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Rhodes eats from its history — and the history is deep. The medieval Old Town, built by the Knights of St. John in the 14th and 15th centuries and layered with Ottoman mosques, Italian-era buildings, and Byzantine churches, provides a dining backdrop that no other Greek island can match.
You eat inside buildings that were old when Columbus sailed, in lanes where the cobblestones have been worn smooth by seven centuries of footsteps, beneath fortress walls that kept the Ottoman Empire at bay for over two hundred years. The food needs to work hard to match the setting — and in the best Old Town restaurants, it does.
Beyond the walls, Rhodes offers range. The New Town has the waterfront fish restaurants and the modern Greek kitchens. Lindos, the postcard village on the southeast coast, has rooftop restaurants with acropolis views. The east coast has the resort strips (serviceable but unambitious). And the mountainous interior — green, agricultural, and largely untouched by tourism — has village tavernas where the spit-roasted lamb and the local wine represent Rhodian food at its most honest.
For the full island guide, see our things to do in Rhodes. For accommodation, read our where to stay in Rhodes and best hotels in Rhodes guides.
Quick Answer: Best Rhodes Restaurants by Category
- Best creative Greek: Marco Polo Mansion — Old Town, Ottom mansion, the island's most atmospheric dinner
- Best Old Town taverna: To Marouli — backstreet lane, daily specials, the Old Town local's choice
- Best seafood: Stegna Beach Taverna — Stegna, beachfront, morning catch, honest prices
- Best in Lindos: Mavrikos — since 1933, the Lindos institution, creative Greek-Mediterranean
- Best village taverna: Taverna Platanos (Embonas) — the wine village, spit-roasted meat, mountain atmosphere
- Best budget meal: Nireas — Old Town, fresh fish at fair prices, hidden-lane location
- Best rooftop view: Koukos — Old Town, rooftop terrace above the medieval walls
Old Town Restaurants
Marco Polo Mansion
The most atmospheric restaurant on Rhodes — set in a restored Ottoman-era mansion inside the Old Town walls, with a garden courtyard where bougainvillea cascades over stone walls, candles light tables set on ancient flagstones, and the cooking — creative Greek-Mediterranean with Ottoman and Italian accents — matches the setting's ambition. The building's layers (Byzantine foundations, Ottoman mansion, Italian-era modifications) mirror the island's culinary layers, and the kitchen plays with these influences intelligently.
The wine list features Rhodian producers (the island has a genuine, if small, wine tradition) alongside broader Greek selections. The service is polished. The courtyard at night, with the medieval walls visible above, is one of the most romantic dining settings in Greece.
Cuisine: Creative Greek-Mediterranean, Ottoman mansion setting
Price range: €35–55/person
Best for: Special occasions, couples, anyone wanting the most atmospheric dinner on Rhodes
Good to know: Reserve well ahead in summer — the courtyard tables are limited and coveted. The mansion itself is worth exploring — the owner sometimes gives tours. Dinner only. The Old Town lanes at night are part of the experience.
Koukos (Old Town rooftop)
A rooftop restaurant perched above the Old Town walls — the terrace looks out over the medieval rooftops, the minarets, the fortress towers, and the harbor beyond. The food is Greek-Mediterranean with creative touches, and while the kitchen doesn't reach Marco Polo Mansion's heights, the rooftop setting — dining above one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe — provides a visual drama that compensates.
Cuisine: Greek-Mediterranean, rooftop
Price range: €25–40/person
Best for: View seekers, sunset dinners, the rooftop-above-the-medieval-city experience
Good to know: Reserve for a terrace table — the view is the point. The sunset timing matters. The food is good; the setting elevates it. The Old Town lanes below are atmospheric for the post-dinner walk.
To Marouli (Old Town)
A backstreet Old Town taverna that the tourists walking the main lanes never find — tucked into a quiet lane behind the Suleiman Mosque, serving daily specials, Greek salads made with tomatoes that taste like summer, and the kind of straightforward Rhodian cooking that depends on ingredient quality rather than technique. The family who runs it knows every regular, and the handwritten specials board (in Greek, with patient translation) lists whatever the kitchen prepared that morning.
Cuisine: Traditional Greek taverna
Price range: €10–18/person
Best for: Budget eaters, authenticity seekers, the Old Town's best-kept secret
Good to know: No reservations. The lane is genuinely hidden — ask or search carefully. Cash preferred. The daily specials are the menu — arrive by 1 PM for lunch or 8:30 PM for dinner. The horta (wild greens) are excellent when in season.
Nireas (Old Town)
A fresh-fish restaurant on a quiet Old Town lane — the kind of place where the fish display at the entrance shows the morning's catch and the waiter explains what's best today. The cooking is simple: grilled fish, fried calamari, octopus, Greek salads. The prices are fair by Old Town standards — significantly less than the most prominent tourist-facing restaurants on the main drag.
Cuisine: Traditional seafood
Price range: €18–30/person
Best for: Seafood lovers wanting honest fish inside the walls, budget-conscious fish dinners
Good to know: The fish display is real — choose your fish and agree on the price before cooking. The lane location is quieter than the main Old Town thoroughfares. The fried gavros (anchovies) are excellent as a starter.
Hatzikelis (Old Town, harbor-side)
A seafood restaurant at the edge of the Old Town near the harbor — occupying a position where the medieval walls meet the waterfront, with tables that look out over the boats. The kitchen has been operating for decades, and the cooking — Greek seafood with occasional Italian-influenced preparations — reflects the island's layered culinary identity.
Cuisine: Seafood, Greek-Italian
Price range: €25–40/person
Best for: Seafood lovers, harbor-view dining, the Old Town-meets-waterfront position
Good to know: The harbor-edge position is the setting. The fish is fresh and well-prepared. Reserve for harbor-view tables. The Italian accents in the menu are a Rhodian quirk worth exploring.
Lindos
Mavrikos
The Lindos institution — a restaurant that has been operating since 1933 and has evolved from a simple village taverna into the most respected kitchen in this corner of the island. The cooking is creative Greek-Mediterranean: Rhodian ingredients treated with technique and ambition that would be at home in Athens. The family that runs Mavrikos has passed the kitchen through generations, and the current iteration balances heritage with contemporary awareness.
The location in Lindos village — beneath the acropolis, near the main square — provides the historic setting, and the rooftop terrace offers views that justify the walk through the tourist-filled lanes.
Cuisine: Creative Greek-Mediterranean, Lindos institution
Price range: €30–50/person
Best for: Food enthusiasts, the Lindos special-occasion dinner, anyone wanting the village's most serious kitchen
Good to know: Reserve for the rooftop terrace. Mavrikos is the exception to the Lindos tourist-trap rule — the cooking is genuinely excellent. The village is car-free; park at the edge and walk or take a donkey. Book a Symi day trip from Rhodes on GetYourGuide.
Kalypso (Lindos rooftop)
A rooftop restaurant in Lindos with views up to the acropolis and out to St. Paul's Bay — the setting is breathtaking and the food is good enough to hold its own against the panorama. The menu is Greek-Mediterranean with seafood emphasis, and the experience of dining with the illuminated acropolis above and the Aegean below captures what makes Lindos compelling despite its tourist density.
Cuisine: Greek-Mediterranean, rooftop
Price range: €25–40/person
Best for: The Lindos view dinner, couples, acropolis-and-sea panorama
Good to know: Reserve for a rooftop table — the view is the draw. Lindos is hot in summer — dinner (after sunset) is more comfortable than lunch. The quality is above the Lindos average but below Mavrikos.
Coastal & Seafood
Stegna Beach Taverna (Stegna)
A beachfront fish taverna at Stegna — a small bay on the east coast, about 30 minutes from Rhodes Town — where the fish was caught that morning by the boats pulled up on the beach and the tables sit on the sand with the water a few meters away. The cooking is elemental: grilled fish, fried calamari, octopus, Greek salad. The prices are honest — significantly lower than Rhodes Town or Lindos.
Stegna is what a Greek beach-fish taverna should be: simple, fresh, fairly priced, and beautiful in the way that only a table-on-the-sand with clear water can be.
Cuisine: Traditional seafood, beachfront
Price range: €15–28/person
Best for: Seafood lovers, beach-day lunches, anyone wanting fresh fish away from the tourist strips
Good to know: Stegna is about 30 minutes from Rhodes Town — a car is needed. The beach is small, pebbly, and pleasant. The fish is priced by weight — ask before ordering. Lunch is the best meal.
Mountain Village Tavernas
Taverna Platanos (Embonas)
Embonas — the wine village on the slopes of Mount Attavyros, Rhodes's highest peak — is where the island's agricultural character survives unchanged. Taverna Platanos, on the village square beneath the plane tree (platanos) that gives it its name, serves spit-roasted lamb and goat, village sausages, grilled meats, mountain salads, and the local wine that Embonas has produced for centuries. The meat turns slowly over charcoal, the wine comes from the barrel, and the bill for a feast is less than a single main course at a Lindos rooftop restaurant.
Cuisine: Mountain village, spit-roasted meats, local wine
Price range: €10–18/person
Best for: Meat lovers, wine enthusiasts, anyone wanting the most honest food on Rhodes
Good to know: Embonas is about 50 minutes from Rhodes Town on winding mountain roads — the drive through pine forests and vineyards is beautiful. The village also has wineries (CAIR, Emery) open for tasting. Combine the drive with a winery visit and a Platanos lunch.
Taverna Artemida (Apollona)
A mountain taverna in the village of Apollona — quieter than Embonas and deeper into Rhodes's forested interior. The cooking is traditional village fare: goat, lamb, pies, and the greens and vegetables that grow in the mountain gardens. The atmosphere is entirely local — you'll hear more Greek than English, and the pace of the meal reflects mountain time rather than tourist time.
Cuisine: Mountain village, traditional
Price range: €8–15/person
Best for: Road-trippers, authenticity seekers, the most affordable meal on Rhodes
Good to know: Apollona is remote by Rhodes standards — about an hour from Rhodes Town. The roads are good but winding. Combine with a drive through the island's interior to Monolithos castle for a full mountain day.
Practical Tips for Eating in Rhodes
Old Town strategy. The main tourist thoroughfares (Sokratous Street, the approach to the Palace of the Grand Master) have the most prominent restaurants — and many trade on foot traffic rather than food quality. Walk one or two lanes deeper into the Old Town's quieter quarters for better cooking at lower prices. The areas around the Suleiman Mosque and the Jewish Quarter are particularly rewarding.
Lindos reality check. Lindos is beautiful but touristic. Many restaurants coast on the acropolis view. Mavrikos is the genuine exception — the cooking is excellent. Kalypso delivers view-plus-adequate-food. Beyond those two, the quality drops. For the best Lindos food experience, eat at Mavrikos and save the rooftop drinks for Kalypso.
The mountain drive. Dedicate a half-day to driving through Rhodes's mountainous interior. From Rhodes Town: through the Valley of the Butterflies (Petaloudes) to Embonas (wine, spit-roasted meat) and back via Apollona or Salakos. The interior is green, forested, and empty — a different world from the coastal resorts.
When to eat. Old Town restaurants serve from noon through late evening. Village tavernas are best at lunch (1–3 PM). Lindos restaurants serve early (for the sunset crowd) and late. The spit-roasted meats at mountain tavernas are ready by midday and can run out by early afternoon.
Rhodian wine. The island has a genuine wine tradition — CAIR and Emery are the established producers, with the Athiri grape (white) the local star. Embonas village is the center. The wines pair well with the island's seafood and grilled meats.
Exploring Rhodes? Read our [things to do in Rhodes](https://greektriplanner.me/blog/things-to-do-in-rhodes), [where to stay in Rhodes](https://greektriplanner.me/blog/where-to-stay-in-rhodes), and [best hotels in Rhodes](https://greektriplanner.me/blog/best-hotels-in-rhodes) guides. For the Dodecanese, see [Symi](https://greektriplanner.me/blog/symi-travel-guide) and [Kos](https://greektriplanner.me/blog/kos-travel-guide).
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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.