What to Eat in Paros — The Honest Food Guide

Most visitors to Paros eat well. Some eat extraordinarily well. The difference is almost entirely a matter of knowing what to order and where to order it.

Greek food in the Cyclades is not the same as Greek food in Athens, and it is certainly not the same as Greek food in London or New York. The ingredients are different — fresher, more seasonal, more local. The cooking is simpler. The results are often better.

Here is what to know before you sit down.

The Principles

Order what is local. Paros produces excellent wine, good olive oil, and some of the best seafood in the Aegean. These are the things to eat. The pasta dishes and the international options exist for tourists who are not ready to commit. Ignore them.

Order what is fresh. The best restaurants in Paros change their menus daily based on what came off the boats that morning. If a restaurant has a laminated menu with photographs, the fish is probably frozen. Find somewhere with a chalkboard.

Eat late. Greeks eat late — dinner before 9pm is unusual, and the best atmosphere in any restaurant is between 9:30 and 11pm. If you eat at 7pm, you will be eating with other tourists. If you eat at 9:30pm, you will be eating with the island.

What to Order

Seafood

The grilled fish is the point. Order whatever the kitchen recommends — sea bream, sea bass, red mullet, or whatever came in that morning. Ask for it grilled with olive oil and lemon. Do not ask for sauce.

The octopus is excellent everywhere. The best preparation is the simplest: grilled over charcoal, dressed with olive oil and vinegar, served with a glass of ouzo. Barbarossa in Naoussa does this better than anyone.

The prawns from the Aegean are smaller and sweeter than the Atlantic varieties. Order them grilled or in a saganaki — a small pan with tomato, feta, and ouzo. Either preparation is correct.

Mezze

The best way to eat in Paros is to order mezze — a series of small dishes shared across the table. This is how Greeks eat, and it is the right approach.

The essentials: taramosalata (fish roe dip), tzatziki (yoghurt, cucumber, garlic), fava (yellow split pea purée — the Cycladic version is particularly good), and horta (wild greens, boiled and dressed with olive oil and lemon). These are not starters. They are the meal.

Cheese

Paros produces its own cheese — a semi-hard cow's milk cheese that is mild, slightly salty, and excellent grilled. Ask for it fried in olive oil (saganaki) or simply sliced with honey and walnuts. It is one of the things that is better here than anywhere else.

Bread

The bread in Paros is good. The olive oil is better. Order both and use one with the other.

What to Drink

Wine

Paros produces wine from the Monemvasia-Malvasia grape — a variety that was once among the most prized in Europe and is now almost entirely local to the island. The white is floral and mineral; the red is full-bodied and slightly tannic. Both are worth trying.

The best place to drink Parian wine is at the source — the island's small wineries are open for tastings, and the wine is significantly cheaper than in the restaurants. Our concierge can arrange visits.

Ouzo

Ouzo is not a cocktail ingredient. It is not a shot. It is a slow drink, served with ice and water, consumed over the course of an hour with food. Order it with the octopus. Do not rush it.

Coffee

Greek coffee is served in a small cup, thick and strong, with the grounds at the bottom. Do not drink the grounds. The frappé — iced instant coffee, shaken until frothy — is the summer drink of choice and is better than it sounds.

Where to Eat

We have a full guide to our eight favourite restaurants on the island. The short version: Soso for the best modern Greek cooking, Barbarossa for the best seafood, Levantis for the best atmosphere, and Glafkos for the most authentic experience.

For the best value, eat at the village tavernas rather than the port restaurants. The food is often better, the prices are always lower, and the experience is more genuinely Greek.

A Note on Prices

Paros is not cheap. The best restaurants charge what you would expect to pay in a good European city. The difference is that the quality justifies it — the fish is fresher, the wine is better, and the setting is incomparable.

The cheapest good meal on the island is a gyros from one of the takeaway shops in Parikia. It costs about €3 and is excellent. Do not be too proud to eat one.