Perched high in the mountains and offering the best views of Kos and its breathtaking sunsets; international award-winning Oromedon Taverna serves up traditional Greek island cuisine using seasonal produce from its own farm and nearby producers.
If you are lucky enough to lock in a table on the vine-laced and bougainvillea-filled rooftop, you will be able to enjoy uninterrupted views of the Aegean Sea from one side and lush mountains on the other. This is all while trying to decide what to choose from their impressive menu that’s filled with secret family recipes- as well as other authentic Greek dishes that are made with the freshest local ingredients.
The famous family-run taverna first opened its doors in 1997, and since then Nikos and his wife Soula Papakonstantinou (along with their parents and children) have been welcoming locals and international visitors (including celebrities) to their restaurant.
“For nearly 25 years, we have been driven by a passion to preserve the traditional cooking style that we were taught by our ancestors- this is in a constant effort to keep the flavours pure. We feel there is a need to maintain the originality of the recipes and traditional cooking styles delivered from generation to generation. This is why we cook and bake mainly in the wood oven using only fresh ingredients,” Nikos tells IN+SIGHTS GREECE.
Sprawled over three levels, there is something special about each part of the restaurant, which includes its own wine cellar. Here you will find over 200 selected wines from Kos and other parts of Greece. And the large kitchen is run by Nikos, Soula, and their talented team who use handpicked ingredients from the family’s own fields and olive oil produced from their own olive trees each year.
For entrée we recommend you try the Possa- Kos’ traditional goat cheese; a Beetroot Salad with orange pistachio from Aegina and yogurt sauce; or the Green Salad with fig, orange, pumpkin seeds, and balsamic sauce.
For appetizers, we couldn’t go past the Xortopita (spinach pie), Dolmadakia (fresh stuffed vine leaves), Kolokithokeftedes (courgette fritters), Revithokeftedes (chickpea fritters); and a very traditional dish from Kos named Pligouri- pork with cracked wheat.
Mains include Fillet of Cod cooked in the oven with chickpeas in a lemon sauce; Oromedon Pork Tenderloins baked in the oven with fresh mushrooms, and potatoes; and Giouvetsi- Greek orzo with vegetables.
The specialty of this taverna by far is anything made in the wood oven, which is operated with the traditional mud sealing technique. Standouts are the Roasted Pork slow-cooked with avgolemono (lemon egg sauce,) Wild Boar, Roasted Lamb, and the Baby Goat, which are all cooked for 12 hours.
As well as a great range of local wines from all over Greece, the barmen can also mix up a good cocktail such as a Three Grace Greek Gin Tonic with rosemary, black pepper, and flavoured cucumber; or a Mastihito Strawberry with Mastiha, strawberries, basil, and sugar.
And yes, of course, leave room for dessert, which includes an Apple Pie with fresh apples and cinnamon; Ravani (sponge syrup cake); Galaktoboureko (custard pie); or a Pecan pie with fresh nuts straight from Zia village.
A: Epar. Od. Zipariou-Asfendiou, Lagoudi, Zia
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