All Messinian restaurants and taverns serve a wide variety of local specialties, and it is recommended to try all of them choosing a suitable Messinian wine to accompany your food!

The art of preparing good food is as much a part of the Messinian life, as its olive trees covered hillsides, its sun-embraced shores and its folklore. Visitors of the land will be astonished by the wealth waiting for them in the form of local cuisine and will surprisingly discover the fundamental relation between food and enjoyment to the Messinian everyday life.

Local dishes from its mountains or its fishing villages, some of which date back to remote periods of history and are related to specific historic or religious events, have been perfected by time and local wisdom. In fact, the development of the local cuisine has run parallel to its long history and tradition and resulted in the enrichment of the world famous Mediterranean diet with local products, herbs, vegetables and legumes.

Despite its deep roots, the Messinian cuisine is essentially simple and can be considered as one of the healthiest and most balanced diets in the world. Especially today that food habits have dramatically changed throughout Europe and food production and consumption raise a number of questions, preserving an old age tradition is a priceless value.

Wine

Messinian wine makers have the advantage of not restricting themselves to a particular domain for the grapes. Instead, each year they collect from the finest of varieties of grapes, the best harvests of the Messinian vineyards, which hide in them the scent and the "jovial" bouquet of this blessed and charismatic land.

For wine experts or just wine lovers, guided tours can be arranged to the establishments in the region, where you will learn more about the grapes of the area, the company and its products. Needless to say visitors have the chance to taste the various wines at the end of the tour.

Ouzo

Ouzo is another favourite, not only with the locals but also with the tourists. It is the most common Greek spirit, and is based on pure alcohol, water and various herbs. As the well as the anise, which gives the sweet taste, herbs like fennel seeds, star aniseed, coriander and cardamom are added.

Brandy

Greek brandy is probably more famous abroad than in Greece itself. It has a fruitier aroma than the French cognac but less character. One well known Greek brandy, comparable to Metaxa, is distilled in Kalamata.

Suggestions 

Most taverns are located near the beach and serve a wide variety of traditional Greek cuisine and many local dishesi. So enjoy your breakfast or lunch, in a pleasant and quiet surrounding, overlooking the sea. Watch the fishing boats come and go from the terrace of the restaurant and listen to the waves. Or have a romnantic dinner watching the majestic, unforgettable sunset. Fresh ingredients from the villages nearby guarantee the highest quality of food. The best place to enjoy ouzo is either a fish tavern or a traditional ouzeri. Not only in the main tourist spots but also in the smaller villages lovely restaurants can be found were simple food is served, usually on platters. Not surprisingly these are for more than one person, since the emphasis is on having a good time together, with old and new friends.