The best restaurants in Santorini

This restaurant and beach bar on bustling Perivolos beach wouldn’t look out of place in Ibiza, with its Moët and oyster bar in the black sand. Waitresses in cut-offs deliver elaborate fruit platters and Champagne cocktails to the cabanas; in the airy restaurant, the volume is loud and the focus is on Med-Asian seafood.

BOTARGO

At the pinnacle of Pyrgos, Santorini’s prettiest village, is a medieval fortress where people flock to Franco’s, a classic spot for operatic sundowners. Now there’s another reason to venture up the meandering alleys. In a 19th-century mansion, Botargo has original frescoes on the ceiling, modern art on the walls, Cole Porter on the stereo, and white linen tables scattered across the candlelit square, balcony and roof terrace. The team have triumphed with the Mediterranean menu: marinated octopus with fava bean, marjoram oil and pickled carrots, John Dory with beetroot cream and fennel sauce, and a sensational chocolate cake with hazelnuts and sea salt.

OVAC

One of the loveliest hotels on Mykonos, Cavo Tagoo opened an offshoot on Santorini last year – a ritzy little number with 11 rooms poised on the caldera. But the accommodation is almost an afterthought: the star attraction is the clubby poolside restaurant, Ovac, where a glamorous crowd gather at night for the island’s best sushi and cocktails (my favourite, the Aegean Julep, is a refreshing blend of gin, cucumber, ginger, lemon and green-apple liqueur topped with Aegean tonic). At first, the Greco-Asian menu is confusing. You’re not sure whether to order king-crab tacos or halloumi saganaki. Whichever direction you take, you can’t go wrong. Spanakopita gyoza, sea-bass nigiri with sriracha, lobster and black-truffle giouvetsi are outstanding. Even a simple dish of broccolini charred on the wood-fired grill is heaven. But none of it comes cheap.