Selene

Giorgos Hatzigiannakis opened Selene in 1985, up in the hill village of Pyrgos, on a simple conviction: that Santorini's volcanic soil grows ingredients found nowhere else, and that they deserved a serious kitchen. For forty years that argument has made Selene the reference point for Greek island cooking. It now lives inside an 18th-century former Catholic monastery in Fira, and since 2021 the kitchen has belonged to Ettore Botrini, the Greek-Italian chef who holds a Michelin star at his own Botrini's on Corfu.

Botrini cooks the island, not the postcard. The Santorini fava, the island's ancient split-pea purée, arrives under caramelised onions and capers; the tomato keftedes, fritters built on Santorini's intensely sweet cherry tomatoes, are the dish that explains the volcano in one bite. White aubergine, cliffside capers and Akrotiri-grown produce run through tasting menus named for the moon: Full Moon, Harvest Moon, and the seasonal Mnemes. His technique is precise and restrained, Italian in its discipline and Greek in its loyalty to the ingredient. Selene has held a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2023 and was named to the FNL Best Restaurant Awards in 2025.

The wine list is the other reason to come. Under Master of Wine Yiannis Karakasis, it makes the case for Santorini's Assyrtiko and Vinsanto as seriously as any list in the Aegean. Tasting menus run roughly €115 to €210 per person, and the Full Moon menu with pairings lands around €175. À la carte is available for those who want to graze rather than commit.

Selene sits inside the stone shell of an old Catholic monastery in Fira, all arches, candlelight and courtyard hush. This is deliberately not a caldera sunset-spectacle restaurant; you come for the food and the quiet rather than the cliff-edge photograph. Tables are well spaced, the lighting is low, and the service is formal without being starched. Dress is smart, and the room rewards guests who treat the meal as the event.

Book Selene to impress a client who knows Greece. The name carries forty years of authority, so the choice reads as informed rather than touristic. The tasting-menu format takes the decision off the table and signals intent, and the monastery setting gives you the calm and privacy the caldera's sunset crowds cannot. A meal here says you understand the difference between a view and a kitchen. See more options in our impress-clients guide.

Not for a quick, casual dinner or a sunset photo-op. Selene is a long, formal, expensive tasting-menu evening set back from the caldera edge, so anyone who came to Santorini chiefly for the golden-hour view should book a terrace elsewhere.

Is Selene worth it? Yes, for anyone who takes food seriously. Selene has been Greece's benchmark for island cooking for forty years, and under Ettore Botrini it pairs Santorini's volcanic produce with one of the Aegean's best wine lists. It is expensive, with tasting menus around €115 to €210, and it is not a sunset-view restaurant, so come for the cooking. On that measure it delivers.

What should I order at Selene? Build the meal around the tasting menus, which run on Santorini produce: the Full Moon and Harvest Moon menus, or the seasonal Mnemes. Do not miss the Santorini fava with caramelised onions and capers, or the tomato keftedes made from the island's cherry tomatoes. Let the team pour Assyrtiko and Vinsanto from the island's own vineyards.

How far ahead should I book Selene? Book four to six weeks ahead for peak summer, and earlier if you want a specific night. The restaurant runs roughly April to October and serves dinner nightly in season. Reservations are essential; walk-ins are not realistic in July and August. See our Santorini dining guide for alternatives if Selene is full.

What is the dress code at Selene? Smart. This is fine dining in a historic monastery, so leave the beachwear at the hotel; smart-casual to smart is right, with no need for a jacket and tie. The tone is elegant rather than stuffy, and the candlelit stone setting rewards dressing for the occasion.

Is Selene good for a proposal or special occasion? Yes. The candlelit monastery courtyard, the long tasting menu and the quiet away from the caldera crowds make Selene one of Santorini's strongest tables for a proposal or anniversary. Tell the team in advance and they will help. For the sunset version of romance, pair it with a caldera-edge aperitivo first.

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