open Air Cinema Kamari and so dinner before the movie is a very good (date) night. We did rush the meal a little reading reviews that you had to queue at the cinema for 1h before opening on weekends (which again right now is completely unnecessary). Otherwise it would have been a very pleasant place to sit, shoot the gentle breeze and enjoy the view.

Staff very friendly and have their own inverted faceshield type masks. Different. Unfortunately they didn't have any lamb and Greek lamb is one of the things I would have cherished from a quality restaurant like this. Oh well, can't win them all.

A quality intro of olive oil, olives, mild cheese and bread started things off.

- Santorini baked white aubergines (in tomato sauce, feta, fresh basil) €9.5 - simple and delicious. The top sections were grilled and all edible except the stalk;
- Grilled pleurotus mushrooms (with balsamic vinaigrette, garlic) - very juicy oyster mushrooms;
- Spicy fried pork (sauteed pork morsels finished with wine, peppers, onion, garlic, Santorini cherry tomatoes, feta, boukovo red pepper flakes) €11.5 - pork very tender and full of taste, with a slightly sweet sauce with sumac.

A complimentary slice of sweetness finished us off. How thoughtful.

Even though the cinema is nearby, if I ever go back I would probably go on a different evening in order to enjoy the sunset. Or go in winter when the sun sets earlier...

After reading Santorini Dave's blog, I had to try this place he said was the best for seafood in Santorini. That's a big recommendation considering the reputations of To Psaraki, Giorgaris and Ammoudi Bay. Kiria Roula must be the local name as our host hadn't been there but had heard of this place down by the Vlychada bay. There's lots of parking nearby which is also helpful.

They are incredible at frying food and the fried calamari (€8.5) is the best I've ever had with crisp batter texture, tender flesh and perfectively seasoned and flavoured. It was a large size for that price too. I wanted to try the cuttlefish, as I assume it would be the same quality, but on the second visit I decided to go for what we knew was spectacular and so the calamari again. The fresh fish is also fried (€10) for a very large serve of which half were really good (the cutlet and what looked like a scorpionfish to me?) and the half a little drier but still ok. Octopus (€12) was a cold salad style in vinegar, so not worth getting. The greek salad (€6) is large to share. There is a grill out the back but I couldn't see any items for grill. Maybe you have to request it?

We went twice (which is unusual for us) but such was the quality and price. I would definitely return here if I ever make it back to Santorini.

After arriving into Perissa after a long transit, car rental and an afternoon beach session, our host suggested nearby Mezedaki which I had also conveniently put onto my list beforehand already.

They didn't have the kebabs, lamb chops or moussaka, 3 items we would almost certainly have chosen from. Ah well, at least we could branch out a bit more then.

- Sea bream - excellent grilled with perfectly soft texture and crisp skin. Overall seasoned well. I thought they said it would come with fried potatoes (which I saw and smelled from an adjacent table) but unfortunately it was fries instead;
- Santorini tomato-vegetable fritters (traditional deep fried patties) €7.5 - soft squishy insides with tomato acidity and taste. Thought they were ok with the tzatziki but nothing too special;
- Bougiourdi (kefalotyri, Greek feta, fresh tomato, spicy peppers, baked in the oven) €6.4 - very thick cheesy kefalotyri layer on top and salty feta underneath with chopped tomato and jalapeno. There's only so much of this you can easily eat and would have been good with bread, if we could stomach more food. 

Our waiter was very friendly and conversant. Traditional music played throughout.

They gave us some free mini magnum (type) things to finish off on. Very generous.

For a final lunch before leaving the Lake District, Bowness was very busy and so we looked at Windermere proper instead. There are definitely less options up that end but we chanced across The Pig which happened to have some available tables and also a varied menu to cater for the pasty-desirer (myself) and some vegetarians in the party. You wouldn't think a place dedicated to The Pig would be overly vegetarian, but there you go.

Service was very friendly and with a big smile from the main guy (seemed like a manager or owner) who happily reported it was the first day of the place re-opening and serving their full (minus 2 items) menu.

- Boon Doggle Beef, Smoked Bacon, Potato and Thyme Pasty £10.95 - a beautiful pasty with a thick charred and twisted top housing what seemed like an excellent Irish-type beef stew inside. Served with very thick soft and mostly crisp exterior chips that were outstanding. A large meal indeed;
- In-house Cured Maple Bacon Chops (with double hens egg, spiced corn on the cob, chips and a pot of English mustard) £14.95 - the same wonderful fries this time with 2 large pork chops grilled with a mild maple liquid. The edges had been charred and acquired a sweet salty flavour and a reasonably (although not very) tender core. The parts away from the edges had less flavour and charm but were still nice.

I also sampled the outstanding zucchini fries and witnessed the enormous girth of the halloumi burger complete with 2x 1-2cm thick slabs of halloumi. These guys don't mess around. They serve large portions of extremely delicious food.