Nafplio

• •Three tables and a display case of the day's pots
• •Lunch only, 12:00 to 17:00, closed Sundays
• •Ten TripAdvisor reviews against 252 on Google

Mageirio, lunch only · Agiou Adrianou 66, Old Town

A tiny home-cooking shop where you choose from the display case and pay very little for it. The Greek food press lists it among the locals' own proposals, and its customers are almost entirely Greek, which for a place like this is the whole story. A second family-run Nakos operates in Drepano village; this is the town one.

Suggested: soutzoukakia, stuffed vegetables, eggplant rolls, moussaka

• •The same family at the charcoal since 1946
• •Third generation on the locals' restaurant street
• •Reddit locals call the souvlaki the best in town

Charcoal grill house, since 1946 · 25is Martiou 41, Pronoia

A neighbourhood grill house in its third generation, on the street where Nafplio residents actually eat. It is registered as a grill shop rather than a full taverna, with a few tables and charcoal smoke; a Greek local on Reddit named it the best souvlaki in the city.

Suggested: charcoal-grilled souvlaki

• •Huge portions of meat and seafood meze
• •Ten minutes from the old town, where residents eat
• •Recommended by Greek locals, repeat visitors and the Greek food press

Taverna and mezedopoleio · 25is Martiou 5, Pronoia

Greek locals, foreign visitors who return year after year, and the Greek food press all send you here for big shared plates at fair prices. It is no longer a secret, so book or arrive early.

Suggested: meat and seafood meze to share

• •A small wine taverna hidden behind the bus station
• •Listed by the Greek food press among the locals' proposals
• •Slow-cooked classics like rooster with hilopites

Wine taverna · Moutzouridou 8, Old Town, behind the bus station

A small backstreet wine taverna that the Greek food press keeps returning to when it asks locals where to eat in the old town. The kitchen leans on slow-cooked classics and fresh local ingredients, and the quality has stayed the same through the years, which is precisely why it keeps appearing.

Suggested: lachanodolmades, lamb with artichokes, rooster with hilopites, fava

• •Serving Nafplio households since 1966
• •Around fifteen home-style stewed dishes each day
• •No frills, just the daily pots

Harbour mageirio, since 1966 · Bouboulinas 43, waterfront

A harbour mageirio that has cooked traditional daily dishes for Nafpliots since 1966; the Greek press describes its clientele as the Nafpliots themselves rather than visitors. It is a no-frills institution rather than a foodie destination: come for moussaka, dolmades and whatever left the oven that morning.

Suggested: moussaka, dolmades, lamb baked with potatoes, the daily stews

• •A charcoal grill on the harbour front, open daily until the early hours
• •Prices published on its own menu, from three euros a skewer
• •Its customers are overwhelmingly Greek

Charcoal grill and souvlaki shop · Bouboulinas 43, waterfront

A charcoal grill and souvlaki shop on the Nafplio waterfront that publishes its own prices and keeps serving long after the tavernas around it have closed. It is a takeaway counter as much as a table, and the queue at midnight is local. There is a second branch in Argos.

Suggested: pork souvlaki, chicken souvlaki, chicken gyros, thin-cut pork neck chops

• •The first name locals give for fish in Nafplio
• •Harbourfront at Bouboulinas 77 since 1999
• •Fish is priced by weight, so confirm before ordering

Fish taverna, since 1999 · Bouboulinas 77, harbourfront

The Greek food press calls it the first name locals give when asked where to eat seafood in Nafplio, and its review base is heavily Greek. It is the expensive entry on this list and honestly so: fresh fish priced by weight, ouzo alongside. Note the street number, because a similarly named fish taverna operates two doors down.

Suggested: fried squid and shrimp, octopus in vinegar, the fresh fish of the day

• •Local families fill it on Sunday afternoons
• •Vegetables from its own garden, bread from a wood oven
• •Greek gastronomy award winner every year since 2019

Village family taverna · Pyrgiotika village, 10 minutes from town

The Sunday taverna of the area: a village family place in Pyrgiotika with its own vegetable garden and a wood-fired oven, packed with local families on weekend afternoons. Greek locals on Reddit name it for meats, the Greek food press for the homemade tripe and the bread.

Suggested: the grilled chicken, lamb sausage, wood-oven bread, gkes, if you are brave

• •The village taverna of Lefkakia
• •Greek gastronomy award winner every year since 2019
• •Open daily from two in the afternoon until midnight

Village taverna · Lefkakia village, opposite the church, about 5 km from town

A proper village taverna opposite the church of Lefkakia, a ten minute drive from town. Greek locals on Reddit recommend it exactly the way villagers recommend their own taverna, and its customers are overwhelmingly Greek.

Suggested: taverna classics from the daily kitchen

• •Fish meze on the coast road since 1991
• •The first name Greek locals give for fish meze outside town
• •A short drive Nafpliots treat as part of eating well

Fish taverna and ouzeri · Coastal road to Nea Kios, about 4 km from town

A fish taverna and ouzeri on the coastal road towards Nea Kios, in the same spot since 1991. When a Greek Reddit thread asked where locals eat around Nafplio, this was the fish answer outside town, and the Greek press calls it a reference point for the area.

Suggested: fish meze, grilled fish, steamed mussels

• •Thirty five years on the Nea Kios waterfront
• •More a locals' place than a tourist one, say its reviewers
• •Small local fish rather than tourist-menu staples

Waterfront fish taverna · Nea Kios waterfront, 15 minutes from town

A fish taverna on the waterfront of Nea Kios, the fishing village Nafpliots drive to when they want fish without the harbour mark-up. It has held its spot for over thirty five years, and reviewers describe it as more a locals' place than a tourist one.

Suggested: papalina, grilled squid, octopus croquettes

• •On the beach next to the Myloi lighthouse
• •Across the Argolic Gulf, ten minutes from Nafplio
• •Overwhelmingly Greek customers

Fish taverna by the lighthouse · Myloi beach, across the gulf, 10 minutes away

A fish taverna on the beach by the lighthouse of Myloi, the small shore across the gulf where the fish tavernas serve mainly locals. Two separate travel-forum threads sent people here for the freshest fish near Nafplio, and the review base agrees in Greek.

Suggested: the fresh fish, seaside fish meze

• •Meze made for sharing, named after a Kavvadias poem
• •A younger local crowd rather than a tourist one
• •Almost entirely Greek customers

Mezedopoleio-ouzeri · 25is Martiou and Nikitara, Pronoia

A meze and ouzo hangout in Pronoia named after the Kavvadias poem Marabou. Two different Greek locals recommended it independently in the same breath, for nice little plates to share and a younger local crowd, and its crowd is overwhelmingly Greek.

Suggested: shared small plates with tsipouro

• •A corner mezedopoleio away from the old town lanes
• •Fish meze with ouzo at honest prices
• •More reviews on Greek platforms than on TripAdvisor

Mezedopoleio · Plapouta 33 and Antonopoulon corner

A small corner mezedopoleio described by a Greek family-travel blogger as the town's off-the-radar choice, very good and economical. Its reviews live mostly on Greek platforms, which fits: fish meze, ouzo, and few tables.

Suggested: fish meze with ouzo

• •Greek coffee served with a spoon-sweet, the old way
• •Run by Anastasia and Giorgos, with a resident black cat
• •Mostly Greek customers

Cafe-bar · Sofroni 1 and Bouboulinas corner, Old Town

The Black Cat: a corner cafe-bar where Greek coffee still arrives with a spoon-sweet and the resident black cat patrols the tables. It sits inside the old town yet keeps a strongly Greek clientele, with occasional live music in the evenings.

Suggested: Greek coffee with a spoon-sweet, an evening drink

• •A kafeneio-ouzeri by the central square of Argos
• •Run by Vassilis and Evdokia from breakfast to past midnight
• •Awarded by Greek gastronomy judges every year since 2019

Kafeneio-ouzeri, in Argos · Danaou 17, central Argos, 15 minutes away

A family kafeneio and ouzeri at the entrance of the central square of Argos, fifteen minutes from Nafplio. It barely exists on the international review sites, yet Greek gastronomy judges have recognised it every single year since 2019; Vassilis and Evdokia run it from morning coffee to midnight ouzo. Worth pairing with the castle and the ancient theatre of Argos.

Suggested: ouzo or tsipouro with the meze of the day