Restaurants and Food in Milos
Like Sifnos, Milos has more good restaurants for an island its size than most of the popular islands. Finding a good restaurant is not a difficult task with or without recommendations. We were told about several and we also stumbled on a few that we loved. Some were exceptional and I encourage you to check these out.
(You can click on all the photos to see them full-size):
First
prize goes to the Medusa
Paradosiako Cafeneon
(Traditional Cafe) in the tiny port of Mandrakia on the north coast
of Milos, not more than 15 minutes drive from Adamas. Besides having
the best assortment of Greek mezodakia (small dishes like their
stuffed florina peppers), Peraklis and his staff cook the best fish,(try
their sun-dried grilled makeral) make delicious salads like
their dakos (like a Greek salad but with soft cheese on a dry
rye toast soaked in olive-oil), and have the best selection of ouzo
on the island. But to make it even more interesting he has the best
selection of beer of any restaurant in Greece. His fridge is packed
full of international beers from Trappist Ale to Budweiser (US and
Czech). Where else can you get a Guiness or a McFarland or a Hefe
Weisbier? And since you can't eat everything on the menu or drink
every beer or sample every ouzo in one sitting, come for lunch,
spend the day swimming and snorkling in the cove below or the
beach around the corner and come back for dinner and maybe a snack
in between.
A
very close second was the Italian Restaurant called Da Beppe
in Adamas. Having come from Sifnos where we ate at the excellent Da
Claudio two out of four nights, the last thing we wanted to do was
eat all our meals at another Italian restaurant. First of all eating
a big pasta meal late in the evening is the easiest way to put on
weight. Second of all I was in Milos to write about the island and
one of my responsibilities is to eat at as many restaurants as possible,
perferably Greek since after all we are in Greece. But when I walked
by the restaurant and stopped to look at the menu and the waiter-Tonino
spoke no Greek ("Italiano and leetle Englis") we decided
to try it out. Da Beppe is the best Italian restaurant I have ever
eaten at. (Sorry Claudio, Sorry Paulo). The chef-owner, Roberto,
was the chef for a big hotel in Mykonos. He wanted to have his own
restaurant but with the rents in Mykonos so high he came to Milos.
It's Mykonos' loss. What to eat? That is easy. I have my bills sitting
right in front of me so I can be reminded that there is life after
Greek food (I live on Kea where there is only Greek food). Start
with bruschetta and order from their many pastas and pizzas.
Try the carbonara, their fish risotto, their chef salad and
their mushroom tagiatella. Try it all. Everything we ate
was good including their red wine. After dinner we were rewarded
with a glass of Lemoncella which is an after dinner drink that helps
you sleep and not worry about having eaten all those carbs.
Worth
the drive is the seaside taverna at Emborion directly across
the bay from Adamas. You sit on a terrace so close to the sea that
if a highspeed passes on the other side of the bay, 20 minutes later
the waves are breaking at your feet. But if you don't mind driving
over dirt roads for so long that you may wonder if you have taken
a wrong turn you will be rewarded with the best island food in Milos,
including fava (yellow-split pea), fresh fish, tomato keftedes (deep-fried
balls made with the small island tomatoes), little cheese-pies and
really good wine, made by the owners of the restaurant. In the farm
behind the resrtaurant where you will see the animals that will
be served in the days and weeks to come you will also see some peacocks.
The restaurant is also known for their delcious home-grown fried
potatoes.
Among the other restaurants in Milos I recommend:
In
the port of Adamas, the first restaurant you come to when you get
off the ferry is Fou Fou, an ouzerie with a large selection
of mezedes like grilled octopus, shrimp, baked eggplant, thrapsala
(large squid) and salads. But what I liked about this place is that
you order a pikilia (assortment) and they bring a number of plates
to you of different dishes. It is a great way to order without your
personal preferances and predjudices getting in the way of you trying
something new and good. Araxaboli in the beach town of Pollonia
specializes in local dishes including a yummy watermelon pie, fish,
and a variety of macaroni including penguin. Well, actually it's
a joke but it is on the menu. Captian Nikola fish taverna was
recommended to us but the lure of the penguin macaroni was too much.
The fish taverna Navagio was recommended by everyone we spoke
to but everytime we began to walk towards it we were unable to get
past Da Beppe. Well, actually the first night we were on the way
there and Andrea did not want to eat there because she saw too many
tourists so we continued along the shore and ate in Thanasis
instead. (or was it Tassos?) Anyway the menu had photos of
all the food which is usually a bad sign but was actually helpful
and the food was good. The Flisvos looks like it has sold
out to the tourists combining a fish taverna with a psisitaria (grill
house). But it is convenient and pretty good as is the stylish looking
Kynigos which is a traditional taverna in disguise.
On the south part of the island is a fish-taverna called Kypos
in as remote a spot as you could find above a rocky beach. But it
happens to be the spot where the excursion boat Delfini leaves from
and after a three hour visit to the rock formations of Kleftiko
this is a good place for lunch since they have their own fishing
boat. In Plaka the Plakiaki Gonia is known for good food,
grilled octopus and the home of the petition to have the Venus de
Milo returned to the island. Even if you don't eat here you should
stop in and sign the petition. The Ergina in the town of
Tripiti is known for delicious mezedes and the best place to watch
the sunset. There are tavernas on just about every beach and they
all looked good to me, but you can't eat everywhere.
For cafes you can take your pick. You want a spectacular view? Go to the Utopia Cafe in Plaka. You want to people watch? Try any of those on the waterfront of Adamas. There are cafes at most of the popular beaches playing the kind of thumping music that puts your brain to sleep, but you can awaken it with a frappe or iced capuccino freddo. Deep Blue on the beach at Paliohora has a spectacular view and plays music through the night. The Giakos Cafe beneath the Hotel Portiani has yummy looking pizza and lots of Greek and non-Greek food and some couches that look more comfortable than they are, to watch people from. But they sell a glass of ouzo for a euro and a half and for twenty cents extra you get a meze. They make good espresso too.