Lazy summer days and breezy summer nights could not better elsewhere than the magical scenery set on top of the main square in Serifos. The bright turquoise chairs and tables of the local kafeneio “Stou Stratou” is just about as Greek as it gets!
It was an early morning in the summer of 2008 when we first set foot on this beautiful place, just as we had arrived in Serifos for the first time. The sign read “Café de la place” and two large handcrafted divans were waiting for us, making them the perfect headquarters for finding a room to stay for the next few nights. Back then it was all about low-tech phone-calls and rooms-to-let signs. The shade at their luscious patio was a perfect treat during the noon hours in between flipping pages from our books and listening to the ever joyful playlist of Greek, French and foreign tunes in the background.
Opened in 2001, this small-town café is located in one of the most beautiful squares around the Greek Isles that is central to the locals’ everyday dos. Whether it’s early in the morning when the square is till empty, or late in the evening when the tourists flock in, try getting a table at Stratos (as locals call him) and get your pace down. Time here is not of the essence. Nothing can beat the low tempo of those summer mornings when all you want is to start your day slowly with the gradual caffeine fix kicking in and the sounds of the winds whirling through the St Athanasios square of Serifos. Mostly run exclusively by Stratos’ family, the place has a very personal feel to it and every single detail of it is well crafted.
As Stratos himself will tell you, he first came to the island in 1993 on a one-way ticket to Milos. As the ferry was coming into Serifos’ port he immediately fell in love with the hang-cliffed Chora. He actually never made it to Milos and has not visited ever to date!
A simple menu (enriched with their favorite poetry) with some delicious breakfast treats, as well as snacks and meze served throughout the day and night. Make sure when you next visit to try their famous chocolate cake. Handmade by Stratos at his own house every day, it’s a special treat… especially next to a boiling hot traditional Greek coffee!
