A RAINY WEEKEND IN NEW ORLEANS

A CONFEDERACY OF PAUNCHES  

Confederacy of Paunches

The rain in New Orleans the first weekend in October while we were there was incessant. It was either an annoying drizzle or torrential bands of precipitation that flooded the streets and lashed at us sideways as we meekly tried to defend ourselves with umbrellas.  Occasionally we were teased with brilliant shards of fierce sunlight that baked us, but this would only last a few minutes before the clouds began to gather again.

The water table of New Orleans is already high and the sewers would burble and the gutters flowed like the Mississippi itself during the waves of rain and as we tried to “swim” from destination to the next we just gave up trying to circumvent the puddles. You know how your fingers wrinkle when you’re in the bath too long? That was what the bottom of my feet looked like after venturing outside on one of our days on our recent visit to New Orleans, and this was all before Hurricane Isaias formed in the Gulf.

Despite the inclement weather, Janet knows New Orleans is one of my favorite cities to visit and had planned the trip in celebration of my birthday this past August. She also invited a number of our friends to join us with the intention to eat and drink our way through the Big Easy.

LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER  (let the good times roll)

The rain may have dampened our spirits a bit, but we managed to gorge ourselves on food, drink and music, and our paunches expanded accordingly.

The city too was still alive with the occasional marching Krewe sashaying through the French Quarter or a second line brass band leading a “Happy Birthday” parade while wearing ponchos to go along with their white 8-point brass band caps. Also, the Atlanta Falcons were playing the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football and there were hordes of “Dirty Birds” prancing along Bourbon Street.

And, we were occasionally pelted with beads tossed from the iron wrought balconies along Bourbon, even though the ladies in our party didn’t need to shout out “throw me something mister” or to “show the girls.”

another dozen please

MANGER TROP (eating too much)

Food was a priority on this trip and we had planned out our 4-day eating soiree to encompass everything from Creole at Muriel’s on Jackson Square to Cajun at Mulate’s in the Warehouse District which also doubles as dance hall with live French Cajun music, to Italian at Paladar 511 in Marigny to Gulf seafood at Jacques Imo’s in Uptown.  

MURIEL'S JACKSON SQUARE 

MULATES

PALADAR 511

JACQUES-IMO'S

We also had raw, Rockefeller, Bienville and chargrilled oysters at Felix’s and Blue Bayou.

BLUE BAYOU

JACQUES IMO'S
CORNBREAD

FELIX'S

We were never ever able to make it into Acme Oyster House as there were too many Dirty Birds clogging the line to get into the famed restaurant.

ACME OYSTER HOUSE

OYSTER DELIVERY

We had breakfast at several area eateries near the Monteleone Hotel where we stayed. The portions everywhere were massive. We ate at Mena’s Palace and Jimmy J’s Café, both located on Chartres and we made a pilgrimage to Mother’s on Poydras. This iconic restaurant has been serving breakfast all day, red beans and rice and everything in between since 1938, and we got there just in time beating the lines waiting to be served. 

And of course, there were also beignets and strong coffee at Café du Monde.

                                                        Time to make the Beignets

MOTHER'S RESTAURANT NEW ORLEANS

JIMMY J'S CAFE

MENA'S PALACE 

CAFE DU MONDE

Now, in New Orleans there are so many restaurants and so little time. This is just our small sample size of our time there, but anywhere you go you’ll have a great meal. 

YOU CAN’T JUST EAT 

Hand Grenades on Bourbon

Drinking on Bourbon Street is a given. You can ask for a plastic cup for your drink or purchase a hurricane, sazerac or hand grenade or a boring beer and slalom your way dodging boozy pedestrians and stoic mounted police.

The Carousel Bar

Monteleone Hotel

You’re not going to get a martini on Bourbon Street nor would you want one, but you can at the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel. Designed to look like a merry-go-round, the bar actually does spin, slowly, taking 15 minutes for one revolution. Seats at the actual Carousel are a priceless commodity, but the back bar has live music. 

Martini and Vieux Carre

They make a great martini and the Vieux Carré which was invented here in the 1930s. The concoction starts with brandy and rye whiskey and then   vermouth, Bénédictine, and Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters are added.

The Carousel Bar 

Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House

On the corner of Iberville and Bourbon Street. There’s quite a number of bourbons available in this high-ceilinged airy place. It may take you some time making a selection. Reasonably priced. There’s a restaurant, but we went there for the Angel’s Envy, and the rain was drenching us.  

BOURBON HOUSE, NOLA 

                                                So many bourbons...only one liver

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

Bourbon Street

Another notable place popular with locals and tourists is this place that looks derelict at first. They claim to be the oldest structure in the United States to be used as a bar, dating from 1722. Very popular and three deep at the bar on a Saturday night. You probably wouldn’t order a martini at Lafitte’s, but I’ll bet they make a great Cosmo.

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

LAFITTE'S BLACKSMITH SHOP 

 

FAIS DO-DO  

Music not only can be heard in various places around town, but the streets are literally filled with performers, all supported by the city of New Orleans. Buskers and mini-Krewe parades or brass bands are everywhere, weather permitting. We went to a couple of places to hear jazz, French Cajun music and Dixieland Jazz. And, I must warn you, where there's music and drinking Janet is sure to get involved.

The Spotted Cat

Frenchman Street

In Marigny we took in a set of traditional jazz musicians performing that night. All along Frenchman Street jazz, blues and reggae spilled out into the street from the countless clubs in this lively area of town. Other notables are d.b.a and the Blue Nile.

THE SPOTTED CAT

Ftizel’s

Bourbon Street

We went to Fritzel’s two consecutive afternoons to listen to some whimsical Dixieland Jazz and didn’t mind paying the one drink per set minimum, (which didn’t include a tip for the band).

FRITZEL'S JAZZ 

Bayou Club

Bourbon Street

We danced to French Cajun Music at the Bayou Club part of Tropical Isle, the inventors of the Hand Grenade drink, which is next door. Janet and I had ourselves a little fais do-do or cajun dance party.  

We would also dance at Mulate’s and Janet even joined the band with her washboard and spoons!

TROPICAL ISLE AND BAYOU CLUB 

NOLA POLICE & HAND GRENADES

What’s in a hand grenade on Bourbon Street?

The Hand Grenade Recipe

• 1½ oz Gin.
• 1½ oz Grain Alcohol.
• 1½ oz Melon Liquor.
• 1½ oz Vodka.
• 1½ oz Rum.

POPULAR DRINKS OF NEW ORLEANS 

WWII museum New Orleans

ATTRACTIONS

Believe it or not there's plenty of things to do in New Orleans that doesn't involve food, drink or music. There's history and the Mississippi River!

Steamboat Natchez

A casualty of the weather was a trip on the Steamboat Natchez. We've taken this trip in previous visits, but none of our group wanted to brave the rain. Next time.

STEAMBOAT NATCHEZ

Garden District Walking Tour

The area that is currently known as the Garden District was once part of a Livaudais Plantation which was parceled out to wealthy Americans not wanting to live in the French Quarter starting in the 1800s. Original development had just a couple of houses on each block, surrounded by a garden, giving the area it’s moniker. 

We braved the torrential rain which threatened to wash us into the Mississippi to reach the meeting point for a tour with Two Chicks Walking Tours. The rain held off enough, but soon after the tour ended the sky erupted.

John Goodman's home (for sale)

Our tour guide pointed out several homes of celebrities including John Goodman, Sandra Bullock and Anne Rice the author. The highlight for me was seeing the Manning family home, now under renovation. I can picture Eli getting a wedgie from his tormenting older brothers Peyton and Cooper on the front lawn. 

In front of the
Manning family home

TWO CHICKS WALKING TOURS

St. Charles Streetcar

St Charles Streetcar

It was our intention to take the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world to our next destination. As we waited for the St. Charles (aka the Number 12) Streetcar we got soaked. We purchased 1 day passes at the near by Walgreen’s on Royal for all of .80 cents each, and despite the rain the ride was enjoyable and the wooden benches didn’t seem so unforgiving.

Of course it would have been better on a sunny day and for the price it's a great way to see New Orleans

The St. Charles streetcar goes from Carrolton to Canal. We got off at Oak Street to eat at Jacques-Imo’s.

The Canal streetcar can take you to the cemeteries. We opted to avoid that excursion because of the rain.

TRANSIT MAP ST CHARLES STREETCAR 

 

 

The National World War II Museum

945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

Our friends expressed an interest in this incredible museum. It was not on my original radar, but truthfully we were very grateful to visit this remarkable museum. We could have spent several more hours than the 2 ½ we allotted ourselves to learn the history of this conflagration.

We walked there when the weather was so-so and got drenched on the way back. Ugh.

THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM 

 

Ignatius C. Reilly statue
on Canal 

JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE

For those of you who don’t “get” the tagline of this article it is a pun on the title of the Pulitzer prize winning novel A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, by John Kennedy Toole. His sad story was he committed suicide when he couldn’t get the novel published, but years later his mother found the manuscript and pushed to place it with a publisher.

Pictured here is the statue of Ignatius C. Reilly, the main character of the novel in front of what was once a department store, and where the novel begins.

Dunces and paunches

Beignets and Vieux Carré

Music and bourbon

Let it rain I don’t care

More oysters please and etouffee?

Throw in some grits and I will stay

"Who Dat?", They chant at the Superdome

If I had my choice I’d never go home

Thanks for reading…and hand me that towel please.

Thank you Janet, for planning this wonderful trip.

Love Janet and greg

© 2026 by Gregory Dunaj

NEW ORLEANS, AGAIN!

SHUT UP AND EAT

ecstasy

Janet has planned a birthday trip for me for us to revisit New Orleans. We’ve been to the Crescent City several times before, but I certainly don’t mind returning. IT IS a great foodie destination.

Ever since she told me about this impending trip I’ve dreamt of chargrilled oysters and etouffee and gumbo and red beans and rice and crawfish boil and jambalaya … and well… you get the idea.

We were last in New Orleans in 2011 to ostensibly to visit my daughter who was living there at the time.

It’s been too long and I’m hungry to return.

As a couple Janet and I first visited New Orleans in 2008 and we used the city as a homebase to explore southwest Louisiana. Between excursions to Avery Island and the Tabasco headquarters, and taking a boat through the Tiger Bayou and the Atchafalaya water basin, or attempting to dance at the Cajun French Music Festival at the Burton Arena in Lake Charles, or tossing biscuits at alligators in the Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge which is a major flyover spot for migratory birds, and driving through the “Cajun Riviera” that was devastated by Hurricane Rita which had hit this extreme western edge of the state just a month after Katrina, we ate our way through towns like Thibodaux, Lafayette, Breaux Bridge (which is the hometown of former NFL QB Jake Delhomme) and the barrier island of Grand Isle, just to name a few. 

I kept a pre-Vacations From Home blog during that trip and if interested you can revisit it here: CAJUN COUNTRY TRAVELS BLOG

FOOD TOURISM

I know, the old adage is “eat to live, not live to eat,” but in New Orleans it’s hard to make that adjustment, and for a travel blog that preaches that this is a big world and we are loathe to return to a place, it’s really easy to make an exception for the Big Easy.

Even before I met Janet, I personally traveled to New Orleans a couple of times… JUST TO EAT, and between those soirees there were several work-related trips to the city for entertainment and television jobs. Yeah, I am hungry for New Orleans.

WHERE YOU EATING?

It’s a question you are liable to get as you eat your way through the city. Wait staff and chefs and conversations in bars will undoubtably ask you this question, not because you’re taking your business elsewhere, but because the whole town is wrapped up in the food. It’s a pride thing; they know you’re traveling to New Orleans to eat. Yeah, sure, there’s jazz and cajun music and zydeco to go hear, but only after we eat….

When we first traveled to New Orleans in 2008, just three years after the devasting Hurricane Katrina, which was just one of several massive hurricanes in 2005, the people of the city and the surrounding area were genuinely happy tourists were back to support Louisiana. The chef Jacques Imo even came out to personally thank us for coming back and graciously posed for pictures with him holding our entrees.

In Athens we went on a food tour with Culinary Backstreets. We briefly considered the tour they offer in New Orleans called, The Creole Connection: Gumbo and Beyond in New Orleans, but opted instead to rely on our past experiences (and to save the somewhat hefty price of $175pp). The Culinary Backstreets tour in Athens was spectacular, and a LOT of food. Knowing the food culture of New Orleans I would expect that and much much more.

I once went to a restaurant whose tag line was: “We’re gonna make you hurt yourself.” If you book a tour with Culinary Backstreets, expect nothing less.

CULINARY BACKSTREETS NEW ORLEANS

RESERVATIONS 

MUFFALETTA

We are traveling to New Orleans with two other couples so there’s been a bit of give and take about where to eat. Of course, there will be stops at both the Acme Oyster House and Felix’s, just across the street. Maybe there’ll be a quick stop for Po’boys or a Muffaletta or the best hamburgers at Port of Call and we’re sure to bounce around Bourbon Street or hit a great dive bar like the Maple Leaf Bar (next door to Jacques Imo’s), but we’ve got our dinners all arranged.

The thing about eating in New Orleans you can go extremely fancy or very funky and every meal will be great. Places like Galatoire’s requires a suit jacket for dining in the downstairs restaurant. Thankfully they have a rack of suit jackets to borrow in order to properly dress for their establishment. Others, like Jacques Imo’s, you have to walk through their kitchen and sit in a dining room that looks like someone’s back porch.  

CHARGRILLED OYSTERS

So, our reservations for this trip to New Orleans run the gamut, from posh to coon ass fun.

Here they are:

MURIEL’S JACKSON SQUARE

Muriel's New Orleans

Unfinished business

They call themselves a contemporary Creole restaurant located on a prominent corner right on Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral in the heart of the French Quarter. Serving dinner 7 nights and brunch on Sundays Muriel’s is considered one of the best restaurants in New Orleans and they even boast several resident ghosts in this historic building that Muriel’s claims are “harmless” as they linger in the ether over unfinished business in this world.

Business casual dress.

MURIEL'S NEW ORLEANS

PALADAR 511

Paladar 511

Outside the Creole formula

Deviating from what I consider standard New Orleans fare we are taking our next meal at Paladar 511.  Their menu has lots of items like pizza and pastas and fresh seafood, Paladar 511 is not satisfied with simply serving entrees awash in hollandaise or béchamel sauces and evidently diners in New Orleans are willing to look beyond the same ole Po’Boy for Squid Ink Spaghetti or Eggplant Paccheri. They must be doing something right and have been open since 2015. They are located in the Faubourg Marigny section of New Orleans, just a few steps from the quarter.

Casual dress.

PALADAR 511

JACQUES IMO’S

Yes, Chef

Real N’awlins Food

If ever you would actually hear the tagline on this article “shut up and eat”, it would be here at Jacques Imo’s in Uptown at 8324 Oak Street, but you won’t because this unpretentious fun, funky restaurant has a pleasant staff and great food. When Janet announced this trip, I immediately requested a reservation.

You need to walk through their kitchen to be seated in the dining room that’s made to look like someone’s back porch. The restaurant’s tag line is “Real N’awlins Food.”

To get to Jacques Imo’s take the St. Charles streetcar line, the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world.

St Charles Streetcar

Now, if the food and the streetcar aren’t enough of an experience you can also eat at a table set on the back of flatbed truck parked partially on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant ...if you can get a reservation for it!

Definitely casual dress. Jacques will come out to greet patrons wearing a chef’s jacket and shorts.

Go, but be prepared to wait even with reservations at this extremely popular joint.

JACQUES IMO'S

Interested in after dinner drinks? Go next door to Jacques Imo’s to the Maple Leaf Bar, perhaps the best dive bar (at least on Oak Street)

MAPLE LEAF BAR NEW ORLEANS

MULATE’S

Get up and dance

Located in the Warehouse District this is a true Cajun restaurant. Live Cajun music and dancing every night and “overflowing” dishes of food. It’s not fancy, but Mulate’s  is a lot of fun and a lot of food coming at you! If you have never heard Cajun music, with accordions and a guy playing a washboard draped over his shoulders with spoons, you should come to Mulate’s.

MULATE'S

OUR HOTEL

Past visits to New Orleans had us at the Four Points Sheraton on Bourbon Street. The revelry of that party street disappears once the glass doors are closed. The hotel is a serene oasis with a pool!

Monteleone New Orleans

This visit we are staying at the Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street. This Beaux-Arts building is a historical and literary landmark. Ernest Hemingway, William Falkner and Tennessee Williams all made a point of staying at the Monteleone when visiting New Orleans, and Truman Capote’s mother lived at the hotel while pregnant with the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” author. Not sure what will help with my writer’s block more, breathing the rarified air of this place, or taking a spin while having a drink at the revolving Carousel Bar in the lobby.

The Carousel Bar at the Monteleone

There’s a pool on the roof top. With all this eating I’m sure I’ll make a lot of water go elsewhere when I jump in.

HOTEL MONTELEONE

So little time so many restaurants!

Here’s a couple of more places.

GALATOIRES

PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS

ACME OYSTER HOUSE

FELIX'S NEW ORLEANS 

Thanks for reading and wish me a happy birthday!

Love Janet and greg

© 2026 by Gregory Dunaj

HYDRA

WHEN YOU DON’T WANNA GO HOME

Hydra Greece Uber

After three days in Athens and 8 days aboard the Panorama visiting several small islands, we had not yet tired of Greece and wanted more. So, rather than rushing to catch a plane after we disembarked in Piraeus, we stayed for another 5 days on the island of Hydra.

The island is a popular day and weekend destination for Athenians. From Piraeus it’s a 90-minute ferry. Some drive to Metochi on the Peloponnese coast, park their car in a secure lot there and take a 20-minute ferry ride to Hydra.

The horseshoe shaped port in the main town is charming despite the busy weekends. It brims with shops and tavernas and souvenir shops catering to the tourists that descend on this island.

The port itself is chock full of yachts and fishing boats and the comparatively massive ferries are constantly gliding effortlessly in and out with their passengers. Adding to this controlled chaos are the water taxis that flit into port expertly backing into their slips with passengers coming or going to some of the area beaches.

TIME TO EXPLORE

Unlike our limited stays at the islands that we visited with Variety Cruises, which always left us hankering for more time, we got to leisurely explore the town and visit several beaches without a schedule. Even the “to do” list of Athens was too much in the short amount of time we had there. On Hydra we did it right. Just being able to linger over coffees like locals and allow the day to pass for a bit without having to worry about the time was a great joy and even though Hydra was extremely busy on the weekend, it was noticeably quieter during the week. Both extremes were fine, though sometimes it was difficult to get a table for dinner. Make a point of calling for reservations, especially if you are traveling to Hydra during the high season.     

DONKEY UBERS

Adding to the charm of Hydra is the complete ban on motor vehicles. Donkeys and horses and water taxis are the main means of transportation. At the port colorfully decorated donkeys are for hire for rides or to tote your luggage. We were easily able to roll our bags along the narrow cobblestoned streets and alleys to our hotel, although we did hire a fellow with a hand cart to transport our bags back to the ferry when we left.

During our stay on Hydra, we did see luggage strapped to the back of donkeys and we saw laborers riding a donkey to work, with other beasts of burden tethered behind them carrying their tools. We also saw at least one family with two young kids riding one donkey through the town.

WHERE WE STAYED

There are no shortage of hotels and pensions on Hydra, both near the town and further out. We opted for the Phaedra Hotel which was far enough from the antics of the port and after a reasonably short walk rather quiet. Hilda the owner spoke excellent English and gave great recommendations for dinners and made reservations. We stayed on the ground floor in the spacious and comfortable “Aphrodite” Room. Windows opened to the street and we could hear the clattering of horses and donkeys as they passed by. An ample breakfast was served on the upstairs balcony at this reasonably priced charming hotel. Our five night stay cost 950 Euros.

PHAEDRA HOTEL

The Aphrodite Room 

Phaedra Hotel exterior
our windows on the lower right

view from the breakfast balcony

HARRIET’S HYDRA HORSES

Instead of a donkey ride we opted for a guided horse ride with Harriet’s Hydra Horses. Her stables were just a quick walk from the Phaedra and we opted for a trek into the hills of Hydra where we were afforded excellent views of the port and stopping at the St. Konstantinos Monastery to look around before heading back through the narrow streets of Hydra town and passing the Phaedra Hotel on our way back.

Harriet runs several other treks including one where you get to ride the horses bareback as they wade through the waters.

Her place is efficient with a priority on safety. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and we even learned that “Yeee” is the Greek version for “giddyup”.

HARRIET'S HYDRA HORSES 

riding through Hydra town

WHERE WE SWAM      

Don’t expect wide sandy beaches on Hydra. Most are pebbly, some are rocks, okay small boulders, and a few are just low cliffs perfect for diving into the water.  Spilia is a short walk from the port and they’ve poured concrete on the cliffs to create smooth areas to lounge on between dips. It gets crowded. We didn’t go there, although we went next door to the Sunset Beach Bar one evening for drinks and to ahem catch the sunset, joining hordes of revelers celebrating the end of a glorious day.

Sunset Beach Bar Hydra

We went to three separate beaches during our time on Hydra. All were accessible by walking paths or roads or via water taxis. Water taxis are 10 Euros round trip, but you pay the full 10 Euros if you just take it one way, as we did after waking to Vlychos one day and to the small beach at the Lefteraki Taverna another day. The walk proved to be too tiring after all. When we went to Plakes we indulged in the water taxi both ways.

Vlychos

It is a lovely 40-minute walk which takes you past several other beaches, but we were intent on coming to Vlychos because we wanted to eat at the Taverna Marina which was highly recommended in our guide books. We sat at a table overlooking the ocean and had a meal. The beach at Vlychos though is red and black pebbles and giving the water a murky look. It wasn’t too inviting for us and it was too late in the day to rent a sunbed so we took a water taxi back.  

MARINA TAVERNA 

 

Plakes

Another day we took a water taxi to Plakes a bit further out from Vlychos. It is rocky there too, but the very classy Bellevalia Hotel is there as well. We had coffee on their lanai, hired sunbeds and wore water shoes. While lounging we ordered drinks from our attendant. I paid with a credit card, but gave him a cash tip and he was very appreciative.

Plakes Hydra

The water is clear and at least you can see where all the big rocks are underwater. We spent the large part of our day at Plakes. It was an enjoyable day. We got there early and eventually all the sunbeds were taken.

water nymph

Bellevalia at Plakes

BELLEVALIA HYDRA

Lefteraki Taverna Beach

Heading northeast away from Hydra Town we strolled along a proper road that had some cars on it. Ambulances and garbage trucks and utility vehicles are all that’s allowed on Hydra. The winding road took us past several beautiful homes and we found Lefteraki Taverna Beach which is a small pebbly family oriented beach. 

Lefteraki Taverna Beach

We found seats, thus avoiding hiring sunbeds, but ordered drinks from the roving waiter. There is a water taxi stand at one end of the small beach. Just beyond Lefteraki is Mantraki Beach which was is part of the Mantraki Resort. It is the only truly sandy beach on Hydra, but we were happy with where we landed that day. The beach here is pebbly, but the water was very inviting.  

LEFTERAKI TAVERNA 

MANTRAKI RESORT HYDRA 

If you would like to read more about Hydra beaches here is a good website:

HYDRA GREECE BEACH GUIDE 

WHERE WE ATE

Reservations are highly recommended for all restaurants. Remember Hydra gets very busy with day trippers and weekend visits. We decided on a nightcap at a restaurant we had eaten at earlier. We had reservations but it was fairly empty. When we returned though it was full and we were turned away. Of course, you could wind your way down to the port where there are countless establishments and flit about until you find a seat, but it is best to plan ahead.

Giasemi

This restaurant is a very short walk from our Phaedra Hotel. We shared a Greek salad…we had learned our lesson about overordering, and we had a whole grilled sea bass and greens as a side. Our waitress deftly deboned our fish and after cautioning us against feeding the cats that were gathered around our outdoor table we enjoyed our meal.

Giasemi

This is where our nightcap didn’t happen.

GIASEMI

Taverna Marina 

You don’t have to get reservations for this airy place in Vlykos, but if you want a table right at the ocean’s edge it’s best to call ahead. It was a light lunch of a shared Greek salad and fried eggplant and drinks.

TAVERNA MARINA

Annita’s Restaurant

In a quiet square not far from the Phaedra Hotel. Charming especially at night. When we had our horse trek earlier in our stay on Hydra we traipsed through the square.

ANNITA'S RESTAURANT HYDRA 

… and onions souvlaki

You can’t go to Greece without souvlaki and this very busy micro restaurant serves the best on Hydra. It’s right on Tompazi Street just up from the harbor. You’ll know this is the right place by all the people milling around waiting for tables to open. Great comfort food.

...and Onions Souvlaki

Veranda Restaurant

This was our favorite place. With a table overlooking the harbor the classy atmosphere at Veranda is unmatched. We had martinis, shared a bottle of wine from Crete and had specialty drinks to go with our appetizers and seafood mains.

Veranda entrance

It’s a climb up from the harbor, but worth the effort. Recommend highly. 

  

view from Veranda table

VERANDA RESTAURANT HYDRA

So, when you just don't want to go home quite yet, Hydra helps. 

Thanks for reading,

Love Janet and greg

© 2026 by Gregory Dunaj