Local cuisine

When you’re on holiday in Corfu, you simply must sample the local cuisine. The Greeks take immense pride in their traditional dishes, and the aromas of these authentic foods, prepared with skill and passion, will perfume the air and leave you with vivid memories of your stay.

Fresh fish, meat, vegetables and moussaka all feature prominently on Corfu’s menus, alongside distinctive local products such as honey, wine and cheese. For starters, try the classics melitzanosalata and taramosalata – two dips, really – one made from aubergines and the other from fish roe, spread onto bread. Or sample some of the numerous meatballs, which might be based on fish, potatoes, fried vegetables, courgettes or meat. Don’t miss the Numbulo, a unique type of cured meat produced only on the island of Corfu.

Dolmadakia – vine leaf rolls filled with rice – are a traditional favourite, as are saganaki with mussels, where the shellfish come with a wonderful tomato and cheese sauce. Absolutely delicious!

Worth trying, more as a snack than a starter really, are tyropitakia – pastry parcels filled with feta cheese, though you’ll also find them made with other cheeses and with ham and cheese.

No proper Greek meal is complete without tzatziki, a yogurt, garlic and cucumber sauce that pairs beautifully with Greek salad (horiatiki), traditionally served as a starter in Greece, and with meat dishes.

For your main course, you might choose meat, souvlaki (skewers), stifado (veal braised with onion and tomato), bifteki (a flavourful meatloaf), or papoutsakia (aubergines stuffed with meat and béchamel sauce). Also worth trying is sofrito, veal cooked in wine sauce. To accompany your meal, opt for imam (aubergines stuffed with tomatoes) or briam (roasted vegetables).

Fish here comes in every variety and preparation imaginable: shellfish, molluscs, fried, grilled, baked in paper. Signature Corfu dishes include a wonderfully flavourful reef fish soup and grey mullet cooked in a pan with wine and lemon.

Beyond feta, try manuri, another sheep’s cheese, as well as tirokafteri and ladotiri – both with a pleasant kick.

For a quick lunch, grab a pita gyros – a wrap filled with pork that you can customise with toppings. Beyond the traditional tzatziki sauce, you might add chips, tomatoes, onion and salad.

Corfu produces Kum Quat, a sweet liqueur that rivals ouzo, one of Greece’s most famous drinks.

Bon appétit!