Editor’s Picks: Santorini, Greece

A staple on the island since 1922, Aktaion is the place to feel cozy and familial. The menu makes use of the best local ingredients to serve up all the classic Greek hits (the moussaka, vegetable fritters, and homemade pasta are all outstanding). Make a reservation and ask for a table outside so you can watch the sun set over the Caldera. Lunch, Dinner PRICE $$$ Takes Reservations

The best mid-point stop along the Fira - Oia hike. It’s open for lunch (not all restaurants are), very casual, and delicious. Reservations for lunch are usually not necessary.

Easter biscuits and melitinia, diminutive sweets that originate from Santorini. Die-hard fans of these sweets can order melitinia all year long. Traditionally, melitinia are made by women and girls on Holy Tuesday to be eaten on the evening of the Resurrection and the coming days of Easter (Orthodox Easter falls on April 12 this year). The melitini (“melitinia” is plural) is made with an old traditional recipe. Katerina Peppa, the Santorinian lady who showed us how melitinia are made, believes that the idea for the recipe was born during Lent, when fasting was mandatory, so people had to find a way to use fresh cheese and butter produced on the island so as not to waste them. To form each melitini, the dough must be delicately and skillfully “pinched” by hand, producing a jewel-like tart that can be found in a variety of sizes. The name “melitini” derives from the ancient word meliteros, which means “sweet like honey.” The delicious, moist center filling consists of fresh, soft unsalted cheese (usually myzithra or anthotyro) mixed with flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla and mastic powder. The outer shell is a very thin dough made from flour, water, salt and olive oil or butter. Women with thin, nimble fingers lift the dough around the filling and form a lacelike edging around the circumference. The more skilled the maker, the more pinches she can make in one melitini. Typically, melitinia require teamwork. In every team, usually a family, there are specializations: one takes on the role of pinching, another rolls the sheet (though this is mostly done by machine now), another makes the filling and so on.

Karma offers a romantic and cozy ambience in a charming courtyard, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Back in the day it was a captain’s quarters. Tucked away off the busy paths, it does not offer caldera or sunset views but the garden decor makes for a very beautiful and enjoyable environment. Friendly and welcoming staff. Some of the best dishes in Oia serving traditional Greek food, meat and vegetarian options at reasonable prices.