Best Restaurants Open on Sunday in Santorini 2026
Published · Updated
Santorini runs on a tourist season, not a working week, so in summer almost nothing closes on a Sunday. The real question is which caldera-view table to book and how far ahead. These are six rooms worth the reservation, from a Michelin-pedigree seafood kitchen in Imerovigli to a locals' taverna in the hills, with the order to make at each.
On Santorini in summer, Sunday is no different from any night: Selene, Lauda, Varoulko Santorini and Nobu all serve daily, alongside the hillside taverna Metaxi Mas and the seafood spot To Psaraki.
Unlike a big city, Santorini keeps almost every serious kitchen open seven days a week through the season, roughly April to October, so a Sunday booking is rarely the problem. The problem is the sunset. The caldera-view tables at the top rooms book out days, sometimes weeks, ahead for the hour around sundown, Sunday included. Below are six restaurants we confirmed are open and running this season, each with its real hours, a dish to order, and where it sits on the island. Treat the times as a guide and call ahead, because island kitchens flex with the season.
Selene
Cycladic fine dining · Fira · daily 7pm–11pm
Selene has championed Cycladic ingredients for decades and now occupies a former monastery within Katikies Garden in Fira. Dinner runs 7pm to 11pm, daily through the season, so Sunday is a normal service. The kitchen, which has worked with Michelin-pedigree chef Ettore Botrini, builds its menu around the island's volcanic produce: white aubergine, the famous Santorini cherry tomato, and the local fava. Order the fava and whatever the day's catch is. This is the island's reference point for Santorinian cooking taken seriously, and a strong choice for a quieter, food-first Sunday.
Lauda
Contemporary Greek · Oia · daily dinner 7pm–10:30pm
Lauda opened in 1971 as the first restaurant in Oia and now sits within the Andronis Boutique Hotel, perched directly over the caldera. Dinner runs 7pm to 10:30pm daily in season. This is the island's most ambitious tasting-menu room, built on contemporary Greek cooking and one of the most photographed sunset terraces in the Aegean. Sunday booking is the same as any night here, which is to say competitive, so reserve a week or two ahead and ask for a terrace table timed to sundown. Children under 13 are not accommodated, so it is an adults' evening.
Varoulko Santorini
Seafood fine dining · Imerovigli · daily dinner
Varoulko Santorini is the island outpost of Lefteris Lazarou, the first chef cooking Greek cuisine to earn a Michelin star, and it sits within the Grace Hotel in Imerovigli with a clifftop view across the volcano. It opened in 2022 and runs a daily dinner service through the season. The cooking is seafood-led and precise, drawing on Lazarou's decades at the Athens flagship. Order the seafood tasting and let the kitchen steer. With the Grace's position on the caldera edge, this is one of the most dramatic Sunday-night tables on the island, so book ahead and request the sunset hour.
Nobu Santorini
Japanese-Peruvian · Imerovigli · daily dinner
Nobu Santorini brings the Matsuhisa playbook to a clifftop in Imerovigli, inside the Nobu Hotel Santorini. The kitchen runs the familiar Japanese-Peruvian menu nightly through the season, with subtle Greek and Mediterranean touches. Order the black cod with miso, the yellowtail jalapeño and the rock-shrimp tempura, the dishes that made the brand. It is not a Santorinian experience and makes no claim to be; it is the island's pick for a diner who wants a known, polished menu with the caldera as backdrop. Sunday is a normal service, but the view tables book out fast.
Metaxi Mas
Taverna · Exo Gonia · daily 2pm–midnight
Metaxi Mas is the restaurant locals send you to when you ask where they eat, a Cretan-leaning taverna tucked behind a church in the inland village of Exo Gonia. It runs daily from 2pm to midnight, so a long Sunday lunch or a relaxed Sunday dinner both work. There is no caldera view; the draw is honest cooking and a shaded terrace. Order the slow-cooked lamb, the mussels saganaki and the grilled octopus. It is the antidote to the island's hotel restaurants, and the value is the best on this list, so book by phone because weekend tables go quickly.
To Psaraki
Seafood taverna · Vlychada · daily in season
To Psaraki, the little fish, sits above the working marina at Vlychada on the island's quieter south coast, where fishing boats land the catch a few steps from the tables each morning. It serves lunch and dinner daily through the season, away from the Oia crowds. There is no caldera here, just the harbour and the sunset over the water, which many regulars prefer. Order whatever the boats brought in, simply grilled, with a carafe of local white. It is a seafood-first Sunday for diners who would rather watch fishermen than influencers, and it books up on weekends.
Booking a Sunday table in Santorini
Santorini dining is a seasonal, sunset-driven business. From spring to autumn the restaurants below run daily, Sunday included, but they trade on the caldera view, so the tables that face Oia and the volcano book first. Reserve the hotel fine-dining rooms, Selene, Lauda, Varoulko and Nobu, several days to two weeks ahead, and ask specifically for a sunset slot. The hillside and harbour tavernas, Metaxi Mas and To Psaraki, take same-week bookings by phone. A car or taxi is essential; the best rooms are spread across Fira, Oia, Imerovigli, Exo Gonia and Vlychada. Tipping around 10 percent is normal.
Frequently asked questions
Are restaurants in Santorini open on Sunday?
Yes. Santorini runs on a tourist season rather than a working week, so from roughly April to October almost every restaurant, including the fine-dining rooms, is open daily, Sunday included. The harder question is timing the sunset. Caldera-view tables at places like Lauda and Varoulko book out well ahead for the hour around sundown, so reserve early.
What is the best restaurant in Santorini?
It depends on what you want. For Santorinian cooking, Selene in Fira is the long-standing reference. For an ambitious tasting menu with the best sunset terrace, Lauda in Oia leads. Varoulko brings a Michelin pedigree to seafood, and locals point first-timers to the taverna Metaxi Mas. See our full Santorini dining guide for the complete ranking.
Do you need a reservation for dinner in Santorini?
For the view restaurants, absolutely. Lauda, Varoulko, Nobu and Selene all expect a booking, and the caldera tables timed to sunset can require one to two weeks' notice in peak season. The inland and harbour tavernas, Metaxi Mas and To Psaraki, are more relaxed but still fill on weekends, so call ahead a day or two out.
Which Santorini restaurants have the best sunset view?
The clifftop rooms in Oia and Imerovigli own the sunset. Lauda's terrace at the Andronis in Oia is among the most famous on the island, and Varoulko and Nobu both sit on the caldera edge in Imerovigli. For a different view, To Psaraki looks over the marina at Vlychada. Book the sunset hour specifically, because it sells out first.
Is Nobu Santorini worth it?
Nobu Santorini delivers the polished Matsuhisa menu, the black cod and yellowtail jalapeño included, in a clifftop setting in Imerovigli. It is expensive and not a Santorinian experience, so it suits a diner who wants a known, reliable menu with a dramatic view rather than island cooking. If you want local flavour, Selene or Metaxi Mas will serve you better for the money.
Hours change. We confirmed every Sunday service listed here against each restaurant's own published schedule before publishing; call ahead on public holidays. Affiliate links may earn Restaurants for Kings a commission at no cost to you.