When we visited Greece last October 2025, I was only expecting to be by the beach again and hopefully eat a lot of seafood. Seafood is expensive and doesn't have much variety in Austria for geographical reasons. I lived most of my life in the Philippines where you can find seafood everywhere - grocery stores, small eateries, street food vendors, restaurants, and fastfood chains. Even McDonald's sometimes offer shrimp burgers and fish & fries. After living in Austria for three years where this isn't the norm, re-living this lifestyle in Greece made me very happy.
Restaurant Anna
On our first day in Paros, the receptionist highly recommended "Restaurant Anna". I'm usually a bit skeptic of recommendations but we decided to try it anyway. We went there for dinner and every dish we ordered was fresh and delicious. The owner and waiters were also very nice and gave us free desserts that we still managed to enjoy despite us already being very full. A few days later, we decided to go back there for dinner again to try their other dishes.
The servings were generous and while the free dessert looked simple, it tasted a lot better than it looks. The Greek yogurt was cold and very thick, it was like eating gelato and the fruit jam had big chunks of fruit. It didn't taste too sweet, it was just right. It was funny to see another tourist eat the dessert, close his eyes, smile, and nod. It tasted THAT good.
Taverna Julia
On another day, we visited a restaurant called "Taverna Julia". Here, we really failed to finish our food. Not only did we order mostly fried food, we also ate the bread that every restaurant in this area leave on the table. All the dishes were delicious but they weren't as good as the previous restaurant but maybe it's not a fair comparison due to the type of food we ordered. The sausage was really good though.
My excitement for visiting Greece was mostly for the seafood so I wasn't expecting the sausage to be so delicious. It was a great surprise. The fried small shrimps with shells reminded me of the Philippines. Back home, we ate this with vinegar but in Greece, we ate it with lemon. Same function, I guess. I really enjoyed eating this dish although I know it's not for everyone but the shells add extra crunch and taste to the dish.
Walking Around Parikia
On another day, we visited the main port, Parikia. It was sunny and there weren't many people. Several restaurants were still open and we weren't really sure where to eat. In the afternoon, we tried some Greek coffee at a place called "Secret Cafe". Neither of us is a fan of this coffee, unfortunately. Still, it was a nice place to rest and pass the time before checking out the old town.
Bountaraki
After walking around the old town, we decided to eat dinner at a place called "Bountaraki". This place seemed to have a lot more locals in it. The waitress who served us was super friendly. She joked about us giving some of our Baklava to an old man who raved so much about it. Sorry, old man, the Baklava is ours. That old man was eating at the table next to us. He is a local and is very friendly. Before we were served our dessert, he approached us to introduce himself, had a bit of small-talk with my partner and complimented the Baklava.
While eating our Baklava, it started raining outside where we were seated. It looked like even the rain wanted our dessert. We hurried inside and finished eating. While waiting for the rain to stop, it was hard to resist the temptation of ordering another one but we were so full, we just decided to wait until we can walk around the old town again.
Let's switch our focus off the Baklava and talk about the Dakos salad. They served us this big bowl of salad with some kind of croutons in it that they call "rusks". All the other ingredients like tomatoes, cheese, capers, olives, and others tasted so fresh, it changed my view on salads. Before this trip, I was never really a fan of salads. I even disliked tomatoes at some point while living in Austria. Aside from a few exceptions, whenever I hear "salad" in the West, I think about lettuce and I find that so boring. On our first week of arrival in Austria, Dakos salad was one of the first dishes I made. I really liked it a lot.
Restaurant Anna (Again)
Our one week of stay in Greece was about to end and we wanted to enjoy a full day of just chilling at the beach before we leave. We decided to eat at Restaurant Anna again and order some take-away for the next day.
Conclusion
I'm really happy we visited Paros, Greece. Aside from the beach and the delicious seafood, I learned a new salad recipe that I know I can always enjoy.
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