Grill Restaurants in Kos Town

The town's psistaries are concentrated in the older quarter, close enough together that most people choose by walking past and following the charcoal smoke rather than by looking anything up.

Portions are generous and the pricing sits well below the seafront restaurants a few streets away, which is why these places stay busy with residents as well as visitors.

Kos Town's grill houses sit close together in the streets behind the harbour, which makes choosing largely a matter of what smells best as you walk past. Portions are generous, prices are low relative to the seafront restaurants, and service is quick.

They are also the practical answer to the town's nightlife. Bar Street and the surrounding lanes stay busy until very late in summer, and the psistaries are the places still serving when everything else has closed — which is why the queues outside them peak long after midnight rather than at dinner time.

For a first visit, order a pita gyros to see how the basics are handled, or a mixed grill if you want to try several things at once. Paidakia, the small charcoal-grilled lamb chops, are the dish most worth ordering if you are only going to eat at one grill house on the trip.