Drive north from Ermoupoli, past the medieval streets of Ano Syros, and the island begins to empty out. The road narrows and climbs, the houses thin, and the landscape turns to open hillside scented with wild herbs. At the very northern edge, in the small village of San Michalis, sits Plakostroto: a timber-framed taverna known for one of the most beautiful sunsets in the Cyclades and a table that has quietly become part of the island’s story of dining in Syros.
The journey is part of the pleasure. You climb toward the north with the sea opening on either side, and by the time you arrive the whole Aegean seems to lie below you.
A terrace above the Aegean
The setting is the first thing everyone remembers. From the terrace, on a clear evening, the view reaches across the water toward Tinos, Mykonos and the scattered islands beyond. As the light softens, the sea turns gold and then rose, and the village falls quiet around you.
Inside, the mood is warm and unhurried. The walls carry old photographs of village life, the courtyard is carefully kept, and the whole place feels rooted in its landscape. Come before sunset, settle in, and let the evening unfold at its own pace.
Cooking rooted in the village
Plakostroto works in the register of a proper Cycladic taverna, with home cooking built around local herbs, island produce and recipes that belong to this corner of Syros. Clay-pot dishes come from the oven, meats meet the charcoal grill, and the pasta is the island’s own handmade hylopites.
The signature is the rooster in wine sauce, slow-cooked until tender and served over that fresh pasta. Alongside it, look for the lamb shank in a tomato and marjoram sauce, the goat baked slowly in paper with feta and oregano, and a generous range of dishes built around San Michali, the celebrated cheese that takes its name from this very village. Vegetables, pulses and herbs carry as much intention here as the meat.
The pleasure of the journey
To reach Plakostroto, you have to make the trip north, and that is precisely what makes it feel like an occasion. This is not a table you stumble upon. It rewards those who plan the afternoon around it: a slow drive, a walk to the whitewashed church nearby, then dinner as the sun goes down.
For guests shaping a considered stay, an evening here is exactly the kind of experience that rewards real coordination. Syros Key works with Plakostroto as part of a carefully chosen network of island partners, recommended to guests as part of a stay built around the island’s most lasting pleasures. A table on the terrace at the right hour is one of them.
Plakostroto sits in San Michalis, in the protected northern landscape of Apano Meria, among the most unspoilt reaches of the island. Reserve ahead and arrive before sunset. For anyone who wants to understand what dining in Syros can be at its most honest and most beautiful, few tables come closer than this one.
