What and where to eat in Kalymnos
In Kalymnos you will enjoy good and cheap food. Because it is not a tourist island, you will find fresh fish and seafood snacks in excellent quality, taste and price. It is worth trying the traditional dishes of the island, which are stuffed goat with rice, stuffen wine leaves with minced meat, octopus meatballs, village salad with barley roll and local cheese and the spinialo (bubble salad).
From the local products, don’t forget to buy thyme honey, barley rolls, seven-leaved bread with anise, oregano and local cheeses.
In general, everywhere you will eat well and economically. But here are the top 10 options for food and dessert on the island that you should not miss:
For seafood and fish try Mamuzelos restaurant in Pothia. Be sure to try the ceviche of the day, sea urchin salad, octopus meatballs, mermiselli, Simian shrimp and octopus. In general, whatever you eat will be delicious, you will need to book a day in advance.
Another eatery with very tasty and fresh seafood is Taverna of Manias also in Pothia, next to the district building. There you will find the traditional seafood menu (squid, octopus, octopus meatballs, samiko, shrimp) in very good quality, prices and taste.
For mezes and tsipouro try to Bakalogatos in Pothia. Italian food you will find Prego in Masouri or La kambusa in Myrties, the second one has a very nice view towards Telendos.
At Vlychadia beach, Paradisio restaurant has some of the most elaborate and delicious dishes you will find on the island.
French crepes at Coffee and Salt in Linaria. It is worth going there just before the sunset to enjoy the sunset. In general, Linaria is nice both in the afternoon and in the evening.
Greek cuisine with a unique view of Telendos, you will find in Aegeopelagitiko restaurant in Masouri.
For brunch and cocktails try the Boutique Bistro in Pothia. From there you can also get your favorite cocktail in a bottle to enjoy it wherever you want.
Fast food and burgers you will find at Savoya in Kantouni. It is a new entrance to the island and apart from the daily menu, it has themed days with burgers (Wednesday, Thursday) and Asian cuisine on weekends.
The best desserts you try Vouros pastry shop with the famous galaktobureko and the Copenhagen cake, a baked dessert with baklava sheet and syrupy cake. At Vouros pastry shop you will find crepes and fresh ice cream.
In addition to Vouros, you must also try Michalaras. It is an old traditional pastry shop in Pothia, famous for its pan sweets. Opinions on the island differ as to which is the best one.
Specialities and food of Kalymnos
The culinary wealth of Kalymnos offers visitors traditional delights. Beyond the wonderful sea treasures, the cuisine of Kalymnos has given its dishes unique names.
Kalymnos has an abundance of restaurants, taverns, ouzo bars, taverns and fish taverns. The homeland of fishermen and divers is known for its excellent appetizers, delicious local recipes, fresh fish and seafood, cooked in every possible way.
At the island’s ouzo restaurants, we will enjoy fine seafood appetizers and main courses, such as unpasteurized dishes (sea urchins, skates), lobster pasta, dried lobster tails, sea urchin salad, small shrimp in the pan, marinated anchovies, calamari with potatoes and onions with plenty of olive oil, gopis, stuffed squid , karkani (salad with mayonnaise and squid meat), minced octopus, salted kolios, lolos (rare seafood mezze made of octopus ink, grilled swordfish.
Enjoy octopus in all its possible variations (octopus dipped in ouzo, charcoal-grilled octopus or stewed octopus, octopus with spicy macaroni as well as octopus meatballs accompanied by good ouzo or aromatic wine).
However, the original meze of the spongers and the trademark of Kalymnos is the spinialo, which is made from seashells, sea urchins and skates preserved in seawater and prepared by the fishermen themselves. They are served with oil, lemon and onion and accompanied by raki.
Bubbles are shells found at depths of 20 to 80 meters and are difficult to catch, because they are well hidden in rocks and even better camouflaged.
Spinialo is now also offered in paste, as puff salad and is PDO certified. It is even said to be the best medicine for the stomach, but it is not good for those with thyroid problems.
Other traditional dishes of the island are chickpeas in the wood oven (with rosemary, paste and lots of onions), chickpea meatballs and leaves (dolmadaki with cabbage or grape leaves and minced meat).
Kalymnian cuisine also offers a variety of meat flavors, such as stuffed lamb, braised goat, kapetanato (pork in the pot with potatoes), goat in the pot and kavourmas (beef with omelette).
Famous is the “mouuri” (lamb stuffed with liver or minced meat, onions, rice, tomato and herbs, which is baked in a covered clay pot or shell in a wood-fired oven all night). “Mouri” is the traditional dish for Easter Sunday.
A special salad is mirmizeli or mermizeli (local village salad with barley rolls on the base baked in a wood-fired oven, cucumber, tomato, olives, onion, cheese, thripi (thrubi), capers, kritamo and olive oil. Some also add salted sardines.
Equally famous are the sweet tastes of Kalymnos, such as galaktobourekos, gyristes (loukoumades) with honey and contractors.