Cafes and Restaurants in Parikia, Paros (Where We Actually Eat)

Parikia doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a place to eat. Most guides point everyone straight to Naoussa and leave it at that, but we’ve spent extended time based in Parikia across multiple trips and worked through a lot of the options.

When we were first staying in Paros, we based in Parikia and couldn’t find any information on restaurants

Everyone only talked about Naoussa. And while there are definitely some great places to eat in Naoussa, it wasn’t helpful to us! So, we decided to try as many restaurants in Parikia as we could!

Some were forgettable, a few were really good, d a handful became places we came back to every single time.

We also got to try a bunch of the coffee shops and bars in the area.

This guide covers the restaurants, cafes, and bars worth your time in Parikia, organized by category so you can find what you’re actually looking for.

Our Favorite Places to Eat in Parikia

Restaurant AROMAS or Yiannoulis Taverna are our top picks for a traditional Greek meal in Parikia, particularly if you’re coming from a day at Marcello Beach.

To Souvlaki Tou Pepe is the move for gyros, our favorite spot for coffee is Cultivos, and Evinos is where to go for a sunset cocktail on the water!

Here’s a deeper breakdown of each of our favorite restaurants.

1. Restaurant AROMAS

AROMAS sits along the harbor front just north of the port on Livadia Beach, with open-air seating that feels enclosed and relatively private despite being right on the water.

The taverna is very relaxed, and while the location might seem a bit inconvenient at first, it’s really just a 5 to 10 minute walk from town.

We came here on the way back from Marcello Beach one afternoon and ended up making it a proper dinner. The Greek salad was the best we had in Paros. That’s not something we say lightly after eating our way around both islands.

Prices are standard for Parikia. The ingredients were fresh, the feta was excellent, and the proportions were right. The moussaka was equally good, the kind that’s been made properly rather than assembled quickly for tourists.

Cost: €12-20 per person
Opening Hours: Varies
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2. To Souvlaki Tou Pepe

When we wanted some classic gyros or a quick meal, we’d walk over to To Souvlaki Tou Pepe, which had the best souvlaki and gyros in Parikia.

Okay, in reality, we come here every other day! We always order the gyros, but there are other Greek dishes to try. The rest of the menu resembles a traditional Greek taverna, with a variety of meat dishes (souvlaki), appetizers, paninis, and salads.

When you look on the map, you’ll see that Tou Pepe (as the locals call it) is right on the water, but there isn’t really a view of anything except the commercial port, and the outdoor seating is right next to a busy street.

Cost: €4-11 per person
Opening Hours: 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
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3. Yiannoulis Taverna

Yiannoulis is a classic Greek taverna on the waterfront boardwalk in Parikia, with tables set right out on the promenade. It’s the kind of place that’s easy to walk past without stopping, which would be a mistake.

We ordered a spread of Greek dishes including souvlaki, meatballs, and zucchini fries, and everything was solid. Nothing was trying to be anything other than what it was… simply well-made Greek food in a great location. Typically you don’t need a reservation, though we’ve heard it can fill up on summer evenings!

Hint: There’s seating with a view of the water, but we actually like sitting out back looking over the courtyard!

Cost: €9-15 per person
Opening Hours: 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
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4. Mira Restaurant

Mira is a seaside restaurant with a view of the water. Most of the menu is seafood, and it’s a little more expensive than the other places on this list, which is why we’d save it for a more romantic evening.

The seafood specials change daily and they run deals for two under €50. They’re only open for dinner, so make a reservation.

Cost: €12-25 per person
Opening Hours: 6:00 PM – 11:45 PM
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5. Big Noses

Big Noses was one of our favorite places to eat in Paros, but we also came here to get coffee and work from time to time. They don’t have a huge menu, but everything feels very classy, and it’s the place to go when you’ve been in Greece for a while and just want something a little different than Greek food.

You’ll find chili burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, pastrami sandwiches, and flatbread pizzas. Then, there are ‘morning bites’ with a Middle-Eastern flare served until 2:00 pm.

The owners were incredibly nice to us, and the service was a big reason we continued coming back!

Cost: €8-12 per person
Opening Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Closed Tuesday)
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6. Burger Street

Sometimes you’ve been eating Greek food for five days straight and you just want a burger. Burger Street is where to go in Parikia when that moment arrives, and it will.

We ordered the Tex Mex Spicy Burger and it hit exactly the right spot. The food is fast, the prices are what you’d expect to pay anywhere in Greece for a casual meal, and there’s no pretense about what it is. It’s a good burger spot tucked into Parikia’s streets, and it earns its place on this list precisely because it’s a different option from everything else around it.

Cost: €9-15 per person
Opening Hours: 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM
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7. Oasis Cafe

Oasis is the restaurant at the base of Oasis Hotel, one of the highest-rated hotels near Paros Port.

They have a ton of Western dishes on the menu, rather than Greek food. For example, you’ll find items like Black Angus burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, turkey wraps, chicken bao buns, shrimp tacos, and avocado salad.

However, pizza is our favorite thing to get here since there is such a huge variety. It’s all made from scratch, and they have so many interesting options like salmon pizza, cold-cut pizza, mushrooms with truffle oil, and Mediterranean. A solid choice when you want something filling that isn’t a taverna.

Cost: €9-15 per person
Opening Hours: 6:00 AM – 11:30 PM
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8. Cuore Rosso

Cuore Rosso has become one of the premier dining spots for authentic Italian cuisine in Paros. It’s behind the Frankish Castle, tucked in the winding pedestrian streets of Old Town, with a charming ambiance and a beautiful garden where you can sit outside on the streets.

The menu has lots of gluten-free pizza and vegan options, which are hard to find in Paros. Some of the most popular dishes, outside of the pizza, include their Gnocco Fritto with tomato sauce and The Panna Cotta for dessert.

The only issue is that it’s hard to find if you don’t already know about it, and it’s only open for dinner!

Cost: €8-15 per person
Opening Hours: 6:00 PM – 12:00 AM
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Cafes & Coffee Shops

Parikia’s coffee scene has improved. Cultivos arrived and immediately raised the bar near the port, and the established spots like Pagkaki and Ragoussis are still solid.

Believe it or not, Big Noses was one of our favorites, but it’s more of a restaurant, so we included it in the previous section.

Since we were working a lot while staying in Parikia, we spent a lot of time trying to find the best coffee shops in Paros. Here’s where we’d send you.

9. Cultivos Coffee

Cultivos is the best coffee on the port. It’s a specialty coffee chain from the Greek mainland with locations across the country, and the quality is noticeably a step above the standard island cafe.

The one honest caveat: it’s right next to the ferry port, which means it gets extremely busy, especially when boats are arriving and departing. The noise and foot traffic make it better for a takeaway than a sit-down work session. Grab your coffee and walk.

Cost: €3-6 per person
Opening Hours: 7:30 AM – 10:00 PM
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10. Pagkaki Cafe

Pagkaki Cafe is a small local coffee shop that serves some of the best espresso in town. I especially loved the cortado.

We also had breakfast here a couple of times. They have many quality Western dishes that might be familiar to travelers, such as Avocado Toast, Eggs Benedict, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and omelets. We also appreciate that Pagkaki stays open a lot later into the winter after all other touristy cafes close down for the season.

There isn’t much seating indoors, but during high season, their bright yellow and black seating sprawls out onto the walking street to ensure there’s enough for everyone!

Cost: €6-9 per person
Opening Hours: 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM (Closed Sunday)
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11. Ragoussis Bakery

Ragoussis Bakery’s main location is in Naoussa, but it’s one of the best all-around places to get coffee in Parikia and even stay for a meal.

It’s primarily a bakery, but we would come here to work for a while and have a few cups of coffee. They have all the classic espresso drinks you’d expect at a coffee shop. I usually ordered an Americano, and Sarah would get a latte with just a hint of vanilla syrup!

But they also serve tons of other authentic Greek pastries, such as spinach pie (Spanakopita), cheese Pie (Tiropita), Peinirli, and sweet treats like loukoumades, Siropiasta, and gelato.

Cost: €3-7 per person
Opening Hours: 24 Hours
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12. Cafe Symposium Paros

Cafe Symposium is a popular cafe nestled in the heart of Old Town Parikia, Greece. Over the past few years, it’s become a beloved spot for tourists looking for an espresso bar with a beautiful ambiance.

The entire outdoor seating area is shaded by lush bougainvillea, making it one of the most beautiful and Instagrammable cafes in Paros.

Definitely come expecting crowds, though!

They have all the coffee options you’d expect, from lattes to cappuccinos, americanos, and Greek coffee. But it’s also known for its savory crepes and breakfast/brunch options, like the salmon bagel and bacon + egg platters.

There’s a small break in the late afternoon, but Cafe Symposium re-opens as a small bar with select drinks and continues serving crepes late into the evening.

Cost: €6-8 per person
Opening Hours: 9:15 AM – 3:00 PM / 6:15 PM – 11:45 PM
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Bars in Parikia

Parikia stays up late. You may have noticed that a lot of the restaurants stay open until close to midnight. After that, there are still a couple of beer gardens and bars to hang out at until the early hours of the morning.

13. Hops and Colors

Hops and Colors is the place to go in Parikia for craft beer. The beer bar serves local brews from all over Greece.

Most of their beer comes from Strange Brew Athens, which, as you might guess from the name, has unique beers like a Jasmine IPA and a Lemonfarm Saison. However, they also have bottles for sale from Athens Noctua Microbrewery, Mykonos Brewing Company, Chios Microbrewery, and Alea Brewing Co.

It’s a really fun atmosphere, and in the summer, you can enjoy DJ Sets starting at 10:00 PM.

Cost: €4-7 per person
Opening Hours: 6:00 PM – 3:00 AM
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14. Evinos

Evinos is the best seaside bar in Parikia. The cocktails are nice—especially the whiskey sour and London calling—but the bar is more noteworthy for its ambiance and its sunset views over the water.

Guests also get complimentary snacks like popcorn and nuts to accompany the drinks.

The cocktails cost around €12, which is certainly a little overpriced, but that’s to be expected from a touristy bar in Paros.

Cost: €10-12 per person
Opening Hours: 6:00 PM – 3:00 AM
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14. Kafepotopoleio Pinoklis

Pinoklis is a traditional kafepotopoleio, a Greek cafe-bar hybrid, serving tsipouro (the local spirit), meze plates, and small sharing dishes. Most evenings there’s live Greek music, which in a Parikia setting has a local feel rather than a tourist performance.

We haven’t personally eaten here, but it comes up consistently among people who know Parikia well, particularly for groups who want to share a lot of dishes and settle in for the evening. It sits along the harbor front south of the port.

Cost: €10-20 per person
Opening Hours: 12:00 PM – 2:00 AM
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Parikia is a better base than most people give it credit for, and eating well here is easier than the guides suggest.

If you’re still working out where to stay on the island, our breakdown of the best places to stay in Paros covers all the main areas.

And if you’re heading up to Naoussa for the day, our guide to the best restaurants in Naoussa has everything you need for that side of the island.