Santorini has a reputation for emptying wallets. The sunset views, the caldera-edge hotels, the cocktails that cost more than a week of groceries. But the island’s food scene doesn’t have to follow that script. With roughly 50 family-friendly restaurants scattered across the island — many of them tucked into villages the tourist buses skip — it’s possible to eat well with children without watching your budget evaporate. The Santorini destination guide only scratches the surface of where locals actually eat.
Yes, if you know where to look. The restaurants that charge €50 a head for a view are concentrated in Oia’s main drag and Fira’s caldera edge. Step one street back, or head to villages like Pyrgos, Exo Gonia, or Kamari, and prices drop by half. The food is often better too — these are the places where families have been cooking for decades, not seasonal operations built for Instagram.
Quiet village tavernas worth the detour
Exo Gonia sits inland, away from the caldera crowds, and that’s exactly why Metaxi Mas works so well for families. The hillside terrace overlooks the island’s interior rather than the sea, which means you’re paying for the food, not the view. Mains like seafood pasta run around €17 per person, and the meal comes with complimentary raki and a small dessert — a detail that matters when you’re eating with children who may not finish their plate. The restaurant opens for dinner only, and at 6 pm you can usually walk in without a reservation. The Metaxi Mas website has the full menu and contact details.
In Pyrgos, less than two miles from Kamari, Metaxy Mas operates under the same family ownership but feels like a different restaurant entirely. The village is quieter than Fira or Oia, and the restaurant’s rustic interior and courtyard attract almost no passing tourist traffic. Children are welcome here — the staff bring out small portions without being asked, and a playground sits a short walk from the tables. The Metaxy Mas website lists the same traditional Greek dishes that have kept the place running for over twenty years.
Hidden spots inside the busy towns
Oia draws the biggest crowds, but Mes Amis sits on a terrace that feels removed from the foot traffic. It opens at 7:30 am, which makes it one of the few places in Oia where you can have breakfast with a child without the midday heat or the queues. The children’s menu is straightforward — pasta, grilled chicken, fresh juice — and the coffee is good enough that adults won’t feel they’re making a compromise. The Mes Amis Facebook page posts seasonal hours and occasional live music nights that stay low-key enough for families.
Fira’s Cacio e Pepe is an Italian restaurant that doesn’t try to be Greek, and that honesty works in its favour. The handmade pasta and hand-stretched pizza are consistent, the kitchen will adjust spice levels for children, and the prices sit around €12–15 for a main. It’s a short walk from the main pedestrian street Leofóros Voukoureá, which means you can step out of the tourist flow without losing the convenience of the town centre. The Cacio e Pepe website shows the menu and reservation options.
In Imerovigli, Mezzo occupies a three-level building built into volcanic rock in 1891, now part of a high-end hotel. Despite the setting, the restaurant offers a children’s menu and warm service that makes it suitable for an early evening meal. The grilled octopus and lobster linguine are the signature dishes, but the kitchen also prepares simpler plates for younger diners without fuss. The Mezzo restaurant website has a gallery of the space and the full menu.
Lunch prices in Santorini run roughly €10–15 cheaper than dinner across most restaurants, and the portions are the same size. If your child naps in the early afternoon, a late lunch around 2 pm gives you a quieter dining room and a lower bill.
Seaside dining without the premium
Vlychada, on the southern coast, is home to To Psaraki, a cliffside seafood restaurant above a small port. The setup is unusual: guests choose their fresh fish from a chiller drawer before the kitchen cooks it. The grilled octopus is sun-dried before it hits the flame, which gives it a texture you won’t find in the tourist tavernas of Oia. The Santorini grape tomato and goat cheese salad with tomato paste is a good option for children who aren’t ready for whole fish. The restaurant opens for lunch at 1:30 pm, and the seaside terrace overlooks the marina rather than a busy road. Access is easiest by car or taxi — the Fira-Perissa bus drops you about a 40-minute walk away.
Kamari’s beachfront is lined with places that cater to the resort crowd, but Fistikies consistently ranks as the top restaurant in the area. The menu is Mediterranean with a Greek base, and the shaded veranda keeps the sun off during the hot middle of the day. A children’s menu is available, and a playground sits close enough that parents can supervise from the table. The Fistikies website lists the full menu and seasonal opening hours.
Affiliate disclosure: This article includes affiliate links to Viator. If you book through one of them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the site!
If you want to explore the island’s food culture more deeply, there are cooking classes in Santorini that take you inside the ingredients — tomato keftedes, fava, the local white eggplant. For families who prefer to structure their day around meal stops, day trips from Santorini can be worth browsing for a change of pace.
How the restaurants compare
This table covers the seven restaurants mentioned above, with the details that matter most when you’re eating with children. Prices are approximate and can shift with the season.
| Restaurant | Location | Approx. cost per person | Kid-friendly features | Standout dish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metaxi Mas | Exo Gonia | €15–20 | Complimentary raki and dessert, no reservation needed at 6 pm | Seafood pasta |
| Metaxy Mas | Pyrgos | €12–18 | Playground nearby, staff welcomes children | Traditional Greek dishes |
| Mes Amis | Oia | €10–15 | Children’s menu, opens at 7:30 am, quiet terrace | Fresh juice and pastries |
| Cacio e Pepe | Fira | €12–15 | Handmade pasta, kitchen adjusts spice levels | Hand-stretched pizza |
| Mezzo | Imerovigli | €20–30 | Children’s menu, warm service, early evening dining | Grilled octopus |
| To Psaraki | Vlychada | €18–25 | Choose fresh fish from chiller, seaside terrace | Sun-dried grilled octopus |
| Fistikies | Kamari | €15–22 | Children’s menu, nearby playground, shaded veranda | Mediterranean seafood |
The table doesn’t capture one thing: opening hours. To Psaraki and Metaxi Mas are dinner-only, while Mes Amis and Fistikies serve lunch and early meals. Check the individual websites before heading out, especially in the shoulder seasons when hours change.
In Pyrgos, the playground near Metaxy Mas is most active in the late afternoon. If you arrive around 5 pm, your child can play for 20 minutes before the kitchen opens for dinner at 6 pm. The staff at Metaxy Mas are used to this timing.
The main pedestrian strip in Oia is lined with restaurants that charge €25–30 for a plate of spaghetti and a view of the caldera. None of the restaurants in this article are on that strip. If a menu in Oia has a photo of the sunset printed on it, keep walking.
Practical logistics for family dining
Most casual restaurants in Santorini don’t require reservations, but the ones in this article that sit in tourist areas — Mezzo in Imerovigli, Cacio e Pepe in Fira — benefit from a call a few hours ahead if you’re arriving during peak dinner hours. The quieter places like Metaxi Mas and To Psaraki almost never need one, especially if you arrive when they open.
Tipping follows the Greek standard: 5–10% of the bill, or simply rounding up. Children are welcome at every restaurant listed here, though the ones without a dedicated children’s menu will still prepare a simple plate of pasta or grilled meat if you ask. The Santorini on a budget guide covers more general cost-saving strategies for the island.
For families who want to turn a meal into a full afternoon, the area around Pyrgos and Exo Gonia is ideal: you can eat at Metaxy Mas, let the children use the playground, and then walk through the village’s narrow streets without battling crowds. The guide to finding Santorini’s best fresh tomato dishes with kids has more ideas for turning local ingredients into a family-friendly outing.
Key Takeaways
- Eat lunch instead of dinner to save €10–15 per main without sacrificing portion size or quality.
- Skip the caldera-edge restaurants in Oia and Fira entirely — the best family food is inland or on the south coast.
- Pyrgos and Exo Gonia offer the highest concentration of family-run tavernas with playgrounds nearby.
- Call ahead for Mezzo and Cacio e Pepe; walk in for Metaxi Mas, Metaxy Mas, and To Psaraki.
Which Santorini restaurant has the lowest prices for a family of four?
Metaxy Mas in Pyrgos and Cacio e Pepe in Fira both run around €12–15 per main. A family of four eating one main each and sharing a starter can expect a bill of roughly €50–60.
The playground at Metaxy Mas means you can add a drink or dessert without worrying about a restless child. Cacio e Pepe on Google Maps shows its location a short walk from the main Fira square.
Are any of these restaurants open for breakfast with children?
Mes Amis in Oia opens at 7:30 am and serves pastries, coffee, and a children’s menu. It’s one of the few Oia restaurants that welcomes families before the midday crowds arrive.
The terrace stays cool in the morning, and the kitchen prepares fresh juice and simple egg dishes that most children will eat without complaint.
What’s the biggest downside of eating at To Psaraki with young children?
The restaurant is dinner-only, opening at 1:30 pm for lunch, and access requires a car or taxi. The walk from the nearest bus stop is about 40 minutes, which is too long for most children after a day in the sun.
The cliffside terrace has no barriers at the edge, so you’ll need to keep younger children seated during the meal.
Do these restaurants accommodate food allergies or picky eaters?
Cacio e Pepe will adjust pasta dishes and avoid allergens if you tell the kitchen. Metaxi Mas and Metaxy Mas both prepare simple grilled meat or fish without sauce on request.
The children’s menus at Mezzo and Fistikies list the main allergens, and the staff at all seven restaurants speak enough English to discuss ingredients.
Which of these restaurants is most likely to be overrun with tourists in July?
Mezzo in Imerovigli and Cacio e Pepe in Fira see the most tourist traffic during peak season because of their locations in popular towns. Both still accept walk-ins, but the wait can reach 30 minutes at 8 pm.
The Pyrgos and Exo Gonia restaurants rarely experience the same crush, even in August, because the villages themselves draw fewer visitors.
What makes these restaurants genuinely underrated isn’t that they’re secret — it’s that they solve a problem most visitors don’t realise they have. Santorini’s famous dining rooms trade on views and scarcity, charging a premium for a seat at the edge of the caldera. The restaurants in this article trade on cooking that has survived tourism booms, economic shifts, and the pressure to Instagram-ise every plate. They’re still standing because the people who live here eat at them. The quiet village of Megalochori offers another pocket of the island where the same principle holds.
Sources and further reading
Best family restaurants in Santorini. Wanderlog, 2024.
Family-friendly restaurants in Santorini. BabyBreaks, 2024.
Santorini restaurant guide by neighbourhood. 360 Business Tour, 2024.
