Best Restaurants in Nafplio: Seafood, Tavernas, and Old Town Dining

Nafplio’s food scene benefits from an audience that is more demanding than the average Greek tourist town. The weekend Athenian crowd that drives down for a romantic getaway wants decent wine and a kitchen that takes some care — and the restaurants that have stayed open long-term are the ones that meet that standard. The old town has enough good options within walking distance that you can eat well for several days without repeating.

Here is where to eat across every price point, with what to order and honest price expectations. All prices are approximate as of 2026.

Waterfront Dining

The Bouboulinas Street promenade — running along the harbour between the old town and Arvanitia — has a string of restaurants facing the water and the Bourtzi fortress. They are scenic and some are genuinely good; most carry a location premium.

Taverna Aiolos — Bouboulinas Street

One of the more reliable waterfront options. The kitchen focuses on Peloponnesian recipes: slow-cooked lamb from the interior, grilled fresh fish from the gulf, a particularly good version of the local chickpea soup (revithia). The wine list includes bottles from the Peloponnese appellations — Nemea and Mantinia — that you don’t always find in tourist tavernas. Busy on Friday and Saturday evenings when the Athenian weekend crowd arrives.

Budget: Approximately EUR 22–32 per person.

Skaramagas — Harbour Promenade

A more casual fish restaurant near the harbour, focused on fresh seafood by weight: sea bass, red mullet, octopus, calamari. The kitchen is simple — grilled or fried, lemon, oil — which is exactly how fresh seafood should be treated. Order the grilled octopus tentacles and the fried whitebait (marides) as starters. Expect to pay by weight for whole fish (approximately EUR 60–80 per kilo as of 2026 for sea bass or bream).

Budget: EUR 28–45 per person depending on fish selection.

Old Town Tavernas

Taverna Kastro — Behind Syntagma Square

A small, family-run taverna on one of the lanes behind Syntagma Square, the sort of place that has been serving the same dishes for decades without updating the menu card. The daily specials board — whatever was bought from the market that morning — is the thing to order. Casserole dishes, stuffed vegetables, slow-cooked beans, lamb kleftiko on Sundays. Approximately EUR 15–22 per person for a full meal. No frills, very consistent.

Mezedopoleio To Omorfo Tavernaki

Translating roughly as “the beautiful little taverna,” this mezedopoleio (small plates restaurant) on one of the old town’s lane does the sharing-plates format well. Order several small dishes: saganaki (fried cheese), taramosalata (roe dip), grilled loukaniko sausages, and the very good gigantes (giant baked beans in tomato). Better for two or more people who want variety. Budget approximately EUR 18–25 per person.

Elias — Staikopoulou Area

A mid-range taverna with a pleasant courtyard off the main pedestrian street. The kitchen does Peloponnesian country cooking: lamb chops from the grill, roast chicken with lemon and herbs, spanakopita made in-house. A reliable dinner option at approximately EUR 18–26 per person.

Lunch and Casual Eating

Gyros and Souvlaki Shops — Near the Market

Several gyros and souvlaki shops operate near the street market area at the edge of the old town, offering the fastest and cheapest lunch in Nafplio. A proper pork gyros with fries wrapped in pitta runs approximately EUR 3.50–4.50. The quality varies — look for the places with visible turnover where the spit doesn’t sit idle.

Bakeries (Fourno)

Two bakeries near Syntagma Square open from early morning, selling fresh tiropita (cheese pie), spinach pie, koulouria (sesame-seed rings), and sweet pastries. A morning pie and a coffee costs under EUR 4.

Sweets and Coffee

Nafplio has an unexpectedly good amygdalota (almond cookie) tradition — the dense, oval biscuits made from local almonds are sold in sweet shops throughout the old town and make a reasonable souvenir. Approximately EUR 12–18 per kilo as of 2026.

For coffee, the square-facing cafes serve standard Greek coffee (ellinikós), frappé, and the usual Nespresso options at approximately EUR 2–4. The better coffee is found in the small cafes on the side streets — look for places with an espresso machine rather than an aluminum stovetop.

Ice cream: Nafplio has a long tradition of Italian-style gelato — a legacy of the Venetian period — and several gelaterie operate on the main pedestrian street. The pistachio (from Aegina, not far away) and the fig varieties are both notably good. Approximately EUR 2–3 per scoop.

Wine in Nafplio

The Peloponnese has a serious wine industry centred on the Nemea appellation (approximately 30km northwest of Nafplio) producing Agiorgitiko, a full-bodied red that is among Greece’s best known indigenous varieties. Most Nafplio restaurants stock at least one or two Nemea bottles. The Mantinia appellation (40km west) produces a dry white from the Moschofilero grape — aromatic, high acidity, goes well with fish.

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For what to see and do around Nafplio, see our Nafplio things to do guide. For context on the Peloponnese beyond Nafplio, see our Peloponnese road trip itinerary.

See Also

• Nafplio Travel Guide — full city guide
• Things to Do in Nafplio — Palamidi fortress, Bourtzi, and the old town
• Day Trips from Nafplio — Epidaurus, Mycenae, and the Argolid coast
• Greek Food Guide — Peloponnese wine (Nemea), cheese, and olive oil
• Peloponnese Road Trip Itinerary — the full circuit
• Athens Travel Guide — the common starting point for a Nafplio visit