Zakynthos is one of our favorite Greek islands, with amazing food and stunning views. As food lovers, we couldn’t wait to explore the best restaurants here. From cozy tavernas serving delicious Greek dishes to seaside spots with breathtaking views, Zakynthos has it all. Join us as we share the best restaurants in Zakynthos where you can enjoy fantastic meals and incredible scenery.
1. Afrala Restaurant, Tsilivi
We think the best restaurants in Zakynthos can be found in Tsilivi, and one of our favorites was Afrala. It was so good that we even came back on our last evening to celebrate our amazing holiday – or maybe to mourn its end! 😉 We’re not usually the type to visit the same restaurant twice when traveling, but the food here was so delicious that we just had to. The prices were also quite reasonable for such tasty and unique dishes. Afrala truly made our trip special, and it was the perfect place to wrap up our Zakynthos adventure.
The first time we went for the bruschetta with grilled talagani cheese and caramelized figs. We also took the crispy cauliflower, the mussels in white wine, and bougiourdi. Bougiourdi is a local dish with 3 cheeses (feta, graviera, and local ladotiri) roasted in the oven. All dishes were very good but the bougiourdi dish was finger licking good! The mussels we definitely recommend as well. That’s why we ordered the mussles and bougiourdi again on our last night, as well as the grilled octopus and some tzatziki. The grilled octopus was even better than the mussles, they served it with some hummus and this combination was heavenly.
Both evenings we ordered a bottle of Oinocence. It’s a semi-sweet rosé wine we discovered when visiting Grampsas Winery on our first day. We paid € 20 for a bottle, which is not so bad when you know that in some restaurants we paid € 28 for the same bottle. Afrala really is a must go restaurant when visiting Zakynthos. Great food at a reasonable price, what more could you ask for?
Good to know
In Greece it is common to receive something for free when asking and paying for the bill. You can receive a traditional Greek dessert, but also a shot is sometimes given. At Afrala we got a shot of mastic, it’s a liqueur made from the mastic tree (they use the resin to make bubble gum). The taste was a little bitter at first (not much!), but after 2 or 3 seconds it became really sweet. This was actually quite good and something we never had before!
2. Botanic Garden, Tsilivi
The best restaurant in Zakynthos is definitely Botanic Garden, if you ask us! We already fell in love when entering the restaurant with the beautiful scenery in a romantic garden. The quality of the food was also top notch and the staff was super very friendly and professional.
Since we loooove sharing dishes, we went for the salad with fresh burrata, the crispy cod, the grilled octopus, and arancini. Arancini are croquettes with bacon and spicy yoghurt sauce and they were really good. The crispy cod was served with a delicious garlic pea puree, and the grilled octopus came with the well-known fava of Santorini. The flavor combinations of all dishes were surprisingly delicious, the octopus was the best octopus we ate during our trip in Zakynthos and the presentation was beautiful. If you don’t believe us, check out their website as they have pictures of all dishes on there.
Unfortunately for our wallet, the prices here were on the more expensive side so we didn’t go here a second time. Otherwise our preference would have undoubtedly gone to this restaurant for our last night. We also had some amazing cocktails here, we recommend trying the ‘Red Lipstick’ when at Botanic Garden!
3. Balcony Restaurant, Tsilivi
The Balcony Restaurant is a magnificent restaurant with a fantastic view over the bay of Tsilivi. We absolutely adored the setting here, we watched the sun set in the sea while we ate which was soooo romantic. The restaurant offers some amazing dishes too, especially the pasta with shrimps was very tasty and nicely presented. We also couldn’t resist ordering a bottle of Oinocence again. 😉
The staff was super friendly, we really loved the service as they were really approachable whilst still being professional. They even give you a small appetizer and dessert! It is a bit more expensive here than the average prices on Zakynthos, but for such an enchanting view and amazing service, this is definitely worth it! We paid around € 80 for cod fritters to share as an appetizer, both a main course (red snapper and pasta shrimp), and a bottle of Oinocence.
4. Dionisos Taverna, Tsilivi
If you are looking for a typical Greek restaurant, both in terms of interior and dishes, you should definitely check out Dionisos. Think blue chairs, white tables, and a lot of beautiful pink flowers. Here we ate some amazing bruschettas with feta, tomatoes, and olives. We also ordered the mussels, a feta with figs, and dolmades (stuffed vine leaves). We really loved the food here, only the mussels were not to our liking because they were so big. When we think of a mussels dish, we imagine small and “elegant” looking mussels. Unfortunately, most mussels we tried on Zakynthos (except for Afrala) were really giant. In terms of taste they were fine, but we prefer to eat 10 small mussels than 3 big ones.
The prices were reasonable as well, especially if you compare with the prices in Belgium/Western-Europe. The portions were definitely worth it, after sharing those four dishes we were completely satisfied.
5. Keri Lighthouse, Keri
Prior to our trip to Zakynthos, we did some research on which sights and restaurants we should definitely not miss. One of the restaurants that kept coming back was Keri Lighthouse. We were quite curious about this restaurant and had high expectations. In fact, we were so curious that we got here two hours before opening, hoping that they might open earlier (also, Google Maps telling us it opened at 11 didn’t help). When we were able to speak to someone on the staff, they let us know that -unfortunately- they did not open earlier. We hung around in Keri itself, impatiently waiting for it to be time to discover Keri Lighthouse.
When we finally returned, there were already many people waiting to enter. Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to be the first ones to enter! No, we didn’t cut in line if that’s what you’re thinking. There were two gates, we arrived by scooter so were waiting at the second gate. This was the first gate to open, hence the luck!
The location of this restaurant is simply breathtaking. It is located quite high near a cliff, giving you a spectacular view of the sea and the Mizithres (two huge rocks in the sea). The restaurant also has a little platform with fences around it, so you can enjoy the view even better. You’ll also find some picturesque spots that seem to come straight off a postcard.
After 2 hours of waiting we were quite hungry, so we decided to have lunch here too. We ordered dolmades, cheese croquettes, and a Greek pizza to share. We did not find the food to be special, certainly not at these prices. It was not extremely expensive, but the food was so basic that we do not recommend eating here as it wasn’t noteworthy. Still, the view is so beautiful that it is definitely worth to visit this place for a drink! Of all the viewpoints on the island, we think Keri Lighthouse is one of the most impressive. Especially with all the Instagrammable spots we encountered throughout the restaurant! It is also the place that got the most reactions from our friends when we shared a picture on our Instagram. 😉
6. Cave Damianos restaurant, Agalas
Another restaurant that’s quite often listed as a must-visit, is Cave Damianos Restaurant. Before visiting the restaurant itself, we visited the Damianos Caves. The trail down there starts at the entrance of the restaurant. Visiting it may not have been the best idea (for Thysia) since she was dressed in heels. We did it anyway and had no regrets. After about ten minutes you arrive to the caves where you have an incredible view of the valley!
Of course, the view from the cave wasn’t the only thing we came for. After returning from the caves, we entered the restaurant to hopefully experience an amazing sunset. We did not have a reservation, so we had to wait in the inner part of the restaurant until a table became available. After waiting for only 5 minutes, we were assigned a nice spot on the balcony where we could watch the sunset and have dinner. We totally get why Cave Damianos is tipped on almost every site, the location is really outstanding. The sunset is amazing and the interior of the restaurant is simply stunning.
Now, the food in itself is not what stuck with us. First of all, we had to wait a fairly long time, tables that arrived after us got their food before us. But once our food was there, it really was not that great (not awful, but nothing to write home about). The presentation was very simplistic and the food itself was not one of the better dishes either. We ordered the Greek pasta with shrimps and chorizo (kind of like a surf-and-turf) and a seafood pasta, for those of you wonder what we ate.
As we already said, the location itself and the romantic setting is really worth it though, so this restaurant was not to be missed on our list. Of course, it could’ve just been an off-day for the kitchen so we don’t want to write them off. People around us seemed to enjoy their food so maybe we were just unlucky!
7. Porto Limnionas Tavern, Porto Limnionas
At Porto Limnionas Tavern you can enjoy some drinks and food with a splendid view. We admit, we didn’t have high expectations of this restaurant. We rather thought this was a touristy place and we just wanted to enjoy the view but we’ve never been so wrong! Since we were pretty thirsty and hungry, and this was the only restaurant/tavern here, we had no other place to go but we’re so glad we did! First, we ate a tasty bruschetta with a grilled feta, followed by a delicious grilled squid and meat brochettes (pork souvlaki). Never did we think it was going to be so good here. Although the presentation was simple (to say the least), this was all made up for by the taste and authenticity.
You can also rent sunbeds here from which you can just order food and drinks (like on most “private” beaches around the island). Since it was quite busy here and we still wanted to visit the nearby Porto Roxa Beach, we decided not to. It is also not the case that you are close to the water. For this you have to go down a bit and it’s actually a bit of a really small hike. You can not just quickly take a dip what we found unfortunate but the scenery was actually breathtaking. Bear in mind that this is is a rocky beach with no sand!
8. Porto Schiza, Kampi
THE spot to admire the sunset is without doubt Porto Schiza! On our way there, we were greeted by multiple “billboards” claiming “here you can find the best view on the island”, which really set the tone for our expectations. And we have to admit, the view here is really out of this world. In terms of views to enjoy the sunset, this was the best restaurant we visited during our 12 day stay on Zakynthos. We had some of the most magnificent sunset views here and it seemed to last for hours!
Regarding the food, we ordered grilled feta, zucchini croquettes, and grilled vegetables with halloumi as starters. All dishes were very tasty and soo underpriced it is almost criminal. As main course we took the grilled squid to share. This dish was also delicious and really sealed the deal to make this an unforgettable evening! The best thing about this restaurant is that it is not crowded at all. You can fully enjoy the view, even without making a reservation. Also, the service is really super! We had the most friendly waiter (the owner?) that brought our food and drinks with the biggest smile. As a final plus, we would also like to mention the prices again. For such a great restaurant with spectacular views, the prices were definitely more than reasonable. Porto Schiza is one of the best restaurants with a view in Zakynthos!
9. Dali Lebanese Restaurant, Zakynthos Town
After a boat trip of four hours to the blue caves and shipwreck beach, we were so hungry! The boat trip started in Zakynthos town, so we looked for a restaurant here to satisfy our hunger as fast as possible. After passing a few restaurants (none of them really appealed to us), we came across Dali Lebanese Restaurant. We were not necessarily looking for Greek food, we just wanted a large chunk of good food so that we could get going again. We ordered two cocktails, a Greek pizza with feta, olives and tomatoes and a chicken gyros plate.
The waitress informed us that she was going to have to provide an extra table because the portions were rather on the large side. We were really looking forward to it, since we were so hungry. When the food arrived, it looked like normal portions to us. We ate everything in no time, the waitress was surprised that we could finish everything, and in such a short time. 😂
Both dishes were tasty, the perfect dishes when you are looking for something to still your hunger. The cocktails were also very good and large in size. Dali is the perfect place for a quick lunch in a cozy setting. You can choose to sit on the front and watch the port, but in the back there is a cozy little garden that most people don’t know about so you can eat in peace with no people around you.
10. Pieros, Tsilivi
If after two weeks in Greece you feel like eating something other than Greek food, we recommend Pieros. This restaurant offers street food, like fajitas, burgers and quesadilla’s, and all sorts of fried food. We took the chicken strips, nachos and halloumi fries to start and shared a chicken quesadilla as main course.
The nachos and chicken strips were very good, especially the chicken strips. They looked and tasted like they were handmade and marinated with a special recipe. The halloumi fries were disappointing because we didn’t taste any halloumi at all, so we wouldn’t recommend this. We really liked the quesadilla, this was also quite a large portion so in hindsight we should have chosen a few less starters. Also a shout out to the service, a friendly lady served us who also spoke Dutch so this was pretty cool.
Of course, we make it look like they only offer (non-Greek) fast food, but that’s not true at all. When we visited, we were more interested in trying something not Greek for once, so don’t think you should only visit this place for the quesadilla’s and chicken strips!
11. Gyroland, Tsilivi
If you’re looking for a quick bite, Gyroland is the place to be. When we visited, we were a little bit hesitant at first because it has that “fast food chain” look, something we normally don’t visit when on vacation. On our quest to find the best gyros on Zakynthos, we entered anyways and we can confirm: they serve the best pita gyros in town! The two brothers that run this place, really know their gyros. After deciding if you want it small or big, you can choose your own meat, including toppings and sauce. We were really blown away by the taste!
There is also a bar where you can order all kinds of cocktails and beers, and the service here is extraordinary. The two brothers joked around with us and even gave us tips around the island. It also helps that the Cuba Libre Kelvin had there was reeeealllyy good. The perfect place for a delicious snack at really low prices.
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