There were so many restaurants in Naxos that were recommended to me by friends and many restaurants I had come across in other blogs that I had a really hard time narrowing down my list to the top restaurants I wanted to try.
I usually try to plan out a bunch of restaurant options because I hate trying to pick a restaurant on the fly. I’m naturally an indecisive person and picking restaurants can be pretty stressful for me because I usually like to have had a look at the menu, seen pictures of the food and read the reviews on Trip Advisor before committing to a restaurant. I’m a pretty picky eater so it definitely eases my anxieties to have a few restaurants picked out before arriving at my destination.
Gyros Gyros
Gyros Gyros was not even on my list of restaurants I wanted to try but stumbled upon it when exploring Naxos Town. We had originally wanted to check out Oasis Restaurant but were so hungry we couldn’t walk another step without eating. Gyros Gyros is located in a small roundabout in Naxos Town close to the water. It had been a long day of travelling and we were still pretty jet lagged so after looking at the menu (posted outside of the restaurant) we decided to try it. There were quite a few people eating in the restaurant, which is usually a good sign that the food doesn’t completely suck!
Given that gyros are in the name of the restaurant I figured I’d try their chicken gyro with a greek salad, which I have been waiting months for. Our food came pretty quickly and I couldn’t believe the portions! Gyros Gyros definitely is all about a quality and quantity. The chicken gyro was absolutely delicious although I probably would have like a bit more tzatziki in my gyro. The greek salad was everything I had been dreaming of for months now although I imagine it would be pretty hard to screw up a greek salad. The feta cheese is incredible and can’t imagine going back to the store bought stuff back home.
So all together we got two chicken gyros, a greek salad, a cesar salad, two coke and 2 water and the bill only came to €23 (approximately $34.57 CAD). I was really surprised at how little we spent and how much good quality food we received. I would definitely recommend checking this place out if you are looking for a place with good quality food, large portions and are not looking to break the bank in the meantime. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive during our entire visit, which really made the experience that much better.
Nikos Restaurant
Nikos Restaurant is perfectly located across the street from Agios Prokopios Beach with service right to your beach chair. Nikos has a really large menu, which can make choosing your meal quite difficult. Chris and I had both settled on a meal when the waitress brought out pizzas to another table. Both pizzas smelt and looked so good that we immediately changed our mind. We ended up ordering tzatziki to start and the Mediterranean pizza, which was topped with gyros meat, green pepper, red onion and black olives.
The tzatziki came with some freshly toasted baguette and was the best tzatziki I’ve had in Greece. It was super fresh and went perfectly with the toasted baguette. I ate just about the entire plate myself! I definitely recommend getting some of the tzatziki if you ever stop in at Nikos Restaurant.
Shortly after we finished the tzatziki, out came our pizza. It was probably about the size of a medium pizza by Canadian standards and looked and smelled delicious. The pizza was extremely good and the toppings paired perfectly together. Of course I used the leftover tzatziki to dip my crust in! I maybe shouldn’t have eaten so much of the tzatziki as I wasn’t able to eat much of the pizza.
Our experience at Nikos was definitely a good one and I would certainly go back if we’re ever in Naxos again.
Scirocco Restaurant
I stumbled across Scirocco Restaurant on our first evening in Naxos when we were eating dinner at Gyros Gyros across the street. The restaurant was absolutely packed so I decided to check it out on Trip Advisor. Immediately I noticed they’ve had a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor since 2012 and the reviews were all extremely positive. I decided to check out the menu to see what menu items they offered and after finding many delicious options I decided to make a reservation.
I booked our reservation later in the day so that we would have tons of time to explore Naxos during the day. We headed to the restaurant for our reservation and were quickly seated at our table on the edge of the patio, which is perfect for people watching!
All of the staff at the restaurant is extremely friendly and the service was extremely fast given how busy the restaurant was while we were there.
Both my fiancé and I decided to order the Lamb Kleftiko from the ‘greek specialties’ portion of the menu. This meal checked all of my favourite meal checklists: meat, potatoes, garlic and cheese! Everything about the meal was perfect! The lamb was cooked to perfection and was extremely tender with no chunks of fat and the cheese was hands-down the best cheese I had while in Greece. Not only was the meal tasty, but also extremely filling. Unfortunately, neither of us could finish our meals even though we both so desperately wanted to!
Because our meal was so filling and delicious we did not have any room left for dessert, which was disappointing as I saw several desserts going to other tables that looked really good.
We were actually seated beside another couple that had visited this same restaurant 10 years ago on their first trip to Naxos and the entire staff remembered them and their names! I can only imagine how many people come through that restaurant each year so it was really great to see them interacting with previous customers and really made me feel like each customer is really special to them and that they appreciate each and every person that comes to their restaurant.
If you have time while you’re in Naxos, I definitely recommend stopping in at Scirocco whether it be for lunch or dinner I’m sure you will not be disappointed!
Picasso Mexican Restaurant
This was hands down my favourite meal while we were in Naxos. Picasso is a Mexican restaurant located across from Plaka beach with the cutest beach vibe and décor.
Picasso is owned an operated by a Greek family that takes great pride in using locally grown ingredients whenever they can. I was recently in Mexico in February and obviously ate some of the best Mexican food in my life so I was really interested to see how Picasso would compare.
I started off my evening with a margarita and some of their fresh made salsa and chips. It was hands down some of the best salsa I had eaten in my entire life and had the perfect amount of spice. Even my fiancé who normally doesn’t enjoy salsa (I know, he’s crazy) loved their salsa.
We both ended up ordering the taco platter (3 soft shells) that came with all the fixings you can imagine on tacos. I chose the chicken and my fiancé chose the beef and both were extremely delicious. When I first ordered I was a little unsure if the 3 soft tacos would fill me but figured I could always order more or dessert after if I wasn’t quite full enough. Thank god I did not order anything else because I couldn’t even finish my own meal. The tacos were fantastic and had it not been our last night on the island I definitely would have been going back! I wanted so badly to finish my third taco but I just didn’t have the room for it.
The service was extremely friendly and quick given it was a fairly busy Monday night. I definitely recommend checking out this restaurant if you are ever in Naxos. They also have a location in South Africa, which I will be keeping in mind if I ever make it out that way!
The Waffle House
I basically made it my mission to eat as much ice cream, frozen yogurt or gelato while I was on vacation. I came across the Waffle House in a couple different blogs I had read while researching Naxos. They by far had some of the best ice cream I had while I was in Greece. I ordered the ferrero rocher ice cream, which was rich creamy chocolate ice cream with chunks of ferrero rocher and absolutely heavenly! It was by far the best ferrero rocher ice cream I had in all of Greece. The ferrero rocher ice cream was sooo good that I made sure to go back the next day for more before we left Naxos.
The Waffe House also serves waffles with ice cream. Unfortunately, I cannot speak to how good the waffles were as I stuck to just the ice cream in a bowl. Although, the waffles and ice cream that I saw others eating definitely looked fantastic and if we had been staying in Naxos a couple more days I definitely would have tried it!
The service at the Waffle House was extremely quick and professional and I found the cost fair with the quality of ice cream I received and definitely recommend checking it out if you are ever in Naxos!
All in all, Naxos had some of the best food and ice cream we had the entire time we were in Greece. Between the food and the beaches I would definitely consider going back to Naxos!
If you’ve been to Naxos and have any restaurant recommendations or have any questions about the above restaurants, drop a comment below!
