The Most Romantic Dinners We've Had in Greece: 6 Tables for Two

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Some of our favourite memories of Greece happened at the table. Not the fanciest dinners, necessarily, but the ones where the view, the light and the mood all lined up: a windmill lit up on the caldera, lanterns glowing over Fira, the Parthenon turning gold from a rooftop. These are the romantic restaurants in Greece we'd book again in a heartbeat, from Santorini to Athens to Paros.

1. Dinner inside a windmill: Mylos, Firostefani (Santorini)

Mylos Restaurant & Champagne Bar is set inside one of Santorini's historic windmills, perched on the caldera in Firostefani, just north of Fira. Their little orange windmill logo is on everything, even the napkins, and seeing the sails lit up against the night sky was a moment we still talk about.

Why it's romantic: it's a first-night dinner that feels like a postcard. Mylos website · Our Santorini itinerary

2. Candlelight and lanterns: Barolo, Fira (Santorini)

Picture a candlelit terrace on the caldera, enormous woven lanterns glowing above the tables, and the sky going from gold to pink to deep blue over the water as the sun sets. That was Barolo in Fira, and it was the start of the best night of our whole trip.

Make it a date night: after dinner, walk to the open-air Volkan Cinema, just north of Fira's busy centre. They were screening Mamma Mia when we went, and watching it on a Greek island, under the stars, was pure joy. Check what's showing before you go. Barolo website · Volkan Cinema · Read the full night

3. Seafood by the water: Sunset Ammoudi, Amoudi Bay (Santorini)

For a long, slow lunch, go down to Amoudi Bay, the little harbour under the red cliffs of Oia. Sunset Ammoudi is a seafood taverna right at the water's edge. Afterwards, find the pink bench by the water and sit for a while, just the two of you and the sea.

Sunset Ammoudi website · Our morning in Oia and Amoudi Bay

4. The Acropolis from your table: Taratsa (Athens)

Our first dinner in Athens was a 10/10. Taratsa Athens is a rooftop restaurant and bar on Mitropoleos Street: you climb the stairs to the roof and the Acropolis is right there, with the Plaka rooftops below. The kitchen mixes Greek and Levantine flavours, cooked over fire with a wood oven and a robata grill, and the cocktails are just as creative.

Tip: book a table for sunset and stay as the Parthenon lights up. Taratsa website · Our Athens itinerary

5. Cocktails on the flower swings: Attic Urban Rooftop (Athens)

We saved Attic Urban Rooftop for our last night in Athens. The terrace is covered in flowers, and the famous swings, wrapped in yellow blooms, face the Acropolis across the rooftops of Plaka. Every cocktail is paired with a Greek thinker or writer. Order the Gnosis: vodka, Greek coffee, orange water and salted caramel, served under a glass dome with a bubble of coffee smoke that pops at the table.

Tip: get there before sunset, grab a swing and don't rush. Attic website · More on Attic

Make a day of it: start that morning on the Acropolis with the small-group mythology tour we took, nap through the heat, then watch the Parthenon light up from a rooftop.

6. The napkin-throwing night: Axinos, Naoussa (Paros)

For pure joy, book a late table at Axinos, a seafood restaurant right on the water at Naoussa's old port, with fresh fish and a few Asian-inspired twists. Stay late. At around 10pm the music goes up, the staff start dancing, and the whole restaurant joins in, twirling white napkins over their heads. It's loud, joyful and very Greek.

Axinos website · Our Paros itinerary

Our tips for a romantic dinner in Greece

• Book for sunset, then stay. On the caldera and the Athens rooftops, the best part is the hour after the sun goes down.
• Pre-book your rides in Santorini. We scheduled ours ahead and never wasted a minute getting between Oia, Firostefani and Fira.
• Eat late. Greek dinners start late and the atmosphere builds. At Axinos, the magic doesn't start until around 10pm.
• Order the spicy feta (tirokafteri) wherever you see it.

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