Traditional Tavernas

A Greek taverna is not a restaurant in the international sense. Menus are short and seasonal, dishes arrive when they are ready rather than in courses, and everything lands in the middle of the table to be shared.

On Kos the style shifts with the landscape — grilled fish and meze along the coast, slow-cooked goat, pies and garden vegetables up in the hill villages, and long lunches that drift into the afternoon almost everywhere.

Order for the table rather than for yourself. A typical Greek meal is built from several small plates — tzatziki, fava, grilled octopus, saganaki, horta, a village salad — set down in the middle and shared. Two or three dishes per person is normal, and they arrive as they are cooked rather than in courses.

Bread and water appear without being asked for. Look for the daily specials, often chalked on a board or recited rather than printed: this is where the mageirefta live, the slow-cooked oven dishes like moussaka, gemista and lamb kleftiko that a taverna makes in the morning and serves until they run out.

Dinner runs late. Greek families sit down from nine in the evening onwards, and a taverna that looks empty at seven will be full by ten. Nobody will bring the bill until you ask, and lingering over the last of the wine is the expected behaviour, not an imposition.