Restaurants in Santorini with cellars and sommeliers worth the markup.
Restaurants in Santorini with cellars and sommeliers worth the markup.
Selene opened in 1985 and is the longest-running fine-dining restaurant on Santorini, now at Katikies Garden in Fira. Chef Ettore Botrini leads the kitchen since 2021; Master of Wine Yiannis Karakasis curates the Santorini-led wine programme.
Lauda is the signature restaurant of Andronis Boutique Hotel in Oia, perched on the caldera cliff at the edge of the village. The kitchen pairs Cycladic seafood and Santorini fava with the hotel's curated Greek wine list of over 200 labels.
Aroma Avlis is the courtyard restaurant of Artemis Karamolegos Winery in Exo Gonia. The kitchen builds tasting menus around the family's organic vegetable garden and the cellar's PDO Santorini Assyrtiko, Aidani and Vinsanto.
Charisma is the signature restaurant of Mystique by Luxury Collection in Oia, opening onto the caldera. The Secret Wine Cave below the dining room provides a curated cellar of Santorini PDO bottlings paired with Mediterranean seasonal cuisine.
Metaxi Mas opened in Exo Gonia in 2000 and has grown into a consistently full taverna. The kitchen serves a Greek-Cretan menu of seafood meze and grilled lamb chops alongside a list strong in Santorini Assyrtiko.
Petra is the flagship dinner restaurant at Canaves Oia Suites, set into the caldera cliff. The kitchen builds Mediterranean tasting menus around Cycladic produce and the sommelier-curated Santorini-led wine list.
Elements is the destination tasting-menu restaurant at Canaves Oia Epitome, the Foinikia cliff outpost of the Canaves Collection. The kitchen pairs five- and seven-course Greek tasting menus with the Canaves cellar's Santorini library.
Adami is the Cretan-Aegean restaurant at Canaves Oia Hotel Ena, named for the Greek word for soil. The kitchen pairs slow-cooked Cretan lamb and Aegean fish with the Canaves cellar's Santorini Assyrtiko and Vinsanto selections.
Lycabettus sits at the highest point of the Andronis Luxury Suites complex in Oia, with the dining terrace cantilevered out over the caldera.
NAOS sits at the heart of Oia in a restored sea-captain's mansion. The kitchen reinterprets Cycladic dishes for a contemporary audience and pours a wine list weighted toward Santorini Assyrtiko, Aidani and Vinsanto.
Argo has anchored the Fira caldera promenade since 1968. The family-run kitchen serves Greek classics with Santorini fava and tomatokeftedes alongside a list strong in local Assyrtiko and Vinsanto from the island's main producers.
Throubi is the signature restaurant of Andronis Arcadia in Imerovigli, named for the heritage Greek olive variety. The kitchen serves Greek tasting menus alongside the Andronis cellar's PDO Santorini selections and natural Greek wine pours.
Lure is the Aegean seafood restaurant at Mystique by Luxury Collection in Oia. The raw bar centres on Mediterranean catch with sashimi-style preparations paired against Santorini Assyrtiko from the Secret Wine Cave below.
Pyrgos Restaurant sits at the foot of the Kasteli fortress of Pyrgos Kallistis, the inland village at roughly 300 metres elevation on Santorini.
Fino opened in Imerovigli with a focus on Mediterranean tasting menus accompanied by both cocktail and wine pairings. The wine list pulls heavily from Santorini producers including Sigalas, Argyros and Hatzidakis.
Kokkalo sits on the caldera in Firostefani with a kitchen led by Greek chef Stamatis Misomikes. The menu reinterprets Cretan and Cycladic classics around slow-cooked meats and a Santorini-led wine list rich in Assyrtiko and Vinsanto.
Peak wine-travel season in Santorini is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Santorini rewards trust.