We were supposed to stay in a small country house/villa in Geni for our Lefkada Greek Island beach holiday last summer, but the tour operator we booked with came back with bad news, informing us that the location is fully booked and that we didn’t make it to the cut. We were very disappointed nonetheless because we were really looking forward to staying here. We knew this place was special. Luckily, the other accommodation available we have chosen was a nice hotel along the Nydri Marina with beautiful views to the water from the balcony.
Geni is a peninsula not too far away from busy and touristy Nydri. You can get here with the car or boat. The nice thing about this place is the quiet location, and down the small harbour of the village you can find a number of tavernas sitting on the water. Many have built extended jetties where you can tie a small boat and even dine on it as well.
It is very romantic and beautiful here in Geni. Just how you would picture a Greek island summer holiday to be like. Because we really liked this place, we came here 3x! The first time was to have our lunch at Elena’s Taverna (delicious spinach pies and Greek salad). The second time was a beautiful dinner at Dimitris, hence this blog entry. And the third was our last evening’s dinner at Seaside Restaurant, voted as the number one restaurant in Lefkada on Tripadvisor.
What we love about Dimitris is that their jetty is big and is really out there on the open water. You have a great view of Vlicho Bay all the way to Nydri. You have also a good view of the other waterside restaurants and the hilly village. It is breathtaking here.
Strangely, many diners on this particular evening were having dinner at the other restaurants. I had the feeling that these tavernas have a much better marketing than Dimitris. I saw a few business cards of these establishments at tour operators offices when we booked our rental car and a boat trip. When we had lunch at Elena many came in groups with tour guides as well.
Nevertheless, we chose Dimitris for its lovely location. They could make the tables more attractive though by placing plants or flowers, and perhaps candles as well. It just gives a nicer come on touch to the place. But you can really feel that it’s a mom and pop taverna. The father and children helping the guests while mom cooks. That’s the impression we had and we liked that. Dutchman and I are for supporting local small entrepreneurs.
We didn’t really had a proper huge starter. We ordered an aubergine salad (called Melitzanosalata) to go with the bread. This was nice, and as we slowly ate the bread with the salad as topping we take in the lovely view around us. Oh, I cannot stress it enough that it was a nice feeling to be dining on the water =)
Then our main courses arrived, which by the way took ages. If there is one thing this taverna needs to drastically change it is the speed of their service. Overall, the service and friendliness of Dimitris and his family were absolutely wonderful, but the speed is an issue they need to address. I wish they could have some light music playing in the background as well.
Dutch mother was not very hungry so she settled for a big tuna salad. The Dutchman had some grilled chicken with vegies and fries while I went for seafood again. A delicious plate of grilled prawns. Ah, this was so juicy and delicious, I just had to lick my fingers.
For our coffee, we had 3 different types. The Dutchman ordered a cappuccino, moi an espresso of course and the Dutchman mother, a normal Nescafe coffee. We paired this with some Baklava dessert from the house. Of course this was very sweet for me so I only tasted a bit and left it to the rest of the group to finish.
We loved to bits our dinner here and I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Lekfada. Do take note that there is another Dimitris up in the mountains in Paleokatouna. So if you go here, always say Dimitris in Geni, the taverna on the water.
TIP: This taverna provides its own fresh catch in an underwater cage so you can pick your own fish of choice. If you do not have a car, scooter or boat, you can take the taxis in Nydri. I think prices go between 5-10 euros one-way. You can bargain of course for a retour service.
Travel Period: June-July 2016
Destination: Nydri, Lefkada (Ionian Islands), Greece
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
All pictures were taken by a point and shoot pocket camera or an smartphone.