A pilgrimage to the 'fourth best souvlaki' in the world, in Santorini

Nobody goes to Santorini expecting to try the “fourth best souvlaki in the world ”, but that’s what happened to me.

Stop Souvlaki is an everyday takeaway in Kamari overlooking the beach.

It would be nondescript were it not for its sign on the front, which in bold red letters reads: “Awarded by CNN, fourth best souvlaki in the world” .

It features a small picture of an official-looking decorative garland.

Can’t argue with that.

Truth be told, I’d have stopped at Stop Souvlaki regardless of any accolade.

Its position overlooking the beach means it makes for an ideal place to eat after a swim.

Who among us is able to walk past a charcoal grill full of tender pork , skin charred, and roasting chicken crisping up over flames, pumping out the sweet smell of barbecuing meat into the dazzling blue of the Aegeanic sky?

But the declaration intrigued me.

It’s the “fourth” that brought about irrepressible interest.

Why fourth?

The position suggests truth and actuality in a world where any tourist-friendly restaurant worth its salt claims to make the best of whatever they’re cooking.

See likely hyperbole everywhere, from tagine sellers in Morocco to Bangkok street vendors flogging noodles.

“Fourth” sounds almost solemn; no medal to speak of but every right to be there, to compete.

Thanks for joining in.I was half expecting to see a quote from the late Anthony Bourdain on the subject, given he made food programmes for CNN for so many years.

Then again, had that happened to me, a souvlaki shop owner on the quiet side of Santorini, I’d have put Bourdain’s name on my sign, not a TV network.

It might shock you to learn that I wasn’t in Santorini to eat souvlaki.

I can go to Athens for that .

I was visiting a new hotel called Sandblu at the foot of Ancient Thera, a mountain perched high above Kamari old town, which is tourist-filled but in a gentler, less intense fashion.

The place is altogether more subdued, though not far from Oia, an Instagrammer’s paradise with its sweeping views over blue-domed churches, and the capital, Fira, a little debauched (but fun) by way of 2-4-1 cocktails.

That is to say, you can dip in and out in the knowledge that you’ll have a restful sleep.

I had three restful sleeps at Sandblu, a white, picture-perfect hotel part-carved into the mountain’s edge.

The hotel is built to resemble an ancient town — a little like the one that existed in the same spot in the 9th century BC — staggering upwards, roads winding towards a tapered ridge.

Few would deny the solace of sipping assyrtiko while overlooking the sea, sun dancing across rockfaces to the east.

You might see the odd goat bravely coming up towards one of the rooms between mouthfuls of club sandwich.

It can’t have been bad for those ancient Spartans who settled here in this faintly unimportant outpost, my old school pal and I wondered, luxuriously.

We visited in September, my favourite time to go to Greece, particularly the Cyclades which offer little rest from heat in the summer months.

Moreover, July and August make holidays on the islands almost impenetrable.

Only those with yachts or enormous budgets need apply.

September, though: perfect.

And so we spent our days playing ping pong, dining on Greek salads, smushed up fava beans and braised octopus, fluffy breads and silken hummus, cooling off in our terrace pool and wandering down the hill into Kamari to swim, drink lager and smoke cigarettes in a ramshackle beach bar full of nautical items presumably salvaged from the tide.

There was a crooked pool table beneath noisy fans and pop songs rang out from dusty speakers.

And then, before returning to the tranquility of the hotel — for the dry lemon balm that is Santorinian assyrtiko — we would have a souvlaki.

The fourth best in the world?

Nah, I’d put it higher.

Sandblu opened in July 2024 and is part of LXR Hotels & Resorts.

The property features 66 rooms, suites, and private villas, with most offering sweeping views of the Aegean Sea and the island of Anafi.

Rates from £335 per night between April and October; sandblu.com