Gialos Kardamili Taverna — Restaurant in Municipality of West Mani

Perfect lunch and quiet small beach combo! We wanted to get away from the noise and crowds of Kalamata beaches and stumbled onto this little gem. In this area you get to use the sun beds / umbrellas for free if you eat at the taverna. This place was a great value for money with friendly attentive staff and a very picturesque setting under the shade of trees and right by the sea. They also have powerful fans outside if you really need to cool down. Beautiful green mountains views, peaceful atmosphere with just a two dozen sun loungers and of course, the food was fresh and delicious. Generous portions as always in Greece!

Ritsa beach further down the road was a bit busy for our liking so this was perfect with lots of parking spaces under the shade of olive trees next to the restaurant. Try the watermelon! Sadly, no shower but as the little beach is so close to the taverna it’s easy bar & toilet access. You can sit at your table and keep an eye on your kids on the beach. PS: Don’t forget to feed the little feral kitties that stalk the terrace with beseeching eyes. Although I’m sure they are well looked-after at this...

This was probably some of the best Greek food we've had on this trip. The fresh sardines were fantastic. Something I haven't seen before on greek taverna menus was the crab croquettes. These were absolutely gorgeous. Light, well seasoned and tasty so you could tell it was crab without it being over powered. They were the highlight for me. We also had cheese pie. This was more like a light cheese soufflé it was so good. Whoever is cooking in the kitchen knows their stuff. I wish we had more room to try more off the menu! And with a view of the messianic gulf and the sun shimmering off the water, it was like some film set. A memory that will last a long time.

Update 2025... earlier in the season. Lots quieter for lunch. Still building the beach out front but the gigantes and crab croquettes were juat as good as last year. Very...

Had read good things about this restaurant and wanted something fairly laid back to have a quick lunch the day before we head home as the afternoon was all about packing 😞. Popped in here and grabbed a seat by the front overlooking the sea. We both fancied moussaka and had heard that it was good here so went for that. The moussaka was excellent though I get the impression it’s made in bulk and just reheated quickly before serving as the guy took our order and about 2 minutes later was back. That said it was tasty and not badly priced at €11. It didn’t have any sides with it - you would expect a small handful of salad or such, but there was none. For what it was though, it was tasty and we would go back. We ate early at around 12:30 and by the time we were leaving at 13:15 it was...