We had walked past Akrogiali several days in a row, but it was packed every time. By the time we finally got around to making a reservation, our expectations were pretty high. Akrogiali is supposed to be one of the best seafood restaurants along the stretch toward the airport, where restaurants line the waterfront.
We started with the Skiathos cheese pie, which is one of those things you have to try when visiting Skiathos, and which we’d been meaning to try since we arrived. The waiter suggested we get the one with honey, so we went with his recommendation. It was good, but with all that honey, I think I would have liked it better as a dessert. As a starter, it felt a little out of place with all that sweet honey.
We also ordered tirokafteri, the spicy feta dip that we’d had several times already on the trip. It’s always a hit, I don’t think I’ve ever had a feta dip that I didn’t like. This one came with pita bread and was really good.
For our main course, we shared the octopus stifado and quickly realized that we had probably ordered the ugliest dish on the entire menu. Octopus tentacles without the suckers just aren’t particularly appetizing to look at. They reminded me of Korean gaebul, which didn’t exactly help. The dish actually tasted pretty good, but if I go back to Akrogiali, it probably won’t be what I order.
So, a bit of a foodie failure on our part, but there’s no doubt that Akrogiali is a really good restaurant. The table next to us had the grilled octopus, which looked amazing, and we also saw a lot of people ordering the orzo with shrimp. That was actually one of the dishes we had considered before settling on the octopus stifado, and I really regretted that we hadn’t gone with it. The restaurant is also supposed to be known for its stuffed squid.
The setting is beautiful, so try to get one of the tables right by the water. If you’re lucky and the planes are landing from the right direction, they pass by at low altitude on their approach to the airport. Dinner with a little plane spotting on the side isn’t bad at all.
Akrogiali, Paraliakos, Skiathos 370 02, Greece
