Arkasa is a small village on the west side of Karpathos, with a couple of hotels and apartments. The village itself is divided by an inlet from the sea, with the main road following the inlet. If you are on foot, however, there is a shortcut from the main pedestrian area to the other side, where you find the church and a wonderful sunset bar. The main street through the village turns into a pedestrian area from 6pm until after midnight, while during the day cars are allowed on the street. Most restaurants can be found along this street, so it is no wonder that already on our first morning we headed there for breakfast after the red eye flight.
There are more places on the other side of the great divide, aka the inlet, so Arkasa really has something for everyone. From bars to tavernas and restaurants, I loved the choice we had at our home base for the duration of the vacation. Yours, Pollybert
Arkasa @Karpathos
the main street in the evening @Arkasa
We stopped at Creperie Sweet Time on the main street for coffee, orange juice, a Greek sandwich with olives, tomatoes and feta cheese, as well as Greek yogurt with fruit and honey. There is nothing better than starting your day with the best already.
breakfast @Creperie Sweet Time
To Steki tou Markou: We came here for dinner once, and it is quite a lovely place, set not on the main street but rather on a side street shortly before the footpath to the other side opens up.
To Steki tou Markou @Arkasa
The restaurant does have a menu, but it is a lot easier to just head inside and see what is on offer. We shared aubergine salad, giant beans in tomato sauce, a Greek salad, Greek potatoes, which were so good and lemony, as well as yellow cheese fried with lemon. I loved the Greek potatoes and the giant beans. These dishes were just perfect. The fried cheese was a bit much, and I could have easily done without it.
aubergine and Greek salad @To Steki tou Markou
giant beans and Greek potatoes @To Steki Tou Markou
fried cheese with lemon @To Steki tou Markou
Kipos Taverna: If you are in the mood for something fancier, then give Kipos Taverna a try. It was the only restaurant where we ordered a bottle of wine instead of a carafe.
Kipos Taverna @Arkasa
a bottle of rose @Kipos Taverna
We shared a Greek salad, stuffed zucchini flowers, a stuffed pepper, which was more like a pepper with cheese, a stuffed calamari with rice and cheese, which was absolutely fabulous, and briam. The vegetables from the oven lacked a lot of salt, but that could easily be remedied.
Greek salad and stuffed zucchini flowers @Kippos Taverna
stuffed pepper @Kippos Taverna
stuffed calamari and briam @Kipos Taverna
To Steki Elaxx: Honestly, I cannot remember the exact name of the taverna, and I apparently did not take a picture of it. In any case, it would not have helped, as it for sure has no online presence. An elderly couple runs this place, which is in between the sunset bar Numesta and a restaurant called Mezze. It has a couple of tables outside and a large window front looking into their kitchen. There is really not much to see, and the menu is very simple. Whatever was available and whatever they felt like cooking. We came here twice, as the food was simple but very authentic.
On our first evening, we shared olives, a stuffed pepper and tomato, sausage stew with peppers, onion and tomato sauce, as well as dolmades. The sausage stew was very tasty, the stuffed vegetables were missing mint in the filling, and the dolmades were a bit bland. The tiny olives, though, which came from Karpathos, made up for it.
dinner @To Steki Elaxx
Dinner on our last night looked a bit different, and we ordered way more than we actually needed. This time we got some Greek salad, tzatziki, again the small olives, and stuffed zucchini flowers. Plus, we also got a main dish, which was meatballs with vegetable rice and potatoes. The meatballs were heavenly.
zucchini flowers, olives, tzatziki, and Greek salad @To Steki Elaxx
meatballs with rice and potatoes @To Steki Elaxx,
