Whenever my girlfriends and I go on vacation we are the ultimate researchers and planners, especially when it comes to dining. Our goal is to find restaurants with the most authentic food and experience. After hours of opening numerous tabs on our devices, comparing notes and working out a schedule one of us just says “fuck it …we’ll just figure it out when we’re there…”
Fast forward to when we’re at our destination and we’re walking through the thousand year old village, stopping to read every outdoor menu, spontaneity is out the window and our Type-A personalities kick in again:
“20 Euros for a salad are these people baked?”
“I’m not feeling this ambience.”
“Did I just see a cat walk into the kitchen…”
But then we find it …the place. This is the Santorini Edition of A Type-A Girl’s Best Spontaneous Eats.
1. Ouzeri, Fira Town
After a windy night spent in Fira Town, we stumbled across a restaurant with a long line, a “Best Restaurant in Santorini - 2017” sign, and a funny/fiery hostess. All signals point to a good pick in my books and it was. I will never forget the Baklava because it was the BEST I’ve ever had. You either love Baklava or you hate it, and the people who hate it usually find it too sweet. I ate a lot of Baklava while I was in Greece but this one was the perfect amount of flakiness and sweetness, and the most proportionate ice cream scoop I have ever gotten with a dessert (Side note: I’m very particular about my ice cream scoop to dessert ratio. When the scoop is too big you have to rush and eat it all or else it melts and your dessert is swimming in ice cream soup...totally revolting). They also had these amazing Cod Fish Loukoumades, a must have appetizer when visiting Greece. I still can’t pronounce it but it doesn’t matter - you’re suppose to eat it, not say it.
2. JoJo Summer Beach-Bar, Perissa Beach
Our last day in Santorini we wanted a change of scenery from tanning high up in the pool-topped cliffs and wanted to hit one of the famous coloured sand beaches. Our concierge recommended the black sands at Perissa Beach and a popular beach bar called Wet Stories (I know, sounds dirty). While we were walking towards Wet Stories (lol) we were drawn to the beautiful beach beds and swanky pool of another bar a long the way called JoJo. Okay, we were also drawn to Tony, the cute Greek host in the backwards hat. This bar had the perfect ambience, cocktails, and the most incredible burger. Leaving was really hard to do especially when a cute Greek guy named Tony in a backwards hat asks you to stay the whole summer with him.
3. Dimitris Taverna, Ammoudi Bay
This was an experience to say the least. Ammoudi Bay is a must-see spot in Santorini (especially during the sunset) lined with restaurants which serve seafood caught just hours ago on the boats docked outside. Dimitirs Taverna is your typical seafood restaurant with your typical nautical decorations, all open and next to the crashing waves of the Aegean Sea. Tables right on the edge of the dock getting splashed like they were watching Shamu front row at Sea World. This sounds horrendous but I swear it was absolutely incredible. And so was the seafood linguine I had with feta cheese melted into the light tomato sauce.
4. Lolita’s Gelateria, Oia
I was incredibly surprised with how delicious the gelato was in Greece. Especially at Lolita’s Gelateria in Oia. We were drawn to Lolita’s because our basic-bitch radar noticed a beautiful insta-worthy outdoor lounge area accented with the large pink Lolita mural. But we were glad we stayed because of the charming and humorous touches throughout the parlour like the “Greek Viagra” ice cream flavour (honey and walnuts) and the message on the main chalk board that “Kostas is looking for a girl - Serious offers only”. The perfect place for a girl to live out their Lena Kaligaris dream.