Iraklia Restaurants: Where to Eat in the Small Cyclades

To Steki sits above the bakery in Panayia and is one of the local favourites. It has a menu, but what is cooked is a surprise every night, always with several choices and huge portions, so you never leave hungry; the atmosphere is homely, like sitting at the table with an aunt or a grandmother. Order the pastitsio and you get a piece so large it could last two nights, for around 5 euros.

Aeolos is the pizzeria of Iraklia, with many kinds of pizza and other Italian specialities given a Greek touch. The pizzas are huge, and whatever you cannot finish comes home in a box - this small island even has a pizza delivery line now. It stands on a spot with a beautiful view over the sea and the other islands, with indoor seating for when the Meltemi blows too hard, close to the Venetiko apartments, and the owners are friendly and always up for a chat.

O Pefkos is a cosy, simple Greek restaurant where you sit under a large tree that shades half the place, with the grill outside smelling good all day. It is very cheap, serving fresh fish and meat and all kinds of oven and other dishes such as fasolakia, moussaka, pastitsio and briam.

To Gialiri is a nice restaurant in the port where the cook is a pleasant grandmother stirring the pots and pans. There is a menu, but not everything on it is available every day, so she takes you into the kitchen to show you what is cooking.

Maistrali stands about 10 metres from O Pefkos and is open all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner; you can also play a game, buy magazines and come by in the evening for a drink. In high season it gets busy and you may wait for a table, but the owner Nikos will squeeze in an extra one as soon as he can, while in May it is quieter with plenty of room. We ate here and stayed here too, ordering fava, tzatziki, saganaki, lamb and meatballs, and everything was fine with nothing to complain about.

Perigiali sits next to the supermarket in Agios Georgios and is also a nice, cheap restaurant, though you should check the bill because the prices often differ from the menu. We had lunch here: the bread was not fresh, but the oven-baked lamb and the briam were in order and the fries were crispy. The food is simple but good; we got no printed bill and thought it a little expensive compared with the other places we ate.

Syrma, like Maistrali, is relaxed, with a bit of a lounge feel, music and a nice view over the harbour. We had dinner here and loved it: Vagelis, who works there, is super friendly and brought over tsikoudia and olives. We ordered zucchini balls, tzatziki thick with garlic, chicken souvlaki and small fried fish - simple but good food and excellent service. Our verdict is an 8, and a 10 for Vagelis.

To Perasma is a Greek snack bar that opened a few years ago, about 50 metres from the port past the supermarket, selling ice cream, sandwiches, tiropita, crepes, hamburgers and drinks. We stopped for a coffee and a crepe: the coffee was an excellent Lavazza cappuccino with whipped warm milk and a bottle of water, and the crepes were very tasty. Comfortable benches and chairs, friendly service and cheap.