Every summer, we hear the same worry from first-time Corfu guests: "we heard Greece has gotten expensive." It has — in the tourist restaurants. But we've been hosting here long enough to watch guests feed a family of four on €30 a day and eat better than the couple at the waterfront restaurant spending €120. This is the guide we wish we could hand over at check-in.
The Golden Rule
One street inland from the sea, prices drop by a third. Two streets inland, by half. Our best guests catch on to this within 24 hours and spend the rest of the trip eating well for almost nothing. The reverse also holds: waterfront in Corfu Town, on the Spianada, anywhere you can see the bay — you are paying a view premium that has nothing to do with the food.
Five Things Worth Eating
Gyros Pita — the €3.50 staple
Pork or chicken from the rotisserie, fresh pita, tomato, onion, fries inside the wrap, tzatziki on top. Our guests who've eaten gyros in London or Berlin are always stunned the first time they try one here — it's not the same dish. The secret is turnover: busy shops always serve the best meat. Corfu Town's backstreets behind the Spianada have several that locals actually queue at.
Souvlaki Sticks — €1.80 a pop
Different from gyros — cubes of marinated meat skewered and grilled over charcoal. The smoke alone is worth pausing for. We often buy a dozen from the village souvlaki shop and bring them back to the beach house for lunch: three sticks, a hunk of bread, a tomato, a beer, job done.
Spanakopita from the Village Bakery — €2.30
Our nearest village bakery opens at 6 AM and the savory pies are cooling on racks by 7. Spinach-and-feta spanakopita is the classic; if you get there early enough, they'll still be warm. Nothing beats eating one on the beach with morning coffee, watching the Ionian wake up.
Bougatsa — €3 of crispy layers
Phyllo pastry filled with sweet custard or tangy cheese, baked fresh, served hot. We send every guest to one specific bougatsatzidiko in Corfu Town — it's the kind of detail you learn over years of asking "where did you eat that?" as guests come back from town. Worth searching for.
Loukoumades — €4 for 10
Hot honey doughnuts — actually fried dough balls dipped in honey syrup with cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Order one portion, share between two. They turn up at festivals and summer fairs more than dedicated shops; if you see the fryer on a village square, stop whatever you're doing and join the queue.
The Municipal Market
We do our weekly shop at the Corfu Town agora near the Old Fortress. If you want one single destination for cheap-food tourism, it's this. Vendors sell from 7 AM; by noon the best stalls are sold out. We recommend guests come with a morning coffee in hand, buy cheese, olives, fresh bread, a handful of tomatoes, and picnic on the beach under the fortress wall. Total cost: about €8 for two people, best meal of the trip.
A note from your hosts
Most market vendors accept only cash, and they prefer small bills. There's an ATM right at the entrance, but if you can, bring €20 in fives and tens before you arrive. You'll move through the stalls faster and get friendlier smiles.
Taverna Nights That Won't Break You
We eat out probably three nights a week ourselves, rarely spending more than €25 for two people with wine. The trick is picking village tavernas rather than the tourist ones. A few rules we've learned:
Skip the grill menu. Order what's in the trays at the front — the mageirefta, the cooked dishes of the day. They're made early morning, reheated at dinner, and reflect what's cheap at market that week. Half the price of the grilled protein mains, usually twice as interesting.
Stuffed vegetables (gemista) at €6. Giant beans in tomato (gigantes) at €5. Wild greens (horta) at €4. These are among the best things on any Greek menu and always the cheapest.
Corfu Specialties Worth the Extra
When guests want one "treat" meal, we point them at Pastitsada (pasta with a slow-cooked beef Venetian-inflected stew) at a village taverna for €8-10 rather than Corfu Town at double that. See our local cuisine guide for the full island menu.
What to Avoid
Photo menus. Waiters with smiles too wide standing outside. The Liston arcade — beautiful place, but €6 coffees. Any restaurant with the word "traditional" in its English-language sign (ironic: actually traditional places don't need to translate).
Getting Around for Eating
Our beach house is 20 minutes from the Corfu Town market and within easy driving range of the best village tavernas. A car makes this much easier — the interior tavernas are not served by tourist buses.
Herbie Car Hire
Our partner delivers to the beach house on arrival day. Essential if you want to eat inland — which, for a cheap-eats trip, you absolutely do.
Book a carCooking for Yourselves
The beach house has a full kitchen and guests who use it often say it's the highlight of the trip. Market shop on day one, three dinners cooked in, two nights at village tavernas — that's our standard recommendation. The math: €180 on food for a week in Corfu, easily, eating beautifully.
Corfu Town Visits
Our sister apartment Oikia 4 is inside the Old Town, so when guests want a day in the market and the back-street bakeries we sometimes redirect them there. If you're doing a day trip from our beach house, Lock and Walk near the Old Port will store shopping bags while you eat.
Also worth reading: traditional Corfu dishes and cooking classes on the island.