31 Best Restaurants in The Peloponnese, Greece

Traditional Italian gelato (ice cream), in many flavors and dished up in colorful old surroundings, supplies a tempting excuse for a break. Try the zuppa Inglese (trifle) flavor, with hunks of sweet frozen sponge inside.

The late Mrs. Lela, once housekeeper for author Patrick Leigh Fermor, was famous for her simple, old-fashioned cooking using fragrant homemade olive oil and exceedingly fresh tomatoes and herbs. Her namesake taverna is an institution in these parts, and dinner beneath the trees on the seaside terrace of an oleander-covered stone house is a high point of a visit to the Mani. Chicken with rosemary, light moussaka, and fish soup are among Lela's dishes that her son Giorgos and his staff now prepare. Upstairs are simple but comfortable rooms with fine sea views looking out over the coast.

Don't let the garish signs depicting the menu put you off: the far-ranging offerings are excellent. You can eat lightly—a gyro or pizza—but do venture into some of the more serious fare, especially such local dishes as the fish that's been oven-baked with onion, garlic, green peppers, and parsley. The house's barrel wine is a nice accompaniment to any meal.

Nafplion locals are demanding when it comes to seafood, so it's a credit to this attractive, nautical-themed taverna on the waterfront that locals pack in to enjoy expert dishes made from fresh catches. The kitchen sends out such traditional accompaniments as a memorable taramosalata (fish roe dip) as well as a few meat dishes, including exquisitely seasoned and grilled lamb chops.

Locals claim this is one of Sparta's best restaurants, but then again, most head out to village tavernas for a big meal and leave this place to the tour-bus crowd. Even so, the food is reliably good. The classic specialties include a fish dish made with garlic, wine, oil, and rusks; bardouniotiko (chicken cooked with cheese and olives); and, occasionally, sheep's heads cooked on a spit. The tree-shaded garden rounds out a perfect meal.

You'll feel as if you're dropping into someone's home at dinner here: family photos of stern, mustachioed ancestors hang on the walls along with local memorabilia, and the service, at tables on the street in good weather, is just as welcoming (perhaps too much so, as cats can be as numerous as diners). A memorable meal makes the most of local ingredients—wild mountain greens, any of the fish but especially the fresh red mullet, the addictive potato salad (you may have to order two plates), and the marinated octopus sprinkled with oregano.

"The only time this kitchen closes is if I'm sick," says Nikos Vile, who insists on cooking everything from mamboulas (a moussaka made with tomatoes) to maridakia (lightly fried whitebait) each day. You can sip an aperitif at the bar or hide out in the vine-covered courtyard.

Staikopoulou Street is one long outdoor dining room, with dozens of pretty, tourist-oriented tavernas serving night and day. There isn't much to separate them, but this venerable stop is perhaps a nose ahead of its neighbors, and still excellent value. The kitchen concentrates on excellent versions of such staples as ladera (vegetables cooked in olive oil), charcoal-grilled lamb ribs, and imam bayilda (eggplant stuffed with onions), and serves them beneath a bougainvillea arbor in a quiet lane next to the restaurant.

The service is legendarily churlish but the fish and seafood, priced by the kilo and served at the water's edge in Limeni, are some of the freshest in the region—and best when simply grilled, usually with mountain herbs. You may end up dining next to the boat that brought in the fresh catch, or for that matter, near a crew cleaning the fish that will soon appear on your plate (it's much more charming than it sounds). You can even spy wild turtles in the bay if you're lucky.

The best restaurants in Greece are often in small villages, and this appealing family-run taverna and inn set amid fields, a favorite among Olympians, is one such example. The poolside terrace is a lovely place to spend an afternoon or evening, though locals don't start arriving until 10 pm or so for dishes that include a delicious chicken with oregano, grilled lamb, and farm-fresh vegetables that appear in such deliciously simple preparations as baked eggplant with tomatoes and feta.

A simple, high-ceilinged room and terrace are the settings for the traditional meals hosted here in the oldest tavern in town. The kitchen uses only market-fresh vegetables and locally raised meat, which appear in simple and delicious ways. Try the baked zucchini, potatoes, and grilled lamb ribs. Dessert—ask for the honey cake—is usually on the house.

Charcoal-grilled meats are the specialty in this snug, high-ceilinged old room tucked away in the backstreets off the harbor. The cuisine strays from Greece into the neighboring Balkans, with some wonderful schnitzels, cheese-filled pork roast, and other dishes that provide a nice change from a steady diet of local fare.

Many of the dishes that come to the table in this rustic room or on the flowery terrace are based on homegrown produce, so count on the freshest greens and succulent eggplant and zucchini appearing in moussaka and other traditional favorites. The stuffed grape leaves and stuffed zucchini flowers are excellent starters, and the lamb is grilled perfectly.

Grilled chicken is the main attraction at this psistaria (grill house) run by a hospitable Greek-Australian family, and regulars come from miles around to enjoy it. Horta (boiled wild greens), huge horiatiki (village, i.e., "Greek") salads with a nut-flavored feta cheese, and stuffed zucchini are other reasons to enjoy a meal on the large terrace in warm months or in the cozy dining room in winter.

Olympians flock out to the little village of Floka, about 5 km (3 miles) west of town, at dinnertime to enjoy traditional fare in this country setting. Dining is in a homey room or on the summertime terrace with wide views across the landscape, and the specialties are the expertly grilled meats.