Top 10 Restaurants in Lesbos, Greece

Lesbos is the third largest island in Greece and one of the most underrated food destinations in the country. The island produces Mytilini ouzo, which has a PDO designation and is considered among the finest in Greece, which shapes the entire meze culture here: the ouzeri tradition is taken more seriously on Lesbos than almost anywhere outside Volos, and the accompaniments to a glass of local ouzo, from stuffed courgette flowers and grilled octopus to sardines and calf's liver and meatballs fragrant with cumin, reflect generations of refinement. The island also produces outstanding olive oil from centuries-old trees, excellent local cheeses, and fresh fish from both the Aegean and the more sheltered Gulf of Kalloni, which produces the renowned salted sardines that are a Lesbian specialty with no real equivalent elsewhere. The historic village of Molyvos in the north, the beach village of Skala Eresou in the west, and the capital Mytilini in the southeast all have distinct food characters worth exploring. These are worth your time in any order.

Antonis Ouzeri

A short taxi ride from Mytilini Town, on top of a hill in a small village with a lovely view of the town and the strait between Lesbos and Turkey below, Antonis Ouzeri is the most celebrated restaurant on the island and the one that earns one of the best tavernas in Greece from the visitors who find it. The setting is basic in the best sense, the host is gracious and friendly, the room fills with locals, and the food reflects a kitchen operating entirely without pretension and entirely without compromise. The keftedakia with ouzo and cumin are outstanding, the calf's liver is the best made ever from a devoted visitor who has eaten a great deal of it, the dolmadakia, broad beans cooked with oregano, fresh fish, and best sardines prepared in a sushi style are all highlights, and the koutavakia, baby shark, earns its own category of enthusiasm from anyone who orders it. One of the best tavernas in Greece is said without exaggeration.

The Captain's Table

At the very end of the harbour in Molyvos, past the fishing boats and worth every step of the walk, The Captain's Table has been serving authentic Greek meze since 1994 when Melinda and Theo established it, and is now run by the next generation with the same passion and the same philosophy. The menu runs to over sixty different dishes covering fresh locally caught seafood brought by fishermen each morning, delicious meat plates, and a genuinely wide range of vegetarian and vegan options that earns it the warmest possible praise from visitors whose partners don't eat meat and who had found nothing else on the island for them. The grilled vegetables, pork belly, gavros pastes, octopus, mussels, and salted mackerel all reflect a kitchen that takes the variety of what the Aegean and the island's hinterland produces seriously. Six plates and half a litre of house wine came to forty euros in September 2025. Do not miss this restaurant while in Molyvos.

Kafeneion O Ermis

The oldest kafeneio-ouzeri in Lesbos, dating back to 1800, and a restaurant that serves fifteen different varieties of local Mytilini ouzo alongside a menu of meze plates that represents the island's ouzeri tradition in its most historically rooted form. The stuffed courgette flowers, octopus cooked in wine, meatballs, tzatziki, and fried calamari are all delicious and consistently praised, the open-air section fills with a lively mix of locals and visitors every evening, the interior design is impressive, the table arrives dressed with classic olive-patterned kraft paper and ice-cold water, and the overall character of eating and drinking at the oldest ouzeri on an island famous for its ouzo is something genuinely irreplaceable. Arrive with a reservation or early to secure a table.

Kalderimi

In a charming alleyway of Mytilini, Kalderimi is a traditional Greek eatery beloved by both locals and visitors for authentic dishes, genuine hospitality, and the occasional live rembetiko music that turns dinner into something more than a meal. The dolmades and courgette flowers stuffed with rice are excellent, the grilled octopus is very good, the souvlaki is juicy and well-spiced, and the gyros here are described as the best ever by visitors who have eaten them across Greece and Turkey. The atmosphere is rich with history in the style of an old traditional kafenio taverna, the ouzo selection is extensive, and the combination of genuinely good traditional cooking with a setting that feels completely embedded in the older life of the city makes it the right choice for anyone who wants Mytilini's food character without going out to the hilltop villages.

Sarandos

Between Anaxos Beach and the village of Petra on the north coast, Sarandos is widely considered one of the best restaurants in Lesbos and particularly loved among locals, which is the most reliable indicator of quality available on any Greek island. The kleftiko lamb is cooked to perfection, the shrimp saganaki is excellent, the fresh meze spread is a genuine reflection of what Lesbian cooking looks and tastes like when it is made for people who have eaten it their whole lives, and the overall combination of generous portions, classic Greek dishes, and a warm and hospitable family atmosphere makes it a dependable and thoroughly enjoyable choice for anyone staying on the north coast.

Soulatso

On the boardwalk in the village of Skala Eresou on the far western coast of the island, Soulatso is an ouzeri with a creative twist on traditional Lesbos dishes and a waterfront patio that fills almost every night during the summer, making early arrival an absolute necessity for a good table. The grilled shrimps are incredible and earn their own devoted following from visitors who come back for four consecutive years and always go to Soulatso, the fried calamari is excellent, the food is made with fresh ingredients and generous portions, and the service is friendly and efficient in a way that keeps the evening moving even when the patio is packed. A must for anyone making the drive to Eresou.

The Reef

In the village of Petra, the most relaxed and genuinely local of the north coast resort villages, The Reef earns the best restaurant in Petra and top restaurant, great food from visitors who tried every option in the village and found this one most consistently excellent. The fresh calamari is a standout, the sea bass is huge and delicious, the pork kleftiko is so tender it falls apart, the meze and starters are all very good, and the overall combination of reliable quality with a harbourside setting that has Petra's particular unhurried character gives it a warmth that the busier restaurants in Molyvos cannot always replicate.

Refenes Traditional Tavern

On the waterfront in Mytilini with views of the castle and the sea, Refenes earns one of the best meals we have had since arriving in Greece and wish we had had more evenings here from visitors who found it on their last night and left with genuine regret. The food is lovely, the view of the castle is one of the most dramatic dining settings available in Mytilini, and the combination of fresh seafood with a traditional taverna character and the waterfront setting makes it the right choice for a memorable evening in the capital.

Grigoris Tavern

A small and genuinely local taverna that earns the best food on Lesvos and must try designations from visitors who found it and cannot say enough about it, Grigoris is the kind of operation that has no interest in attracting visitors through anything other than the quality of what comes out of the kitchen, which is the only kind of restaurant worth seeking out. The food is fresh, honest, and reflective of the island's cooking traditions, the prices are honest, and the overall experience of eating at a kitchen that has nothing to prove to anyone gives it a grounded and deeply satisfying character.

28 Bistro and Bar

A creative modern restaurant in Mytilini that earns excellent food from visitors who ordered the orange and courgette salad, mushroom and truffle arancini, and roasted dishes and found every plate reflecting a kitchen applying genuine contemporary technique to local ingredients in a format more bistro than taverna. The most creative kitchen in Mytilini proper, 28 Bistro sits comfortably alongside the island's traditional ouzeri culture without competing with it, and gives visitors who want something more modern alongside the meze circuit a genuinely enjoyable option in the capital.

Conclusion

Lesbos is an island where the ouzo is PDO-protected, the sardines from the Gulf of Kalloni are salted and dried in a way found nowhere else in Greece, and the ouzeri tradition has been evolving since 1800 in at least one establishment that is still serving today. The best meals here happen in a hillside village above Mytilini where the calf's liver is the best made ever and the meze reflects a kitchen that has been getting it exactly right for decades, in a harbor at the end of a Molyvos walkway where sixty dishes represent the full range of what the island produces, and in a backstreet Mytilini alleyway where rembetiko music plays between the plates. The ouzo is always local. It should always be.