Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
restaurant
1901
. Packed every night thanks to some of the
lowest prices in town, with live Greek music most nights;
service can suffer from the crowds, and book or be prepared
to wait.
Daily, evenings only.
Ì
Amfiliki
T
24270 22839.
This restaurant sits
opposite the health centre, high on the west side of the old
town. Walk through the house and past the kitchen to find
a gorgeous terrace, high above the sea. All the standard
taverna recipes, skilfully prepared - and excellent seafood
dishes like
seláhi
(skate), parsley and onion salad, or
bráska
kípo
, monkfish covered in spicy tomato sauce. Just forty
seats overlooking the sea, so book to be sure of the view (or
come for breakfast). They also h
ave s
ome very simple
rooms to rent.
Daily all day.
Rooms
€80
Bakaliko
T
24270 24024.
Probably the best of the
restaurants here in a strip (the coast road beyond the new
harbour) more known for nightlife, with mock decor of a
traditional Greek grocer's, unimprovable seating on a deck
cantilevered over the water and decently priced, Turkish-
influenced food (
yogurtlu
kebab at €9.50, for example); live
acoustic Greek music some nights.
Daily, evenings only.
Maria's
T
24270 22292.
Enjoy excellent pizza, pasta and
creative salads at this restaurant behind Trís Iereárhes
church, up the steps from the old port. Check out the
riotously eclectic decor inside, though in summer you'll
prefer to sit out on the balcony, or down in the courtyard,
and menus handwritten in old accounting books. The
downside is price; simple pasta and pizza dishes start from
around €12, though portions are large.
Daily, dinner only.
Mesoyia
T
24270 21440.
Cheap-and-cheerful outfit
(though still around €40 for two, with house wine) in the
old-town backstreets featuring the usual grilled and
mayireftá
suspects, plus daily changing seafood, such as
prawn
yiouvétsi
. Tables in the lane in summer (they can
usually squeeze in one more when busy); indoors during
the cooler months.
Daily, evenings only.
10
PROFÍTIS ILÍAS
Platanos
T
693 24 13 539.
Close to the island's highest
point, about 4km from town,
Platanos
has fabulous views
over town and towards Skópelos and Évvia. The food is
almost beside the point, but there's a decent taverna menu,
plus breakfast, omelettes, sandwiches or simply coffee and
bakláva; it's wise to book if you want a decent view in the
evening.
Daily 10.30am-11pm.
KOLIÓS
Infinity Blue
Koliós Bay
T
24270 49750.
Hop off at bus
stop 15 to get to
Infinity Blue
, with its lovely vistas from a
romantic, hillside setting. The restaurant has a Greek/
Mediterranean menu and a more refined ambience than
most, with proper linen and wine glasses. Fine steaks (as
they should be for around €23), pasta and risotto, plus
Greek dishes standard and exotic (rabbit with plums) for
€9 -14.
Daily, evenings only.
NIGHTLIFE
There are plenty of bars and pubs on Papadhiamándi and the nearby old-town backstreets, but the coolest places are
overlooking the old port or out on the “club strip” at the start of the coast road beyond the yacht marina. The summer open-
air cinema, Attikon, is at the bottom of Papadhiamándi by the museum; it has been showing
Mamma Mia!
three or four
times a week since the film's release.
BBC
T
695 72 62 167.
Club strip venues seem to be annually
changeable, and operate only in July and August, but
BBC
- on the coast road - is bigger and longer-lived than most:
riotous crowd inside and a deck jutting out over the shallows
to chill out.
Seasonal; from 11pm.
Kentavros
Mitropolítou Ananíou
T
24270 22980.
An
evergreen, much-loved rock, jazz and blues bar right in the
centre of town, just a few paces from the new harbour near
the Papadiamántis Museum.
Nightly 9.30pm-4am.
Rock'n'Roll
Old Port
T
24270 22944.
The busiest of four
neighbouring, essentially identical bars on the steps leading
up to Platía Trión Ierarhón,
Rock'n'Roll
has outdoor seating
with sofas and scatter cushions; inside a DJ serves up
mainstream rock, Latin and dance music.
Nightly 7pm-4am.
Skópelos
SKÓPELOS
is bigger and more rugged than Skiáthos and its concessions to tourism are
lower-key and in better taste, despite a boom in recent years fuelled by the filming here
of the
Mamma Mia!
film. Much of the countryside, especially the southwest coast,
really is as spectacular as it appears in the film, with a series of pretty cove beaches
backed by extensive pine forests as well as olive groves and orchards of plums (
prunes
are a local speciality), apricots, pears and almonds.
Skópelos Town (Hóra)
and
Glóssa
,
the two main towns, are among the prettiest in the Sporades, their hillside houses
distinguished by painted wooden trim and grey slate roofs.
