Black sand, beach bars, and the volcano across the water.

A polished Mediterranean restaurant in Kamari, the black-sand resort over the headland from Perissa, done in bright whitewashed Cycladic style with a plant-filled courtyard and airy dining room. Chef Chris Koskinas gives traditional Greek recipes a modern turn with a focus on fresh, seasonal produce and bread baked daily in-house, paired with local Santorini wines. It opened in 2018, run by Chris and Anna, who each spent more than a decade in hotels and restaurants before starting it, and it stays open through the year rather than for the season alone. The building follows traditional Santorinian architecture, with shady pergolas and verandas as well as the indoor room. Reservations are taken by phone or by email.

A small, well-loved Greek restaurant in the middle of Fira, a short drive up from Perissa. Behind a blue-and-white Cycladic facade the kitchen keeps it traditional, grilled meats, souvlaki and Greek classics, at friendlier prices than the caldera-edge tables nearby.

One of Santorini's most loved tavernas, tucked into the inland village of Exo Gonia, a short drive up from Perissa, with a rustic stone dining room and a terrace looking out over the plain to the sea. The kitchen does Greek and Cretan cooking with real care, from slow-cooked meats to fresh seafood pasta, and it books out well ahead in high season for good reason. It describes its cooking as authentic recipes from the traditions of both Santorini and Crete, made with fresh ingredients from the local garden and poured alongside wines from the area. Dishes it names itself include fava, baked white aubergine, fillet in a Vinsanto sauce and pork chops with orange sauce. It takes bookings by phone.

A well-regarded fish restaurant tucked away on the marina at Vlychada, on the island's quieter south coast a short drive from Perissa. The kitchen works with the day's catch and Santorinian produce, fresh fish, seafood and creative meze, served on a plant-shaded terrace by the boats, away from the beach-bar crowds. The fish comes off the boats that dock at the marina below, and the vegetables from the restaurant's own farm, sea to table and farm to fork, as it puts it. Dishes it singles out include a seafood orzo with saffron, a cherry-tomato salad built on local tomatoes and a seabass ceviche. There are three separate places to sit: a veranda over the marina, a Cycladic courtyard with lounge seating, and an upper deck.

A creative modern-Greek restaurant in Oia, set on a blue-chaired terrace with embroidered cloths and a sea view away from the caldera crowds. The kitchen plates careful, contemporary takes on Greek and Cycladic cooking, think beef carpaccio and inventive salads, paired with a strong Santorini wine list, for when you want Oia dining without the sunset-strip prices. The restaurant occupies a building from 1912, three small rooms with a wood stove inside, and a courtyard filled with trees and flowers, with a sea view over the northwest of the island from the back. A new team took it over in 2017. Same-day bookings are taken by phone up to six in the evening.