Gavdos Restaurants: Where to Eat

Gavdos eats simply and seasonally, in tavernas at its beaches and a few kitchens in its villages, most of them attached to the rooms where you stay. You eat where you swim — at Sarakiniko, Agios Ioannis and Korfos on the beaches, at Sgoudiana and Kastri inland, and by the quay at the Karave port — on food that is Cretan in style, with fresh fish when the boats bring it. The island is remote and supplies arrive by ferry, so hours are limited and it is wise to carry water and food when you walk.

Beach tavernas

Sarakiniko, Agios Ioannis

Village kitchens

Sgoudiana, Kastri

By the quay

Karave

Style

Cretan, fresh fish

Tavernas at the beaches

The beaches carry most of Gavdos's tables. At Sarakiniko, the golden bay on the east coast, the taverna at Studios Consolas cooks traditional Cretan dishes and fresh fish over a sea view, with a bakery on the same beach and other rooms-and-restaurant places along the sand. At Agios Ioannis, the wilder beach further north, Sofia's serves local dishes and Cretan delicacies with a view over the Libyan Sea. Korfos, the sheltered cove on the south-west coast, keeps a small taverna by the water. These beach kitchens open through the summer season; out of season they thin to almost nothing, so check before you rely on them.

Village kitchens and the port

Inland and at the port, a few more kitchens open. Sgoudiana, one of the small inland settlements, has the Metochi restaurant serving packed lunches and local cooking to hikers and guests. Kastri, the old capital in the centre of the island, keeps a couple of tavernas, and the port of Karave has kafeneia and a taverna by the quay where the ferry from Crete arrives. The distances are short but the roads are rough, so many visitors eat where they sleep and treat a meal in another village as an outing.