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Most Cycladic islands import their dinner. Naxos grows it. Where Mykonos ships in most of its ingredients from the mainland and Santorini works with what volcanic soil allows, Naxos has fertile valleys, grazing land and its own cattle, so the potatoes, the graviera, the meat and the kitron on your table usually come from a few kilometres away.
You can taste it in specific places. Nut-crusted fried graviera in the Old Market at Apostolis. Sun-dried octopus off the grill on the harbour at Meze 2. Rooster and lamb from the owners' own animals at O Vasilis in Melanes, and potatoes in every form at Yiannis in Halki, a short walk from the Vallindras distillery that has been making kitron since 1896.
This list covers 16 places across Naxos Town, the beaches and the mountain villages, with the dish to order at each, how far it is from Chora and when you need to book. Prices are shown as bands rather than exact figures, because menus change every season: € means under €15 a head, €€ is €15 to €30, and €€€ is over €30.
Where you eat changes what you get. Naxos Town (Chora) has the most choice, from the harbour front to the Old Market and the Kastro. The beach strip south of town, Agia Anna and Plaka, is where to eat with your feet in the sand. The mountain villages, Halki, Filoti, Apeiranthos and Melanes, are where the food is most Naxian and the prices lowest. If you are still choosing a base, our where to stay in Naxos guide compares the areas.
For the full island guide, see our things to do in Naxos. For accommodation, read our where to stay in Naxos and best hotels in Naxos guides.
For ferries, beaches and the mountain-village drive that gets you to these tavernas, see our Naxos travel guide.
Quick Answer: Best Naxos Restaurants by Category
- Best special dinner: Axiotissa — Kastraki on the southwest coast, creative Naxian cooking, book ahead
- Best traditional taverna: To Elliniko — Naxos Town backstreets, family cooking in a courtyard, order the Naxian goat
- Best seafood: Meze 2 — on the harbour front, sun-dried octopus and fish by the kilo
- Best in the Old Market: Apostolis — nut-crusted fried graviera with spoon sweet, book in summer
- Best mountain village: Yiannis Taverna (Halki) — Naxian potatoes and cheese, a short walk from the kitron distillery
- Best cheap eat: To Souvlaki tou Maki — Naxos Town, charcoal souvlaki and fries made from Naxos potatoes
- Best for Naxos products: Vallindras Distillery (Halki) — kitron tasting at the island's historic distillery, open since 1896
- Best beach taverna: Paradiso — Agia Anna, tables on the sand under the trees
- Best view: Rotonda — on the Filoti to Apeiranthos road, sunset over the valleys
- Best farm-to-table village meal: O Vasilis (Melanes) — the family's own meat and vegetables since 1983
Naxos Town (Chora): Tavernas and Modern Greek
To Elliniko (Naxos Town backstreets)
The taverna that turns up on almost every serious Naxos list, and for once the consensus is right. To Elliniko is family-run, with the mother in the kitchen cooking the classic recipes and a courtyard garden in the backstreets of Chora where you eat them. The portions are large, the Naxian goat dishes are the thing to order, and the daily specials are what Naxians themselves come for.
Cuisine: Traditional Naxian home cooking
Price: € to €€
Best for: A first-night dinner that shows you what Naxos food is about
Good to know: It fills early in July and August. Go before 8:30 PM or call ahead, and ask for the day's specials before you open the printed menu.
Apostolis (Old Market)
Tucked into the lanes of the Old Market, a few minutes up from the harbour, Apostolis is easy to spot by its colourful lampshades and the yellow bicycle on the balcony. It is a family taverna that cooks Naxian produce with a little more flair than most. The nut-crusted fried graviera served with a cherry-tomato spoon sweet is the dish people come back for, alongside loaded Naxos potatoes with grated graviera and dolmades in avgolemono.
Cuisine: Naxian taverna with a modern touch
Price: €€
Best for: Couples, and anyone who wants the Old Market atmosphere with food to match
Good to know: It fills quickly in summer and takes reservations, so book for dinner in July and August.
Scirocco (Protodikiou Square)
Opened in 1995 by the brothers Nikos and Michalis and still run by the family, Scirocco sits on Protodikiou Square, a short walk back from the waterfront. The vegetables come from the family farm and the olive oil is their own, which shows in simple things like the fava with caramelised onions. Beyond that, order the Naxos cheese saganaki with thyme honey, the octopus stifado or the kritharoto (orzo) with shrimp.
Cuisine: Greek and Mediterranean with Naxian produce
Price: €€
Best for: Families and groups who want a menu with something for everyone
Good to know: The square is busy on summer evenings. Reserve if you want an outside table at peak time.
Maro's Taverna (Protodikiou Square)
Maro's is the no-frills family taverna on the same square as Scirocco, and the one to pick when you want a big, cheap, properly home-cooked meal in town. The portions are huge, the stuffed cabbage leaves are the signature, and the menu leans on local products at local prices.
Cuisine: Traditional Greek home cooking
Price: €
Best for: Budget travellers and big appetites
Good to know: Expect a wait at peak dinner time in high season.
Avaton 1739 (Kastro)
Inside the walls of the Venetian Kastro, in the old Ursuline monastery and school, Avaton 1739 is an all-day café and wine bar with a roof terrace that looks out over Chora to the sea. It is not a full dinner destination. It is where to go for a glass of Greek wine and a few plates at sunset, or for coffee in the morning when the Kastro lanes are empty. The kitchen uses local produce and Naxian specialties, and there is lift access to the roof.
Type: All-day café, wine bar and light dining
Price: €€
Best for: Sunset drinks in the Kastro, a glass of wine before dinner
Good to know: Open from morning until late in season. Pair it with a walk through the Kastro and dinner down in the Old Market.
Seafood and the Waterfront
Meze 2 (harbour front)
Despite the name, Meze 2 is not a small-plates concept restaurant. It is the busy seafood-and-meze taverna on the harbour front and one of the most reviewed restaurants on the island, with thousands of Google reviews averaging around 4.5. Order the sun-dried grilled octopus, whatever fish came in that morning and a plate of Naxos fries, and share everything.
Cuisine: Seafood and Greek meze
Price: €€
Best for: A harbour-front fish dinner after the Portara sunset
Good to know: Fish is priced by the kilo, so ask for the weight and price before it goes on the grill. In peak summer, call ahead for a realistic wait time; lunch from 1:30 PM is quieter.
Yialos (Agios Georgios Beach)
A beach taverna on Agios Georgios, the town beach, with tables close to the sand and a menu of seafood, Greek salads and the kind of simple lunch that works when the setting does the heavy lifting. The fish is fresh and the prices are fair for a beach you can walk to from Chora.
Cuisine: Seafood, beach taverna
Price: €€
Best for: Beach-day lunches, families, eating near the sand without a drive
Good to know: Agios Georgios is a short walk south of Naxos Town. The beach is sandy, shallow and family-friendly.
Beach Tavernas: Agia Anna, Plaka and Kastraki
Paradiso (Agia Anna)
The most photographed taverna on Naxos: tables on the sand at Agia Anna, shaded by old trees that grow straight out of the beach. The cooking is traditional Naxian, fresh and uncomplicated, and there are vegan options. It is the answer for anyone who wants lunch with their feet nearly in the water.
Cuisine: Traditional Naxian, beachfront
Price: €€
Best for: A long beach lunch or a sunset dinner on the sand
Good to know: By bus, get off at the stop called Paradise. Arrive early for a front-row table in July and August.
Patatosporos (Agia Anna)
The name means potato seed, which tells you what to order. Patatosporos sits on the sand at Agia Anna and does grilled fish, grilled octopus and Naxos potatoes, the island's protected-status crop, with ouzo or local wine. Simple, reliable, and a real taverna rather than a beach club with a menu.
Cuisine: Seafood and Naxian taverna
Price: €€
Best for: A fish lunch between swims
Good to know: Paradiso is on the same stretch of beach, so if one is full, try the other.
Axiotissa (Kastraki)
The restaurant Naxos regulars tell you to book first. Axiotissa is out at Kastraki on the southwest coast, between Mikri Vigla and Pyrgaki, and it cooks Naxian produce with more ambition than a typical taverna. It is often placed in the mountain villages in guides, but it is a coastal restaurant, and it is the one on this list most likely to be full, so set expectations with a booking rather than turning up.
Cuisine: Creative Naxian taverna
Price: €€ to €€€
Best for: The special-occasion dinner of the trip
Good to know: Reservations are taken online through the restaurant's website. You need a car or taxi; combine it with an afternoon at Kastraki, Alyko or Pyrgaki beach.
Mountain Villages and the Interior
Yiannis Taverna (Halki)
Halki, the old commercial centre of the Tragea valley, set among olive groves about 20 minutes from Naxos Town, is where the island's agricultural character concentrates. Yiannis Taverna serves Naxos products at their purest: the famous potatoes, fried, roasted or baked with cheese and onion, graviera, mountain greens and slow-cooked meat from island livestock. The pace is unhurried.
Halki is also home to the Vallindras distillery, making kitron since 1896 from the leaves of the citron tree. Taste the three styles, green, yellow and clear, then walk over to Yiannis for lunch. It is the most complete Naxos food stop in a single village.
Cuisine: Traditional Naxian village cooking
Price: €
Best for: Anyone wanting the authentic Naxos food experience, potato enthusiasts
Good to know: Halki is about 20 minutes from Naxos Town by car. The village also has shops selling embroidery and local products.
Boukia Boukia (Filoti)
Filoti is the biggest village in the Naxos mountains and the start of the classic Mount Zas hike, and Boukia Boukia is where to refuel. Portions are big, prices are village prices, and it is one of the places that cooks patoudo, the Naxian stuffed lamb or goat traditionally made for Easter.
Cuisine: Mountain village taverna
Price: €
Best for: Hikers coming down from Mount Zas, a cheap village lunch
Good to know: Filoti is about 25 minutes from Naxos Town by car, and the Zas trailhead is close by.
Rotonda (Filoti to Apeiranthos road)
On the mountain road between Filoti and Apeiranthos, Rotonda is a family-run café, bar and restaurant with an open terrace that looks down over the valleys to the sea. It works at any time of day: coffee on the way into the mountains, lunch, or dinner at sunset, often with live music. The kitchen does Greek dishes and a few pastas. Ask about the cinnamon raki, a local spirit with cinnamon, cloves and honey, which usually arrives at the end.
Cuisine: Greek taverna and café
Price: €€
Best for: A sunset with a view, a stop on the mountain drive
Good to know: Parking is along the roadside. It is a drive from anywhere, so plan it as part of an inland day rather than a quick dinner.
Lefteris (Apeiranthos)
Apeiranthos, the marble village, is the most dramatic of the Naxos mountain villages, and Lefteris, near the village square, serves traditional food in a setting where the architecture alone is worth the drive. The cooking is honest, ingredient-driven and cheap.
Cuisine: Traditional village
Price: €
Best for: Road-trippers, architecture lovers, one of the most affordable meals on Naxos
Good to know: Apeiranthos is about 30 minutes from Naxos Town. The marble lanes and small museums make it one of the most interesting villages in the Cyclades.
O Vasilis (Melanes)
In the centre of Melanes, next to the church, the Xenakis family has run this taverna since 1983, and most of what you eat comes from them: they raise their own roosters, rabbits, lambs and goats and grow the vegetables. Sit under the vine pergola, order the rooster and the monkfish cooked in a clay pot, and drink the house wine. Melanes is the closest of the inland villages to Naxos Town, which makes this the easiest real village meal on the island.
Cuisine: Farm-to-table village taverna
Price: €
Best for: Meat lovers, families, a first village meal without a long drive
Good to know: Open year-round. Combine it with the kouros statue at Flerio, a few minutes further up the valley.
Street Food and Cheap Eats
To Souvlaki tou Maki (Naxos Town)
The souvlaki place the locals queue at, on Papavasiliou Street a few minutes inland from the waterfront. Charcoal-grilled pork and chicken, gyros in warm pita and fries made from Naxos potatoes, plus homemade starters like keftedakia that put it a step above a standard grill. It is one of the most-reviewed casual spots in town, with a 4.5 average across more than a thousand Google reviews.
Cuisine: Souvlaki, gyros and grill
Price: €
Best for: Budget eaters, a late dinner
Good to know: Open from lunchtime until late and closed on Sundays; check hours in shoulder season.
Practical Tips for Eating in Naxos
The Naxos products to seek out. Naxos potatoes (famous across Greece — try them fried, roasted, or in patato). Graviera cheese (one of Greece's finest — aged, sharp, excellent). Arseniko cheese (hard, sharp, from the mountain villages). Kitron liqueur (three varieties: green/sweet, yellow/medium, clear/dry). Naxos beef (rare for a Greek island — genuine local cattle).
Where to eat by area. Harbour front for seafood and sunset. The Old Market and the Kastro for atmosphere. The backstreets and Protodikiou Square for family tavernas. Agia Anna and Plaka for beach tavernas. The mountain villages (Halki, Filoti, Apeiranthos, Melanes) for the purest Naxian food.
The mountain drive. Give a half-day to the Tragea valley, the island's agricultural heart. Start in Halki (the Vallindras kitron distillery and lunch at Yiannis), continue to Filoti (Boukia Boukia if you are hiking Mount Zas), stop at Rotonda on the road for the view, and finish in Apeiranthos at Lefteris. Buses reach the villages, but not on a timetable built for a food crawl, so a rental car makes this day work: compare car hire on DiscoverCars.
When to eat. Lunch: 1–3 PM (best for mountain tavernas and daily specials). Dinner: 8:30 PM onward. The waterfront restaurants fill for sunset. The backstreet tavernas fill around 9:30 PM.
Naxos vs Mykonos. They are one ferry apart, and the difference at the table is price and atmosphere rather than ingredients. A Naxos taverna charges noticeably less for the same kind of meal, and far more of what is on the plate is grown on the island. The Mykonos premium is for the scene, not the food.
Booking, tipping and seasons. Most tavernas take walk-ins, but book Axiotissa, Apostolis and any sunset table in July and August. Tipping is not expected but appreciated: round up at a taverna, around 5 to 10 percent at a nicer restaurant. Many restaurants outside Naxos Town close from roughly November to April, and beach and village tavernas are the first to shut, so check before driving out in the off-season.
Eat with a local. If you want the food explained as well as served, a food tour or cooking class is the fastest way in. Our tours in Naxos guide covers the food tours on the island, best cooking classes in Greece includes the Naxos options, and our Greek cheese guide explains what makes graviera Naxou different.
Written by
Athens-born engineer · Coordinates a 5-expert Greek team · 50+ years combined field experience
I write every article on this site drawing on real, first-hand expertise — mine and that of four colleagues who live and work across Greece daily: a Peloponnese tour operator, a transfer specialist across Athens, Mykonos & Santorini, a Cretan hotel owner, and a Northern Greece hotel supplier. Nothing here comes from a single visit or desk research.
Informed by 5 Greek experts
Every destination we cover has been visited and vetted by at least one team member — not for a review, but as part of their daily work in Greek tourism.