Corfu Restaurants

Eating out in Corfu is what you make it, and if all you want to do is eat exactly what you would at home, then there are countless expat-owned eateries serving fish and chips, burgers, pie and mash. If, however, you prefer new experiences to tickle your taste buds and wish to try some of the local cuisine; there is no shortage of traditional Greek venues across the island, dishing up mouth-watering meals created from the freshest local ingredients.

Local cuisine

The Greeks are a nation of food lovers and this is evident in their traditional cuisine, which they happily devote time and effort to preparing. Corfu is no exception to this and like the mainland, offers a Mediterranean-style cuisine in which meats such as lamb and beef feature heavily, while tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, feta cheese and pitta bread are also significant. With Corfu being an island, seafood dishes are a predominant feature of the local fare.

Among the popular dishes to consider trying; lamb fricassee, a stew made with fresh lamb, spinach, lemon, eggs and olive oil, is about as authentic as it gets and will surely have your mouth watering as it arrives to the table. Moussaka is of course, one of the country’s best-known dishes and unfortunately, it’s been badly reproduced in many international restaurants, giving it something of a bad reputation. Make the effort to try an authentic moussaka, which is an oven-baked dish of minced beef or lamb, sliced aubergine and tomato, topped with a béchamel-style sauce. Other dishes that are worth considering include fried or grilled kalamari (squid); bakaliaro, which is fried codfish served with garlic sauce, and dolmades, which are vine leaves stuffed with rice, onions and beef.

Desserts are also a big thing in Greek cuisine and invariably involve ingredients such as honey, nuts and sesame seeds with delicate flaky pastry. Be sure to check out kataifi, baklava and amygdalopita if you have a sweet tooth.

Where to eat

Eateries can be found in every resort across the island and it would be unfair to say that any particular area serves as a primary restaurant zone. Where you decide to eat depends very much of your tastes and your budget, meaning you can go cheap and cheerful and settle for a roadside kebab or you can splash out and get a three-course meal with wine. Even if you decide to take the latter option, you won’t need a second mortgage to pay for it as restaurants are, on the whole, pretty reasonably priced.