Greek Food
Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine and meat. Other important ingredients include olives, pasta, cheese, lemon juice, herbs, bread and yoghurt. The most commonly used grain is wheat; barley is also used. Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits and filo pastries.
It is strongly influenced by Ottoman cuisine and, especially in the cuisine of Anatolian Greeks, shares foods such as baklava, tzatziki, gyros, moussaka, dolmades and keftedes with neighbouring countries. To an even greater extent, it is influenced by Italian cuisine and cuisines from other neighbouring southern European countries.
Tilos is all about relaxed seaside tavernas, ultra-fresh seafood, goat dishes, meze, and long evenings with ouzo or local wine. The island is small, so most good food spots are around Livadia, Megalo Chorio, and Agios Antonios.
What to eat on Tilos
Some island specialties worth trying:
- Slow-roasted goat with potatoes — the island’s signature dish
- Fresh grilled octopus and cuttlefish stew
- Shrimp saganaki
- Stuffed vine leaves (yiaprakia)
- Local cheeses like myzithra and feta
- Thyme honey
- Simple meze with ouzo or tsipouro
Tilos itself is not a major wine-producing island like nearby Rhodes or Santorini, but you’ll still find very local “house wine” (χύμα κρασί) in tavernas — usually simple, dry, very drinkable island wine served in carafes.
What’s commonly poured on Tilos:
- White wine from Assyrtiko or Athiri grapes from Rhodes and nearby Dodecanese islands
- Light reds based on Mandilaria
- Homemade village wine from small family vineyards
- Resin-free traditional island wines (less commercial than mainland brands)
Some tavernas source wine from tiny family producers that never export or bottle commercially. If you want bottled local regional wines while on Tilos, look for wines from:
- Rhodes — especially CAIR, Emery, Kounaki
- Santorini Assyrtiko
- small Dodecanese producers using Athiri, Assyrtiko, and Mandilaria grapes
Greek island whites are usually:
- mineral,
- salty/dry,
- citrusy,
- perfect with octopus, grilled fish, and fried calamari.
For something uniquely Greek beyond wine, also try:
- ouzo with seafood meze,
- tsipouro after dinner,
- rakomelo (warm honey raki).
A very Tilos-style order at dinner would be:
grilled octopus + village salad + local white wine in a carafe.