Porto Heli

• •Home-style cooked dishes alongside the grill
• •Open daily from midday until midnight
• •Busy with people who live here year round

Everyday grill house and cooked dishes · On the road opposite the marina

An everyday grill house across the road from the marina, cooking gyros and a tray of the day's dishes rather than anything arranged for visitors. Portions are plain and cheap and the kitchen runs from midday through to midnight. Service can be brisk when the room fills up, so come for the food and the price rather than the ceremony.

Suggested: gyros, gemista, moussaka, pastitsio, the daily cooked dishes

• •A back-street grill rather than a harbour terrace
• •Tables spread across the stone paving and fill on weeknights
• •Open daily from early afternoon until late

Neighbourhood Greek grill · A back street off the waterfront

A busy neighbourhood grill on a back street, away from the waterfront terraces. Tables run out across the stone paving and fill up on ordinary weeknights. Order the grilled meat and keep it simple. Standards have wobbled in the past, so treat this as a good-value local grill rather than a special occasion.

Suggested: gyros, souvlaki, grilled meat, Greek sides

• •Run by the same family since 1979
• •Greek cooking and seafood side by side
• •Terrace tables looking over the harbour

Family taverna, running since 1979 · On the Porto Heli to Kosta road

A family taverna that has been running since 1979, out along the Kosta road with its terrace looking over the water. The menu covers Greek cooked dishes and seafood together, and the tables catch the afternoon light. This is a dependable local default rather than a hidden find, and it is one of the steadier full dinners in town.

Suggested: lamb, moussaka, grilled fish, octopus

• •A vine-shaded courtyard set back from the road
• •Cooked dishes, seafood and grilled meat
• •Open for both lunch and dinner

Greek courtyard taverna · On the Porto Heli to Kosta road

A Greek taverna built around a vine-shaded courtyard on the Kosta road, open for both lunch and dinner. The kitchen covers daily cooked dishes, seafood and grilled meat. It is well known rather than undiscovered, and it stays a practical choice when you want a full Greek meal without paying a harbour-front markup for it.

Suggested: the daily cooked dishes, seafood, grilled meat, Greek salad

• •The fish comes from the family's own fish shop
• •You choose your fish before it is cooked
• •Evenings, with lunch at weekends

Fish ouzeri supplied by the family fish shop · On the waterfront

A fish ouzeri supplied by the family's own fish shop, where you pick the fish before it goes to the kitchen. Seafood meze fills the rest of the table. Fish is sold by weight, so agree the weight and the price before you order, and expect this to be the highest-spend meal on the list.

Suggested: the day's fish, seafood meze, taramasalata, Koilada red prawns when they are on

• •Open from six in the morning
• •Bread, pies, pastries and coffee
• •A daytime stop rather than a dinner option

Family bakery and breakfast house · On the Porto Heli to Kosta road

A family bakery and breakfast house on the Kosta road, open from six in the morning until early evening. Come here for bread, pies, pastries and coffee rather than for dinner. Check the price before ordering alcohol, which has caught people out.

Suggested: bread, pies, pastries, coffee, a simple breakfast

• •A covered veranda built out over the water
• •Run by the same family for generations
• •Fresh fish alongside traditional cooked dishes

Family fish taverna built over the water · Kosta, about 4 km south of Porto Heli

A family fish taverna at Kosta, built out over the water on a long covered veranda with the sea directly below the deck edge. The kitchen does fresh fish and traditional cooked dishes at fair prices. It is a short drive south rather than a walk from town, and the view across the channel to the pine-covered headland is the reason to make the trip.

Suggested: grilled fish, moussaka, soutzoukakia, ladera

• •Tables right on the paved quay
• •Coffee by day, a cocktail in the evening
• •Open daily from nine in the morning until midnight

Waterfront cafe and bar · On the quay

A calm spot on the paved quay, with chairs facing flat water and a wooded headland opposite. Greek coffee and frappé through the day, a cocktail in the evening. This is a waterfront view rather than a traditional kafeneio, and it suits an unhurried hour far better than a night out.

Suggested: Greek coffee, frappé, a simple snack, an evening cocktail