If you are looking for a beautiful place to hide out for a week with lovely food and great weather, then Paxos is for you. But if you are mad keen on sandy beaches or have a weak stomach, then maybe pick somewhere that doesn’t require a bumpy sea crossing to get to an island with just one small stretch of sand along its entire length.

The Vomit Comet: Getting to Paxos

In ideal conditions, you can get from Corfu to Paxos in about an hour. If the seas are rough, and your boat breaks down halfway, then 4 hours is not impossible. And when the seas turn the enclosed cabin into the “Vomit Comet”, you really begin to regret your decision not to stay somewhere that has a land link from the airport to the hotel.

Bay View: A Room With a (Steep) View

We booked our trip through Simpson Travel, who run quite a few villas on Paxos. Most of them seem to be a bit of a walk to the nearest town (not uncomfortable in May, but may be ghastly in the summer), but we stayed in Bay View, which as the name suggests, overlooks the bay in Gaios. We were genuinely surprised to find the “5 minute walk to town” that is promised in the description is 100% true, albeit a pretty steep descent, with an ascent not recommended for the unfit. Given that the whole “complex” (there are only 6 rooms from memory) is on a hill, that advice applies to the accommodation in general, as there are steep steps from the rooms to the pool.

This is a charming location, albeit not a place for the terminally shy, as everything is quite cheek by jowl. The rooms are simple, but very well appointed, with a truly breathtaking view of Gaios bay, and a great balcony to enjoy the morning sun with a coffee. The pool is large enough for the number of guests, and you get to eat breakfast in an olive grove, which is delightful. The owner, Villey, is a source of great information (and fun) and she can organise taxis, restaurants etc as necessary. There is an honesty bar for beer, water, wine and soft drinks, which obviates the need to go to the supermarket, as it’s roughly the same price: it’s a great touch.

I would 100% recommend this place, as it is in a great location, is very comfortable, and is good value for what you get.

Mambo: Squids In Dining

I have read reviews of Paxos suggesting that food is expensive, but I would dispute that, at least if you choose wisely. Wine and cocktails can be expensive, which can drive the bill up, so stick to beer, local wine by the carafe or if you are slightly mad like us, drink Retsina which is cheap and plentiful (almost everywhere).

Mambo is definitely a place to eat at least once. We arrived there on our first night, a little late, and a lot hungry. We had passed up some very tasty pizza smells to be there, so we were hoping it was good, and we were not disappointed. We over ordered slightly, having the fried aubergines and roasted red pepper to start, followed by the chicken in the oven and the squid stuffed with feta, tomato and rice. You really only need one starter (especially if you have some of the amazing bread they serve), but I’m really happy we had both! All of it was great, and probably the best dishes on the menu. We went off-piste on our second visit, moving to fried courgette, swordfish and pastisada, which were good, but not as great as the first night. Needless to say, on our last night, we went back and re-ordered our first night’s meal, less the pepper. The squid is some of the finest I have ever had, and the bill was so cheap, I had to add on a big tip as I felt quite guilty.

Fanalino and the Lamb Shank Worth Repeating

For lunch, we went to Fanalino, which produced some seriously excellent food. The mushrooms were to die for, and the giant beans were also excellent. We also had a great red pepper dish as well as one of the better Greek salads we had on the island.

This became a bit of a go to spot for us, as it is in a lovely shady courtyard, with great food and mostly excellent service. We ended up going back for dinner as well, which was well worth it, with some delicious anchovies, the excellent Greek salad and a really amazing lamb shank. We were very full and very happy. While they don’t stock Retsina, they do have a very drinkable house white wine by the carafe. Worth a visit, well several, actually.

Taka Taka and the Great Fish Pricing Standoff

Opinions vary on Taka Taka, with some people describing it as fine dining, and others complaining about the cost. The food was pretty good, but the wine was an outrageous price. Had I stopped to look at it before we walked in, I would not have stayed. We also had a ridiculous conversation about the price of fish, specifically their fish. It was the only place we ate where it was shown by the kilo, and having heard some tourist horror stories, we wanted to be sure what we were going to be charged. Offers to show us the fish did not really help, as that didn’t really give us an idea of cost, but in the end he assured us that the cost should be about 25 euros per person. Honestly not sure how much the fish weighed in the end, and we were charged 25 euros per fish in the end, but I think that was only because we questioned the whole pricing mechanism. Probably best avoided.

A few other “ok” places were Vasilis, where we had a passable Greek meal, and Melissi, which was a great lunch spot from the location point of view (overlooking the bay), but the spinach pie came in a pre-made flan case, which spoiled the effect.

Volcano on the square should be good, and we got off to a reasonable start there, but I was served the worst octopus of my life, and Mrs Nigel was very ill the next day, possibly from the lukewarm moussaka she had (yes, I know it’s traditionally served like that, but we understand a lot more about reheating food since Pasteur was alive). The evening was a bust, and it confirmed my usual adage which is “don’t eat in the main square”!

Beyond Gaios: Mongonissi, Paralia and Transcendental Courgettes

All of the above are in Gaios, but we did venture further afield (a bit). The sand in Paxos is basically limited to one tiny beach at Mongonissi, which is about an hour’s walk from the Bay View (take water!). The road is easy to follow, and when you get there, the causeway is now a small road, whereas historically you could only get across at low tide. There are two tavernas there, one which you approach by following the path at sea level, the other is reachable by walking over a very steep hill: or by cutting through the first taverna! We did that by accident the first time round, and when we went back, it looked pretty shut (still mid-May), so we cut through again, but it’s hard to know how they would react mid-season. It’s actually stupid there is not a better path.

The second taverna is right on the beach and is eponymously named “Mongonissi Beach”. This is where you hire sunbeds for the day (5 euros each is pretty good). I was expecting a pretty average taverna meal, but I was seriously surprised. While the menu was pretty short (they seemed to be out of a lot of things being very early in the season), what we had was really good. Try the rocket salad, the aubergine dip and the grilled prawns, which may be the finest grilled prawns anywhere on the planet.

Slightly further up the island is another lovely beach, Paralia, and on it sits a pricey but excellent taverna, Bouloukos. Lunch is not served until 1pm, by which time we were getting very hungry, but if you only eat 2 things when in Paxos, have their fried courgettes and tzatziki. Honestly both quite transcendental. Maybe we were both hungry and light-headed at this point, but they were worth the trip by themselves.

Finally, if you want an ice cream, go to Capriccio: real Italian gelato, but be slightly careful if you have a peanut allergy. They have peanut butter ice cream, and as far as I can see, use the same jug to wash all the scoops. I had to very jealously watch Mrs Nigel eat her ice cream!

Would I Go Back?

The question from any trip is “would you go back”? I certainly would, as there were a few restaurants we wanted to try like Genesis which were not open. Be aware of the ferry crossing: it’s done in small boats or by hydrofoil, so not the large car ferries you might be used to (you can’t bring cars onto the island), so bring travel sickness pills. Early or late in the season makes the most sense: it is not too busy, and most of the restaurants were open mid-May, although the tavernas on Antipaxos were both shut, which meant we didn’t bother with a visit. But early season also gives you longer days than late September, early October, and the weather was great! It was only a couple of weeks since we left, but I am missing it already.