Liotrivi

Liotrivi is a family-owned taverna operating out of one of Anafi's oldest olive press buildings in Chora, the island's hilltop main village. Established in 2004, it has accumulated a rating of 4.6 across more than 400 reviews — a meaningful number for an island with a permanent population of only a few hundred people and a ferry connection that runs a handful of times per week. That kind of word-of-mouth reputation, built slowly on a remote Cycladic island, says more than any marketing copy could.

Anafi sits at the far southeastern edge of the Cyclades, beyond Santorini and largely off the beaten path. It has no airport, limited accommodation, and a single main settlement. Liotrivi occupies a central role in village life precisely because it is not trying to be anything other than what it is: a place to eat honest food in the evening, in a building that has its own history on the island.

The taverna opens every day at 6:00 PM and stays open until midnight, which fits comfortably with the Greek rhythm of dining late and staying longer. There is no lunch service, so plan your afternoon accordingly.

What to Expect

The setting is a converted olive press — a liotrivi in Greek — which gives the restaurant its name. Olive presses were once central to island economies across the Cyclades, and repurposing the stone structure rather than demolishing it keeps a piece of Anafi's agricultural past in daily use. The architecture is accordingly robust: thick walls, low ceilings in parts, the kind of space that feels cool on a hot August evening.

The menu follows the logic of a traditional Greek taverna: dishes built from local and seasonal ingredients, cooked without excessive elaboration. On an island as small as Anafi, the supply chain is short and the cooking tends to reflect what is available rather than what a printed menu promised six months earlier. Expect grilled fish when boats have been out, slow-cooked meat dishes, horta (wild greens), legume-based starters, and the kind of salads that depend on ripe tomatoes rather than decoration.

The atmosphere is relaxed in the specific way that small-island restaurants tend to be: tables fill gradually from around 7:30 PM onward, conversations carry across the room, and no one is rushed. Visitors and the handful of locals who are in the village during summer tend to share the same space without the self-conscious separation you get in more tourist-heavy destinations.

Service is attentive by the standards of a family operation where the same people cook and serve. Do not expect fast food logistics. Expect to be looked after.

How to Get There

Liotrivi is in Chora, the main village of Anafi, situated on a ridge roughly 150 meters above sea level. From the port of Agios Nikolaos, there is a road that winds up to Chora — the distance is about 1.5 kilometers by road but the path is steep. In high season, a small local bus connects the port to Chora, timed loosely around ferry arrivals and departures. Taxis operate on the island in limited numbers; asking at your accommodation about current transport options is the most reliable approach.

Once in Chora, Liotrivi is not difficult to find in a village this size. The olive press building is a recognizable structure. The address is Χώρα Ανάφης, Anafi 840 09. If you are navigating by phone, the coordinates are 36.3517, 25.7689.

Parking is available in Chora for those with a rental vehicle, though on an island this compact, most visitors are on foot by the time they reach the village.

Best Time to Visit

Liotrivi operates year-round in terms of its daily hours (6 PM to midnight every day), but Anafi's visitor season is concentrated between late June and early September. Outside that window, the island sees very few tourists, and some services operate on reduced schedules. The taverna's consistent hours suggest it remains open regardless of season, but if you are visiting in shoulder season — May, early June, or October — calling ahead on +30 2286 061209 to confirm is a sensible precaution.

Within the summer season, earlier in the week tends to be quieter than weekends, when day-trippers from Santorini and ferry passengers passing through add to the crowd. Arriving at 7:00 PM rather than 8:30 PM gives you a better chance of a table without a wait, though the taverna is small enough that the difference between a full house and a quiet one is not dramatic.

The evenings in Chora are genuinely pleasant in July and August: the ridge catches whatever breeze is moving, temperatures drop from the afternoon heat, and the village takes on the unhurried quality that draws people to small Cycladic islands in the first place.

Tips for Visiting

• Call ahead if visiting outside peak season. The phone number is +30 2286 061209. Anafi's low-season population is small and business hours can shift accordingly.
• Arrive at opening time if you want a table without waiting. The taverna fills steadily from around 7:30 PM in summer, and the space is not large.
• Ask what arrived fresh that day. On an island with no daily freight, the fish and produce situation changes. The staff will know what is worth ordering.
• Bring cash. Card payment infrastructure on Anafi is less reliable than on larger Cycladic islands. It is worth checking, but having euros on you removes the risk.
• Pace yourself. A full Greek taverna meal here — starters, mains, perhaps a carafe of local wine — is an evening activity, not a quick stop. The kitchen works at its own rhythm.
• The building itself is worth a look. The structure retains features of the original olive press. Ask about it if you are curious; taverna owners on small islands tend to know the history of the building they work in.
• Factor in the walk back. If you have accommodation at the port rather than in Chora, the road down at midnight is unlit in places. A torch or a phone light is useful.
• Transport back to the port. If you are relying on the local bus, confirm its last departure time before you sit down to eat. The schedule is not always aligned with a midnight closing time.

What to Order

Without a current menu available, specific dish recommendations have to stay within the reliable logic of a traditional Greek taverna on a small Aegean island. The broad patterns hold: grilled octopus when available, fresh fish by weight, slow-cooked lamb or goat, fava (yellow split pea purée, a Cycladic staple with a particularly good reputation in this part of the archipelago given Santorini's nearby fava production), tzatziki, taramosalata, and spanakopita if they are making it that day.

Fava is worth ordering specifically in this region of the Cyclades. The volcanic soil around Santorini produces a fava bean with a distinct flavour, and proximity means the ingredient can turn up in neighbouring island kitchens at its best. Horta — whatever wild greens are in season, dressed with olive oil and lemon — is rarely wrong as a side dish. For main courses, if fresh fish is available, it will likely be the most direct expression of what Anafi's waters produce on a given day.

For wine, a carafe of local or regional white is the default pairing with most of what a taverna like this serves. Greek island whites, particularly Assyrtiko from the wider Cyclades, work well with grilled seafood and lighter starters.

History and Context

The word liotrivi (λιοτρίβι) refers to an olive press — specifically the stone mill used to grind olives before extraction. Across the Greek islands, these structures were community infrastructure: they were expensive to build, shared among farmers, and operated seasonally when the olive harvest came in. On an island as small as Anafi, a functioning olive press would have been a significant piece of communal property.

The building that now houses the taverna is described as one of the island's oldest olive presses, which places it within a tradition of agricultural architecture that predates the modern tourist economy by centuries. The Cyclades were largely self-sufficient economies until the mid-twentieth century, and olive oil was both a food source and a trade good. Repurposing the press as a restaurant preserves the structure while shifting its function from production to hospitality — a common transition in Greek island villages where agricultural buildings have outlasted their original purpose.

Anafi itself has a longer history than its current obscurity might suggest. The island has archaeological remains connected to ancient settlement, and a prominent monastery — Panagia Kalamiotissa — sits at the island's eastern end atop a dramatic rock formation. The village of Chora, where Liotrivi operates, developed in the medieval period as islanders moved inland and uphill for protection from sea-based raids, a pattern repeated across the Cyclades.