SANTORINI: Metaxi Mas

Remember the absolute satisfaction of a truly special, no frills, home-made meal? Metaxi Mas has somehow managed to translate this feeling into every dish. One contributing factor is undoubtedly its location - tucked away in a quaint little stone cottage in Exo Gonia. Surprisingly, (or not, given its raving online reviews) every local we asked had heard of it and the taxi driver dropped us, unquestioningly, right at its doorstep. 

The best dish by far was the asparagus - roasted and embedded in a velvety cream cheese sauce flavoured with herbs and possibly a dash of white wine. Grilled octopus was a close second: glazed with thick balsamic vinegar and complemented with a side of meltingly warm fava beans, it sealed my new-found addiction to this whimsical-looking sea creature. Alas, it was no match for the grilled octopus at Anogi. But more on that in my next post. 

Pomegranate Salad
spinach, red and green leaf lettuce, spring onions, dill, orange, walnuts, parmesan, pomegranate and balsamic vinaigrette with honey

 A savoury souffle plump with the delicate flavours of cheese and spinach

Almost every restaurant in Santorini, including this one, is adoringly inhabited by fluffy cats with doleful eyes. "Some cats look for food, but this one is just looking for some love," the hostess told us, gesturing to the black cat lolling around on our bench area. 

The view from our table

The genuineness of its food and reasonable prices explains how Metaxi Mas achieved a #1 ranking out of 441 restaurants on Trip Advisor. I've come to trust Trip Advisor a lot less for restaurants after having relied on it for trips to Brighton, Athens and Croatia, but it definitely didn't go wrong with Metaxi Mas. 

The amazing thing was that every restaurant we went to, no matter how good or how famous, always had room for the 6 of us. There were never any queues or bookings required. Maybe we ate early, or maybe the tourist season just hadn't hit yet at the beginning of june, but it made our experience that much more sublime. 

Metaxi Mas

Exo Gonia Santorini

PO 84700