IF FOOD BE THE MUSIC OF LOVE. TRY A TZATZIKI
AUTHENTIC GREEK ISLAND FOOD IN AUTHENTIC TAVERNAS
Ask anybody to name their quintessential Greek experience and we reckon more than half the people questioned would tell you it is eating a Greek salad with fat tomatoes and feta laced with extra virgin olive oil and topped with oregano in a waterfront taverna with the sun glistening off the ocean. We appreciate we’ve just written the longest and lingering-most sentence on this website – but hey, a Greek salad is a long and lingering experience. Especially when you have a creamy garlicy Greek yoghurt tzatziki on the side.
SAVOUR THE FRUITS OF THE AEGEAN
Living and eating on any Greek island is all about respecting the foods from the sea. Just about any taverna you eat in will have calamari – but it’s mostly frozen, as are the prawns. You’ll also find sea bass on most menus as that is very heavily, but nicely, farmed in the Aegean (just like salmon, for example, in Scotland). So to be really authentic look out for a taverna serving the ‘catch of the day’. Octopus is a speciality and always fresh. If you want to really dial up the luxury go for the lobster – often served with pasta – but you might need to arrange this with the taverna in advance.
MAKE SURE YOU TRY THE LOCAL WINE
Greek wine is hugely under-rated. Retsina may be an acquired taste (we acquired it long ago!) but in general modern Greek winemakers have really upped their game. Much of this has to do with a combination of great mineral rich ‘terroir’ and replanting original vine varietals that date back hundreds of years of longer. There are two really good vineyards hidden away in the hills on the island – Terra Grazia and Saint Anna. The wines from nearby Santorini are also incredibly highly regarded on a world stage.
NIGHTLIFE AND NIGHTCAPS
You don’t really come to Naxos for the nightlife. It’s much more chill than Mykonos – not really a party island at all. Rather you make your own evening entertainment in a taverna of your choice, then perhaps mosey along to a beach bar or one of the bars in the backstreets behind the harbour for a nightcap or two.
