Firostefani, Santorini Island

This restaurant was close to our accommodation in Firostefani and recommend by the manager who said her family dined there regularly. We dined there on Monday night late September and were lucky to get a table.

A cosy restaurant which has been in the same family since 1922 it specialises in traditional food. Not knowing much about Greek food I let my wife order and we soon had an assortment of dishes, all looking a little different to what I normally eat, but a taste sensation.

The restaurant is on the inland side of the street which overlooks the calder, no view from the restaurant, but located in the heart of Firostefani and a 10 minute walk from Fira.

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We went here because it looked lovely. The cafe is located in and around a windmill. You can sit inside where you have the famous volcano view or outside in nice white chairs. However, this was the most expensive place during our stay in Santorini.

Remvi, right beside 'Vanilia' restaurant in Firostefani, is an excellent combination of view and food. The view is classic caldera (what more need be said), and the food is great. Of course, I may be biased -- I've throughly enjoyed every restaurant I've gone to in Greece. So, if you want a meal while overloking the caldera, try 'Remvi'. Note that it's sign is in Grrek (lower case) letters, so it reads more like 'Pemvi', but it is easy to find since it's painted yellow, and right beside "vanilia' restaurant, on the main footpath through Firostefani.

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This was a discovery - just wandering and feeling a little peckish in the late morning. A deserted little blue and white cafe with a great view. So I just dropped in, unwontedly it was early June, the high cloudlets in the sky offsetting the azure of the caldera and the grandmother of the family fetched the son to interpret! I loved this breakfast - the son being a strapping lad of perhaps my own age, all mustaches and smiles - not the cheapest breakfast on the Island but definitely one of my favourites.

Favorite Dish: I went for the "healthy option" - boiled eggs, yoghurt with honey, toast, orange juice, coffee - I can't even remember how much it cost but I do remember it was just so chill, great view and absolutely delish and coffee was topped up as I lit my post-prandial!! cigarette.

Yep, this was excellent!!!

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The Galini Café is a smart little place in Firostefani, just about the first place you come to when walking up from Fira. On a hot sunny afternoon we stopped for a couple of frappes and some shade. The café is beautifully decorated, with smart tables and chairs, ornaments and trinkets on the walls, and a shoal of fish hanging from the ceiling. It could be right out of a design magazine. The views are great too !

An unassuming little coffee and crepe place with a few inside tables and one out. We stopped here twice for coffees while in the Firostefani area, enticed initially because it is probably the only coffee house in the area and the second time because we'd liked the owners so much the first time! Oh, and it's cheap, very cheap given its position and lack of competition.

Favorite Dish: Coffee, which comes with a complementary bottle of mineral water.

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Set beneath a cople of windmills (that do not actually form part of the restaurant) Il Cantuccio has a small outside courtyard alongside the main path through Firostefani. If you're walking from Fira to Imerovigli you cannot really miss the place. It has no caldera views and very few outside tables, but the food is simply wonderful and the service can only be described as "lovely".

Favorite Dish: We had cold antipasto for starters, consisting of aubergine and courgette slices that had been sauteed in oil & herbs, along with bruschetta. For main courses we had Risotto Primavera (lots of young, fresh veg in it) and an Italian Summer pizza (fresh rocket, tomato, mozzarella and parmesan). It was all totally delicious and we planned to eat there again on our final day as a "special goodbye meal". Unfortunately, we found it to be closed on that day, so we ate elsewhere.

This is a real find. It is in a lovely building with a vaulted ceiling. The service is excellent and done with a bit of class. The real eye opener for us was the number of people coming back for more (like us!).

Normally, we would eat in a diffferent restaurant every night. However, I would rate this as the best italian restaurant I have been to outside Italy and better than most I've been to in Italy too! Therefore we went 4 times out of 7 nights. You may call us sad but the menu is varied enough for it to have been worthwhile.

Santorini is stuffed full of restaurants too and the quality is spread a little thin in my opinion. Going into Fira to eat is very hit and miss (we missed three or four times inclluding lunches and hit only once).

We stayed in the apartments next door so everytime we went we got a very warm welcome. The owner & head chef (I believe)Giovanni is from Rome and one evening he enjoyed the sunset view from our terrace whilst tellling us about his experiences of owning restaurants in Rome, Mykonos and Santorini.

He has created a real little gem of a restaurant with great staff (hang around long enough for a free shot or two and maybe evening some impromptu singing and dancing!)

Favorite Dish: Seafood or Lobster Spaghetti- subtle but tasted sublime

Lasagne- not the tomato & cheese effort we have in the UK but a more traditional and far superior version.

Everything else we tried!

The Soave is a welcome break from the mainly average local white too.

This small cafe is in a superb position overlooking the sea and volcano. A great place for a drink and to soak in the views.
The Service was very good.