Greece’s Most Dreamy Scenic Restaurant – Must-Try Local Specialty Kataifi Cake

Text & Photos byPingzi

When visiting Santorini in Greece, the northernmost part of Oia is where the world-renowned most beautiful sunset can be seen. While waiting for the sunset at noon, I’d like to recommend this Melenio Café-Patisserie, a dining spot offering both food and stunning views. With its elegant pink facade, it exudes a romantic vibe. The desserts here are distinctly Greek and full of character—the cakes are delicious, allowing us to indulge in sweets in Oia while enjoying the breathtaking sea view. It’s truly enchanting.

Melenio Café-Patisserie is located right on Oia’s main tourist street, making it very easy to find, with its eye-catching main building.

Interestingly, the shop name doesn’t quite match its English or Greek spellings—it’s handwritten and hard to decipher. But as long as you spot this pink-walled facade (pictured above), you’ve found the right place. The wooden sign is quite unique.

Melenio Café-Patisserie is primarily a two-story building. The upper floor is a scenic restaurant with views of the sea, while heading downstairs leads to an indoor ordering area and outdoor seating with an especially fantastic view. From here, you can gaze at Oia’s iconic blue-domed churches—the view is spectacular.

Upon entering, you’ll see the Melenio Café-Patisserie sign, which matches their business cards. Ever noticed how the spelling varies? I even asked if it was the same shop when I first found this dessert place.

A view of the stairway leading from the first floor to the basement at Melenio Café-Patisserie, with outdoor seating nearby and a view of Oia’s blue-domed churches in the distance.

Though not a large space, Melenio Café-Patisserie gets packed with people. Outside is the lower-level outdoor seating area—on sunny days, it’s bustling, but when it rains heavily, everyone crowds indoors.

The views from both the basement and the upstairs scenic restaurant are simply breathtaking. Just seeing this scenery fills you with emotion—it’s all absolutely worth it.

The basement fridge is stocked with a variety of delicious cakes, including chocolate, bread, cheese, and other traditional Greek pastries.

There are so many desserts that it’s hard to fully understand the English and Greek names. To avoid ordering the wrong item, it’s best to ask the staff directly which cake is which.

Traditional Greek dessert in orange-yellow hues.

They also sell ice cream here. The ice cream has a sticky, smooth texture, quite different from American-style ice cream. Feel free to give it a try—I fell in love with European ice cream during this trip; it’s absolutely delicious.

The menu (pictured above) is a thick booklet, offering everything from brunch, coffee, desserts, pancakes, drinks, to water. Of course, water isn’t free here—water is a precious resource on the Aegean islands.

The menu spans over ten pages. I’ve included a few popular options here. The image above shows the cake menu—there are dozens of cake choices alone, showing just how much effort this scenic dessert shop puts in.

This cake is the owner’s recommended must-try signature dessert: the banana chocolate cake. The exterior is yellow, topped with a white, cream-like layer and a layer of chocolate underneath. When you cut into the cake, the banana flavor is rich, and the texture is dense yet soft, practically melting in your mouth. Though the desserts here tend to be sweet, that’s part of their charm. Of course, these Greek cakes aren’t as cloyingly sweet as traditional ones—definitely worth trying.

There are many flavors of pancakes to choose from. Since we went with the recommended banana chocolate cake, we opted for a cookie-style pancake instead. The two cookies pictured are the ones used inside the pancake—just for reference.

When you slice into the pancake, you’ll find it packed with cookies and chocolate. The cookies are crispy, and combined with the hot pancake and chocolate, it’s right up my alley. Though a bit sweet, it’s absolutely delicious—I’m in love with this flavor.

For coffee, I chose Greek coffee—a small cup with a rich, bold flavor and plenty of coffee grounds. You have to let it settle before drinking, then sip it along with the grounds. Be sure to leave the grounds at the bottom of the cup.

The total for the desserts I had with my family came to 15.2 euros.

I’d also like to share some desserts ordered by friends. The first one above resembles a honey cake—fluffy with powdered sugar sprinkled on top, giving it a stylish white coating.

This is the signature Greek cake Kataifi, a common dessert in the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Middle Eastern regions. It looks similar to Taiwan’s rice vermicelli—thin, thread-like strands—covered in a generous amount of sweet honey syrup. The Greek dessert itself isn’t very sweet, but the honey syrup and cinnamon powder on top make it quite sweet. Those who haven’t tried it should definitely give it a go.

The bill for the desserts my friends ordered—these two cakes came to about 12.6 euros.

And just like that, we enjoyed a delightful dessert experience in Oia, Santorini, with amazing views and delicious food. We were completely satisfied.

Melenio Café-PatisserieThe business cards here are thoughtfully designed, very European-style, with embossed lettering that feels premium to the touch.
Village, Center, Oia 84702, Greece.
Via:http://www.tripadvisor.com.tw/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g482941-d1550044-i74300842-Melenio_Cafe-Oia_Santorini_Cyclades.html#71298744。

upssmile Pingzi (up’s smile – Upward Smile)!
She is a designer and also the photographer for Upward Smile Travel, Food, Design & Photography.
She is passionate about “travel” (旅行), “food” (美食), “design” (设计), “photography” (摄影), and movies.
Blogger:http://upssmile.com/