nemo ambassador Tara Cookery has just returned from an epic trip to the Deep Mani, where she stayed at one of our favourite hotels, Kyrimai. Read on as she gives her top tips for the best foodie spots, white wine winners and which dish you should order when you visit!
A note from Tara… I would love to give more information about what to do in the area, but to be completely honest we spent the whole week, apart from walking to the tavernas for meals, either lying on a sun bed, swimming or sleeping! We had the most wonderful relaxing week which was exactly what we were after, this is the place to come to completely unwind and recover. I cannot believe how easy it was to do nothing for a week. It was absolute bliss. The atmosphere at the hotel is very calming and quiet, the lovely slow rhythmic pace of the days here creates a wonderful environment. Leaving all of the hotel guests content and smiley.
After our flight into Athens, nemo recommended we stay at the Sofitel (hotel airport) on the first night, it was perfect and meant there was no mad rush to get to our central hotel … So we could really soak up the incredible drive down! The next day we rented a car from Europcar, this was super easy and off we drove through the Peloponnese to our hotel for the week: Kyrimai.
On the way we stopped and had a delicious lunch at Astakis, perfect for fresh fish and octopus … There’s a huge turtle that frequents the waterside of the restaurant, amazing to see! You might have to tune out of the slightly less chilled-out music being played at the bar next door, but other than that it was great and the perfect pitstop on your way.
This is a wonderful hotel, tucked away, with beautiful blue sea surrounding the restaurant and outside area. Our room was cosy, as the building is old it doesn’t have big windows but the stone walls stop it from getting too hot … Pop on the air con and it’s a fab cooling welcome after a day sunbathing!
We had breakfast served to us at our table, with the option of eggs and lots of different small Greek dishes. The Greek yoghurt and honey with dried fruit and nuts, marmalade etc were delicious, and we sampled plenty of the other dishes – all superb! Breakfast was faultless, and eating by the water in the morning sun was bliss.
For lunch you can choose from lots of different things, I’d definitely recommend sharing a pitari (their pizzas from the wood oven) and a Greek salad (one of the best we had, with carob husks and rock samphire!). We also had fab prawns with cods roe here, and the chocolate mousse was a top favourite. It is on the higher end of the budget though, and if you aren’t looking for something as ‘fine dining’ as this I recommend hitting the tavernas (read on for a few tips on these!)
We had dinner twice at the hotel, sharing grilled Greek cheese and lamb chops with saffron risotto and oxtail stew with pasta and dill yoghurt. It was exceptional, but at 28 euros they don’t come cheap! On our other nights, we decided to change things up and eat at some of the fantastic local tavernas – it was great fun heading to a new one each evening and getting a feel for the real, authentic food and local ingredients!
– The Greek salads were always ginormous – come hungry or order to share!
-The house white wine is amazingly cheap and perfect for lunchtime drinking
– Our favourite beer was ‘Sparta’
– Saganaki is deep-fried cheese with lemon (delicious), but if it says ‘mussel saganaki’ or ‘prawn saganaki’ etc, it’s actually a dish of fish baked in a tomato sauce with cheese melted on top, also very good
– When ordering bottles of wine, white wine is less risky unless you buy a really nice bottle of red
The first taverna you come to is a great spot really popular with the locals, especially on a Saturday lunchtime. They won’t always have everything on the menu (it half depends on what’s available at the market!) it’s perfect if you’re after the classics like tzatziki, saganaki, calamari etc. The house white is 4 euros for 500ml and v e r y drinkable! It’s charming and well-priced… We quickly became attached to this place!
There was a groovy bakery/bar in-between these two that we never made it to called GeroGrosso with a big terrace area, it looked really nice for cocktails and coffee. There’s an ATM and a good little shop for magnum ice creams and cigarettes here.
Tom recommended this place to us, and we loved it just as much as he did! Be warned of the man with long hair and a headband, who tried to sell us his most expensive fish and order the most expensive bottle of white wine… But after a week of frequenting this spot, we had a great relationship with them and would often tease him about it!
The setting is amazing at the tables down on the water. They are the most popular taverna in the village, rightly so as the food was outstanding and the service great – and they know it! It is great but make sure you give the other smaller tavernas a look in, as they are special as well!
You can even swim back to the hotel after lunch if someone else takes your things if you’re not too full!
The very last taverna you come to on the cliff at the back of the little beach, this spot is as local as they come. It’s the perfect super-relaxed, homemade spot and whilst it’s not as refined as the other tavernas but really sweet and well worth trying!
On this unforgettable road trip, you'll walk through the ancient ruins in Athens before driving to the traditional and legendary Peloponnese and Deep Mani. Fancy more? Design your itinerary and even add a Greek isle or two to your trip for a taste of island life.
1 week+
