Kamari Beach Santorini Greece whilst a quiet town compared to the capital Fira or the most well known tourist area of Oia Village world-famous for its iconic white and blue architecture, domed churches and breathtaking sunset views it offers a relaxed vibe for tourists and an ocean front “strand” running parallel to Makedonias (Macedonia St)
It’s here where you’ll find all the bars and cafes.
The four best ones I tried were Dolce, Mango, Prince and Psatha.
When I visited it was the start of the season, May, and it wasn’t busy. The takeaways for me were how hard hit the island’s economy has been and whilst this area of Santorini has potential to be truly spectacular the clientele and people watching was sunburnt Brits on holiday. Had it not been for the black volcanic beaches and spectacular Aegean sunsets I could have been in Skegness.
I don’t drink very much, one cocktail and a glass of wine with diner on special occasions but I did go in search of a decaf expresso martini, I know I prefer without the caffeine these days too and a refreshing gin and tonic.
My first observation is there’s a problem with flat tonic on Santorini. After four or five attempts in different places I gave up. The tonic wasn’t fizzy. The first place I tried I actually sent the drink back until I realised it wasn’t an isolated incident.
Santorini is famous for its winery tours. The island's wine cooperatives offer expansive multi-level terraces with jaw-dropping, unobstructed caldera views but this didn’t trickle down to the wine served in the Kamari Beach bars, I am not going to point any bar out specifically but I did try reds and whites in different places and for me they were all undrinkable.
I stuck with the Expresso Martini my signature drink. The best one I had was in a sports bar/cocktail bar Dolce on Panagias Myrtidiotissas Street at the intersection with the Kamari promenade. This spot was one of the busiest, played the best music Luther Vandross, Mary J Blige; had the most obliging and best looking servers and mixed the best Expresso Martini (even though it wasn’t decaf).
Next door on the Promenade is the Mango bar offering a happy hour and 2 for 1 cocktails. Here the Martini wasn’t so good, very very sweet and I couldn’t get the wine, a glass of red down.
I ordered dessert and the waffle that arrived, laden with warm chocolate sauce, a crumbly biscuit crumb and creamy vanilla ice cream made up for the drinks. It was the best dessert I ate on the island. It’s a great bar with loads of potential, I imagined had it been my place, instead of working so hard to drag in passers by off the strip a practise I found very off putting, I’d be more inclined to use reverse psychology, rent a good looking crowd to get the party started and let curiosity do the rest. In a few weeks I am sure these spots will be packed but whilst I could see great potential were pretty dead when I visited. They are also quite expensive, a couple of drinks and dessert will cost you anywhere between €35 and €50 euros, service is not included.
A smaller “more Greek” bar further along Psatha I enjoyed. I didn’t eat dinner but the pizza coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled absolutely delicious. Behind is the Sunshine hotel so travellers with back packs milled in and out and locals sat around tables drinking coffee, chatting and laughing. It felt the most “Greek” the service was very friendly and accommodating, it was my first “gin and tonic” experience but I tried to order a gin and tonic in three of four different places and they were all the same. In one place the bar tender didn’t know what it was and offered me a “sex on the beach” instead which probably creates a picture of the clientele visiting the area. It’s rustic.
The last bar to mention is Prince, which is probably the most inviting visually. It’s large and very modern architecture with comfy couches and potted palms was appealing and although the playlist wasn’t to my taste, more Mediterranean vibes, think belly dancing music it was one of the bars in Kamari Beach that attracted the most people. Usually a good sign.
The service was great, Eugene our waiter was very accommodating and as he got to know me definitely warmed up. He worked hard to find a wine by the glass; the best wines served by the bottle. He didn’t succeed with the reds, I opted for white in the end. All I can say if you are used to drinking good wine try a local beer instead.
Again the dessert was the highlight at Prince. The banana split, served in a sundae glass, with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and nuts was the perfect accompaniment to watching a spectacular sunset.
All the bars serve food, if you want to enjoy dinner by the sea and based on the desserts and lunches I enjoyed the food is definitely a highlight. For vegans and vegetarians loads of options too. I was recommended to go to Voodoo bar for happy hour which had a lively night club scene, and also Love Boat if you like Kareoke. Both looked fun but not my style.