Creative in mind and spirit? Looking for a sunny spot to get the juices flowing? Hydra is the Greek island for you. Home, in the ‘60s to a pre-fame Leonard Cohen and muse Marianne Ihlen, the small Saronic island has long been a haven for artistic types. And at just a two-hour ferry from Athens, it makes a great toe-dip into Greek island life without travelling to further-flung (and more touristy) outcrops like the Cyclades or Ionians.

Go pre-season (April–September) and you’ll find many of the island’s bars and restaurants shuttered – but in summer, when the hike up to Prophet Elias’ monastery has left you famished, these are the best restaurants in Hydra to grab a bite. Be sure to book ahead.

Hydra’s foodie haunts got you famished? These are the most delicious islands in all Greece. 

Or if west Mediterranean chow is more your flavour, here’s our foodie guide to the Balearic islands. 

The best for watching the sunset

Sunset restaurant

The clue’s in the name – Sunset Restaurant, to the west of Hydra’s harbour, is the perfect spot to see off the day. With the best views in Hydra, it’s one of the most romantic spots on the island. The food is great: the seabass ceviche and seafood arancini are staples on a menu that has evolved over two decades. Veggies may be limited here, outside of salads.

Eparxiaki odos Hydra

sunsethydra.com/en/home/

Best for seafood

Psarapoula offers unfussy seafood that’s caught fresh on a daily basis and served as it comes, or with some of the freshest pasta we’ve eaten in Greece. This spot has been in situ just by the clock tower in Hydra’s port since 1911, and it’s not hard to see why. Get the octopus.

Miaouli 454

psaropoula.org

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Best for keeping things classy

Beautiful food at a beautiful joint

Smack bang in the middle of the harbour is a low-key establishment called Η Ωραία Ύδρα or ‘The Beautiful Hydra’. Inside, the table-clothed restaurant plays gentle jazz. In the summer, tables sprawl out towards the water. Seafood pastas and grilled meats are the star event, here. Not the cheapest option, but a nice option for your first or last night away.

Ύδρα 180 

Best for foodies

A pretty seafood dish at Téchnē / Image: Agnieszka Sitarz

If you’ve had your fill of traditional Greek food, Téchnē prides itself on its inventive menu. Its chef, Yannis Michalopoulos, trained in some of Greece and London’s finest hotels, moving to Hydra to open shop in 2016. You will still find grilled meats and seafood here, but with a twist. Octopus is served with miso aubergine, swordfish carpaccio is laid out with kumquat and ouzo ponzo. Oh, and be sure to try the cocktails – they’re as exciting as the food.

Epar.Od. Mandrakiou-Molou

techne-hydra.com

The best for Italian fare

Inky cuttlefish risotto at Caprice

Sick of souvlaki? Caprice is the island’s best Italian restaurant. Not just that, its food has to be some of the best on Hydra. A family-run trattoria, its has been specialising in Italian cuisine since 1994. The pizzas are fab and the cuttlefish risotto is quite special.

Sachtouri

capricehydra.eu

The best for something sweet

Flora’s bakery – or Anemṓnē as it’s also known – is a gorgeous little spot in Hydra’s main square that specialises in pastries and homemade ice-cream. From oozing orange cake, to freshly-baked almond cookies, Flora herself has been perfecting her craft over generations. If you’re going to have galaktoboureko (custard baked in filo pastry) anywhere in Greece, make it here.

Plateia Nauarxou Votsi Plateia Nauarxou Votsi

anemwni.business.site