Cuisine of Kalymnos Island for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

There are more than a dozen taverns on Kalymnos. They are popular not only due to a large number of tourists on the island. Many taverns are visited by Greek people. Many taverns on Kalymnos have been standing in their places for decades, owned by the same family. If you want to find traditional Greek food, which wasn’t changed for tourists, try to find a place far from touristic spots. But you should know that locals spend every evening in a tavern with friends and family. So, it will be hard to find a free table in the evening.

Some of the taverns have an entertaining program. They invite dancers in traditional costumes, who are moving under folk music. Taverns for locals serve dishes made o fresh ingredients cooked according to Greek traditional recipes. But the stuff of these taverns has nowhere to hurry. The service is different from European cafes. Traditionally, Greek dishes are not seasoned with olive oil. Its bottle can be found on every table, so every guest can add it.

You will never find Greek salad in a tavern, visited by locals. This salad is well-known in Europe and the USA, it is called «horiatiki» salad or «village» salad. It is usually made of tomatoes, pepper, onion, cheese and olives. Be sure to try local tzatziki, a thick yoghurt sauce with cucumbers and garlic. It is usually served with pita or mutton, but it can be also served to different fish and meat. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

There is also a wide range of soups on Kalymnos. Fasolada is a traditional Greek soup made with white beans. It was known in ancient times. Vegetarians will definitely like revithia, a chickpea soup. Kakavia is a traditional fish soup. Avgolemono is a classic soup of chicken broth, egg yolks and lemon juice. The best fish and seafood dishes can be found in psarotaverns. You can also bring your fish and ask to cook it here at a low price. In general, there are all kinds of Mediterranean fish, squids, octopuses, shrimps and other seafood in local psarotaverns. They are fried, stewed and boiled here. Don’t pass by taramasalata, a unique Greek delicacy made of fish caviar. Be careful when ordering a dish. There can be «k», «kat» or «*» indications in front of the name of the dish. These indications show that the dish was made of frozen imported fish. While ordering a dish, ask a waiter about the price. The price can be specified for a portion, 100 grams of a kilo.

The most popular Greek snack is souvlaki. It is served in souvladzikos. Souvlaki is made of meat, seafood and even vegetables. Souvlaki in a pita is called gyro. It is one more Greek favourite fast food. However, Kalymnos is rich with meat dishes. Paidakia is deliciously grilled lambs. Don’t pass by moussaka, a layered dish made with minced meat, egg-plants and potatoes with bechamel sauce. Pastitsio is a baked pasta dish with ground meat and bechamel sauce. True gourmets should definitely dolma, made of grape leaves and stuffed with meat. Stewed meat stifado is a very delightful dish too. Be sure to try kokoretsi. It is a Greek lamb delicacy.

Greeks usually eat yoghurt with honey and nuts for dessert. Moreover, eastern sweets like baklava, lokum, nougat and kozinaki are popular here. Keik me giaourti is a honey cake with yoghurt. Galaktoboureko is a traditional Greek pie. Vasilopita is a traditional dessert. It is a lemon cake with spicy herbs. Keik me giaourti is a honey cake with yoghurt. These desserts are considered to be heavy and Greeks usually eat them in winter. You will easily find coffee and juice in local taverns but tea is usually used only as a remedy for cold. The best local hard drinks are retsina, anise vodka ouzo, grape vodka grappa and metaxa cognac. Moreover, you can find delicious local wine on the island.