Taverna Platanos Apeiranthos

Taverna Platanos sits in Apeiranthos, one of the most distinctive villages in the Naxos interior — a marble-paved settlement high in the Zas mountain range with a strong Cretan heritage and a character entirely its own. The taverna takes its name from the plane tree (platanos) that typically anchors a Greek village square, and it's exactly the kind of place you find after a morning walking the alleys of Apeiranthos and realizing you're hungry and nowhere near the coast.

With a 4.5-star rating drawn from close to 2,000 Google reviews, this is not a casual local secret — it has a genuine track record with travelers who made the trip up into the mountains and found the food worth the detour.

What to Expect

Apeiranthos sits at roughly 600 meters above sea level, and the cooking at Platanos reflects the self-sufficient traditions of Naxos mountain villages. You can expect slow-cooked lamb and pork dishes, fresh village salads built around Naxian produce, and the kind of mezedes — fried cheese, grilled sausages, local olives — that work as well at lunch as they do stretched across an evening. Naxos is known for its potatoes, its graviera cheese, and its kitron liqueur, and a good Apeiranthos taverna will have all three somewhere on the table if you ask.

The setting is informal and the pace unhurried. Apeiranthos draws Greek families on weekend drives from the Naxos Town area as well as independent travelers, so the room tends to be a mix of both. It opens at 11:00 AM and stays open until midnight every day of the week, which makes it one of the more reliably available options in a village where most things close early.

How to Get There

Apeiranthos is about 36 km from Naxos Town, following the main road inland through Filoti and continuing up toward the Fanari ridge. By car, the drive takes roughly 45 minutes and the road is well-paved for most of the route, with the last stretch climbing through tight bends above the Tragaea plateau. Parking is available on the edge of the village — the narrow marble lanes inside are not navigable by car.

The KTEL bus service on Naxos runs a route to Apeiranthos, typically once or twice daily depending on the season. Check the current timetable at the Naxos Town bus station on the port waterfront, as schedules vary significantly between July–August and the shoulder months. The journey takes around an hour.

There is no practical boat or bicycle route to Apeiranthos given the elevation. If you are renting a scooter, factor in the gradient and the condition of your brakes before committing.

Best Time to Visit

Apeiranthos is cooler than the coast by several degrees, which makes it a welcome destination on peak-summer afternoons when the beaches feel relentlessly hot. Lunchtime in July and August will find the village busy, particularly on weekends when Greek day-trippers arrive from Naxos Town. If you want a quieter table, come on a weekday, or aim for an early dinner around 7:00 PM before the evening crowd builds.

The shoulder seasons — May, June, September, and October — are arguably the best time for the mountain villages. The light is clear, the temperatures are mild, and the taverna is not overwhelmed. Winter visits are possible but verify in advance, as some establishments in the interior reduce hours substantially outside peak season.

The Village Context

Apeiranthos is worth more than a meal stop. The village has two small museums — a geological collection and a folklore museum — both of which can be covered in under an hour. The marble-flagged main lane runs past Venetian tower-houses and Byzantine church doorways. The view from the upper end of the village across the Tragaea plain and toward Mount Zas is one of the better inland views on the island. Combining a visit to the village with lunch at Platanos makes for a complete half-day excursion from any base on Naxos.

Tips for Visiting

• Book ahead in high season. Call +30 2285 061192 or reach out via the Facebook page before arriving on a Saturday afternoon in August — the taverna is popular and the village is small.
• Arrive hungry. Portions in Greek mountain tavernas tend toward generous; order incrementally rather than all at once.
• Ask about the daily specials. Slow-cooked dishes like lamb in the pot or stuffed vegetables often depend on what was available that morning and won't always be on a printed menu.
• Bring cash as backup. Card acceptance in smaller Naxos village tavernas is not always reliable.
• Allow time to walk the village. Arriving 30–40 minutes before you want to eat gives you enough time to see the main lane and work up an appetite.
• Combine with a scenic drive. The road back via Filoti and the Tragaea plain is genuinely worth doing slowly; consider stopping at the Byzantine church of Panagia Drosiani near Moni on the way down.