More Seafood Lunching at Irini’s – Santorini
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When not eating lobster, my crew and I ate lots and lots of fish; mostly during lunch, right after applying sun block on the beach. A nap by the water usually followed. Tough life, eh? Of all the beach lunches, the best was at Irini’s, a beach front restaurant on Kamari Beach.
As usual, the meal consisted of a Greek salad (€8.50/$12.20). This one was particularly interesting because it contained brined caper leaves. You get the flavor of capers but without the pungency. I bought a jar to bring back home in Oia later that night. The caper leaves made the salad interesting, but the cherry tomatoes made the Greek salad really delicious. Again, the cherry tomatoes in Santorini are amazingly sweet. The cherry tomatoes taste like sweet, plump grape tomatoes.
We also had grilled zucchini (€5.90/$8.47) with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The presentation was beautiful, but the zucchini was better at Dimitris. The zucchini was a little dry. Perhaps a little too grilled?
At Irini’s we ordered shrimp saganaki (€14.90/$21.39), a hot gratin of shrimp, tomato sauce, and feta cheese. Fried cheese is great, but baked cheese with sauce and head-on shrimp is a whole ‘nother lever. The shrimp were juicy with just enough saltiness from the cheese and the heads, once popped off, were filled with lots of creamy goo. Again, a whole ‘nother level.
Grilled squid (€16.90/$24.26) was also very good. It was charred well while still tender to the bite.
And then the fish. There were a few to choose from, local and farmed. Of couse we chose a fresh, local fish. In this case it was gilt-head sea bream (€39/$55.99) which was simply grilled, de-boned table-side, and drizzled with lemon-olive oil.
David and I both preferred this fish than the one at Dimitris. David preferred it because the flavor was more mild, and I liked it because the meat was more delicate. If you like chewier, oilier, and/or stronger flavored fish, there are other fish to choose from. Ask the waiter and he’ll not only advise, he’ll show you all the fish they have in stock. Pick one and it’ll arrive at your table perfectly cooked.
Sweet dreams on the beach shouldn’t be too far behind.
Irini’s
Kamari Beach (map)
Santorini, Greece
22860-31246
I haven’t been to the Greek Isles, but I’ve been to Athens and your photos are bringing back many food memories for me. All the food looks just amazing.
ARGH, stop writing about foods that will kill me :'(
How fancy is this place supposed to be? The prices are not cheap by any standards. Could be why Greek finances are a mess.
@Kalyn – You must go to Greek islands! So pretty, and the seafood… oh my god…
@Nicholas – Seafood? You can’t eat seafood?!!! I’m so sad for you! 🙁
@Pretender – Never said this was a cheap place. Cheaper would have been better, but Santorini isn’t a place you go to for deals, and this place in particular was right on the beach. Not exactly a hole in the wall type of place.
Your photos are beautiful! What type of camera do you use? Also, did any of the restaurants you blogged about in Greece take credit card or was it important to have cash with you? Thank you!
@Courtney – Thanks so much! I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi. I used my credit card pretty much everywhere in Greece except at the smaller gyro and souvlaki shops. The only restaurant I went to on the trip where they didn’t take credit cards was Karavitis in Athens. I miss Greece! Enjoy!