Entertainment In Santorini

Santorini has some excellent entertainment options, with some great Greek and international restaurants, lively nightlife and plenty of shopping. There is a small music scene, while there are also some festivals held in the summer season.

Eating out

As is true all over Greece, eating out is a way of life for the people of Santorini and the locals tend to spend long evenings in tavernas. Meals in Santorini are not to be rushed! The island has a varied selection of good value tavernas offering traditional Greek food as well as some more expensive restaurants. There is a wide range of cuisine on offer, with some especially good seafood. There are eateries dotted all over the island, with the biggest choices being in the major tourist centres. The most popular way to choose a restaurant is to take a pleasant stroll and find one where the food and ambience most suits you.

Local cuisine

Santorini cuisine is very close to typical Greek cooking, with a few local specialties. The most popular way to eat, especially in groups, is to order a mezedes, which is a huge range of cold and hot dishes meant for sharing. Mezedes normally starts with a selection of cold dishes including tzatziki (yoghurt and cucumber), taramasalata (cod roe dip), stuffed vine leaves and bread, and is typically followed with fish and grilled meat. Some delicious sweet Greek pastries with strong coffee is the perfect finale to such a meal.

Santorini specialities include dishes made with fava lentils, which can be eaten hot or cold and are often cooked with smoked pork. Santorinian Cloro cheese and tomato keftes (fried tomato and onion rissoles) are another local specialitie which must be tasted.

Theatre and music

The music scene here is focused on the islands nightclubs, with frequent guest appearances from internationally renowned DJs. There are also some more tranquil options, with many of the bars in Fira, Kamari and Oia playing soft jazz and classical music in a beautiful setting.

Santorini hosts an annual jazz festival every August. The festival began in 1997 and has attracted performers from across the world. The setting is outdoors at the open-air cinema in Kamari and the programme is an interesting mix of modern and traditional jazz. The island also hosts an international music festival in August and September as well as more traditional Greek cultural festivals.

There is an open-air cinetheatre in Fira that shows two films each evening (one at 21:00 and the other at 23:15), which are usually international films with Greek subtitles. Drinks and snacks are available for movie-goers.

Shopping

Shopping in Santorini is good, with jewellery, leather and woven goods, and folk art being some of the most popular local crafts. Shopping here is a fun experience, with many shops lining the small cobbled streets, ranging from cheap souvenir shops to very expensive high quality jewellery shops.

Fira is the main shopping centre on the island, but some of the beach resorts also have some good shopping potential. Oia in the north west of the island is great for art and fine ceramics, while Kamari Beach has an excellent selection of local craft shops. For camera film, batteries and international newspapers, head for the main square in Fira.

It has also become popular to buy a few bottles of the local wine. The island has a number of vineyards, which you can visit to taste some of the wine before deciding whether to buy. It is also possible to buy some local fava beans and the islands own tomato juice. It is said that the volcanic eruptions here throughout history have made the soil very fertile, and therefore any homegrown food has a wonderful taste.