The Foodie Island: Sifnos, the Cyclades' Best Kept Secret

• Hike paths between villages: Sifnos has over 100km of ancient stone-paved paths connecting its villages, monasteries, and beaches, making this a place a hiking paradise. Nothing too extreme in technicality, and you can pick the length based on your level of fitness. The route from Apollonia down through Katavati to Platis Gialos is the island’s most beautiful, white chapels appear around every bend, the sea glitters below, and not another tourist is in sight. Pack lots of water, wear comfortable shoes, and plan a long lunch at the bottom.

• Visit Kastro at sunset: The medieval capital of Sifnos sits on a dramatic headland above the east coast; its narrow lanes so tight that neighbors can pass items between windows. Arrive in the late afternoon when the light turns gold and most day-trippers have gone, explore the crumbling Venetian architecture and tiny churches, then stay for sunset over the Aegean. It is one of the most quietly beautiful moments in the Greek islands. Pick a non-windy day.

• Hire a boat to Polyaigos: No trip to the Greek island is complete if you don’t indulge on a trip to Polyaigos (the blue waters of the Cyclades). It’s a neighboring uninhabited island that offers snorkeling in water so clear it barely looks real.

• Learn to make Revithada, Sifnos’ famous Sunday stew: Cooking classes on Sifnos teach visitors to prepare the island’s culinary icons: revithada (slow-cooked chickpeas in a clay pot), mastelo (wine-braised lamb), and revithokeftedes (chickpea fritters). If cooking is not your jam, you can taste these delicious dishes in the tavernas dotted around the island on a Sunday.

• Watch sunrise from the Chrysopigi Monastery: The 17th-century monastery at Chrysopigi perches on a rocky promontory connected to the mainland by a narrow stone bridge, reflected in the water below. At first light, before anyone else arrives, it is as close to a perfect image of Greece as exists anywhere. The small beach directly below (to the right of the church) it is one of the island’s most beautiful for a morning swim. It’s where the locals go. No beach club, no chairs, no fuss. Incredible waters and colors.

• Explore the pottery villages of Artemonas and Exambela: Sifnos has been producing ceramics since the Bronze Age thanks to its clay-rich soil, and working pottery studios still operate in the villages. Watching a pot thrown on a wheel in a whitewashed courtyard, then choosing a piece to take home, is one of those simple pleasures that stays with you.

• Swim at Vathi: Vathi is a horseshoe-shaped harbor on the south coast, ringed by tamarisk trees and traditional whitewashed fishermen’s houses. The water is calm, the beach is sandy, and the tavernas directly on the shore serve whatever came off the boats that morning. Perfection.

One of the great pleasures of Sifnos is that bad food is genuinely not possible to find. Wander into a bakery in Apollonia or Artemonas for a morning cheese pie or a bag of revithokeftedes still warm from the oven; you won’t regret it. Here are my top highlights for restaurants and drinks:

• To Steki, Platis Gialos, Platis Gialos Beach: A Sifnos institution since 1979 and the kind of taverna that regulars return to year after year. Family-run, with most ingredients coming directly from the owner’s own land. Tables sit directly on the beach under tamarisk trees; the menu is resolutely traditional Sifnian. No pretension, no theatre, just extraordinarily good food in one of the finest beach settings on the island.

• Omega-3, Platis Gialos, Platis Gialos Beach: A legendary beach shack that counts Tom Hanks among its regulars—and earns every bit of its reputation. This is perhaps my favorite restaurant in the island. Fresh seafood is served on hand-thrown Sifnian stoneware pottery, with a menu built entirely around what came off the boats that morning. The sea urchin, the marinated octopus, and the aegean shrimp tacos on chickpea tostado are all unmissable. Lunch only; book ahead.

• Bostani at Verina Astra, Artemonas: The restaurant at Verina Astra is a destination in its own right—a cliffside garden terrace with sweeping Aegean views. The calamari with caper-raisin chutney and the local manoura cheese lasagna are signature dishes. One of the most beautiful and romantic dinner settings on the island, hands down.

• Tsikali Taverna, Vathi, Vathi Bay: The perfect traditional Sifnian meal: tables under tamarisk trees directly on the sand of Vathi Bay, a menu of family recipes passed down through generations, and the island’s best revithada slow-cooked in clay exactly as it should be. The homemade myzithra cheese and the gemista (stuffed tomatoes and peppers) are both essential.

• Loggia Wine Bar, Apollonia: A hidden gem in the heart of Apollonia’s old town: intimate stone walls, views over whitewashed alleys to the Aegean, and a beautifully curated list of Greek natural wines served alongside small plates of local cheeses, marinated olives, and artisanal charcuterie. The ideal aperitivo before dinner or a late-night wind-down.

• Cantina, Seralia: No guide to eating in Sifnos is complete without trying out Cantina. Tucked into a restored stone cottage above the rocky cove of Seralia, below the medieval hilltop of Kastro, it is quietly one of the most remarkable, elevated dining, restaurants in the Greek islands. Chef cooks a zero-waste tasting menu built almost entirely from Sifnian and Cycladic ingredients, raw fish, smoked vegetables, foraged herbs, ethically caught seafood, with a precision and intention that would hold its own in any serious European city. The setting is elemental; the experience unhurried, and securing a table requires planning well in advance. Don’t miss it.