CAPE TOWN – THERE are places in the world where eating becomes something more than a necessity.
In Skiathos, it is a journey—sometimes by sea-salt breeze, sometimes along cobbled lanes beneath lazy bougainvillaea, or down pine-scented roads that feel like a secret only the locals are keeping. This is a place where a plate of grilled fish might share a memory with the wind, and a glass of wine might taste like the end of a long day well spent.
So let us wander, fork in hand, curiosity in heart, through ten of Skiathos’s most beguiling restaurants, each one a story unto itself.
Italian | Skiathos Town
Tucked away like a whispered rumour behind whitewashed walls and jasmine-sweet air, La Cucina di Maria isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a tiny theatre of passion and pasta. The kind of place where you linger over truffle ravioli and forget the time. Maria herself, apron askew and eyes alight, often glides between tables like a sorceress of Tuscan fare.
Order the lobster pasta. Tell her your story. She’ll probably add wine.
Mediterranean | Old Port, Skiathos
At the tip of the old harbour’s stone arm, where waves flirt with café chairs and masts whisper of elsewhere, Bourtzi lays out a table for the gods. The sea is your backdrop; the breeze, your dinner guest. The plates arrive like poems: octopus with black garlic, calamari in saffron.
It’s the sort of place where you toast to nothing in particular, and that’s the point.
Asian | Elivi Resort, Koukounaries
If Aphrodite had a sushi habit, she’d come here. Beneath sleek stone and warm wood, Hagoromo serves sashimi like sculpture and grilled seabass that melts like good silk. The Elivi forest murmurs behind you, the sea winks ahead.
Eat slowly. The universe is in the details.
Greek | Skiathos Town
Down a crooked lane of huddled houses and flickering lanterns, you’ll find Marmita. It hums with life and oregano, with laughter and slow-cooked lamb. There’s always a breeze and a table just for you.
You’ll order too much. You’ll stay too long. That’s exactly what they hoped for.
Greek Seafood | Sklithri Beach
Where pine trees kiss the sea and the sand gives way to table legs, Sklithri unfolds like a timeless memory. There is no soundtrack but waves and the occasional clink of ouzo. The fish is caught that morning; the oil is pressed in a nearby grove. Shoes are optional. Time disappears.
Come for lunch. Stay until the horizon turns gold.
Mediterranean | Skiathos Town
Don’t be fooled by the name. This wolf wears an apron and serves up generous helpings of slow-cooked meats and the kind of feta that makes you believe again. There’s a charming rebellion in its menu—old dishes reinvented, Greek comfort food with a wink.
Come hungry. Leave delighted. Return the next night.
Italian | Skiathos Town (Backstreets)
Follow the scent—flour, basil, woodsmoke—and you’ll find Maria’s. A tiny pizzeria where everything tastes like it came from someone’s nonna’s kitchen in Naples. You’ll eat with your hands and maybe sip something red. It’s simple, it’s honest, and it’s perfect.
The four-cheese pizza speaks fluent romance.
Seafood | Elivi Resort
There’s something sacred about this place. Maybe it’s the hush of the pine forest. Maybe it’s the way the light filters through the canopy onto your plate of red mullet or grilled squid. It is refined, elegant, and utterly unpretentious. The sort of meal that stays with you—not in your belly, but in your bones.
Here, the sunset and sound of the cicada is part of the flavour.
- No Name
Street Greek | Near the Port
No branding. No décor. No reservations. Just sizzling skewers and laughter tumbling out onto the pavement. This nameless gyro stall serves souvlaki so good it breaks all logic. Locals queue. Tourists whisper. And the tzatziki has its own fan club.
Eat standing. Eat smiling. Come back after midnight.
Sea View | Tzaneria Beach
Just far enough off the path to feel like a discovery, Avaton is modern but not showy, stylish yet barefoot. You’ll sip cocktails as the sea inches toward your toes, and the catch of the day arrives with a citrus twist and a side of serenity.
Time moves slowly here. That’s the point.
Honourable Mentions
Octopus (Achladias Beach) for grilled perfection and warm hosts.
Infinity Blue (Kolios) for views that reach into forever and plates that taste like they belong to the sea itself.
Bring your appetite, and more importantly, your willingness to get lost. Because in Skiathos, the best meals are found down the narrowest alley, behind the gentlest breeze, and always just a little further than you planned to walk.
– CAJ News
