Fish Tavernas
Whatever the boats brought in, grilled whole and sold by weight.
Key Fish Tavernas
Where the catch has the shortest distance to travel.
Seafood restaurant Makis
Right by the sea at Mastichari, with fish, calamari and octopus.
Mavros Restaurant
Seafood beside the water at Mastichari, close to the harbour.
Cavo Greco Restaurant
Authentic Greek cooking on the Kefalos seafront.
Seafood on Kos
The harbours where the catch does not travel far.
Kos has a working fishing fleet, and where it lands determines where the fish is worth eating. Mastichari on the north coast is the main harbour, with boats tied up a few metres from the tables.
Kefalos on the south-west coast is the other option, quieter and further out, where the seafront kitchens face straight across the bay.
Ordering Fish in Greece
The conventions are different, and knowing them saves confusion.
Fresh fish is sold by the kilo rather than by the plate. You go to the display, pick what you want, and it is weighed in front of you before cooking — so ask the price per kilo and roughly what your chosen fish weighs before agreeing. A whole fish for two people usually lands somewhere around a kilo.
It will come back grilled whole, dressed with olive oil, lemon and oregano, and very little else. That plainness is deliberate: the point is the fish. Ask for it to be filleted at the table if you would rather not deal with the bones, which is a normal request rather than an imposition.
Mastichari is the harbour to aim for. The fishing boats land there on the north coast, the ferries to Kalymnos leave from the same quay, and the tavernas along the waterfront are the shortest distance between the sea and the table. Look for menus that distinguish fresh from frozen — Greek law requires it, and reputable places mark it clearly.
Go to Mastichari
The north-coast fishing harbour, where the boats actually land.
Sold by weight
Ask the price per kilo and the weight of your fish before it is cooked.
Grilled plainly
Whole fish with oil, lemon and oregano — ask for it filleted if you prefer.
Fresh or frozen
Menus must state which; the good places make it obvious.