Best food in Kastraki, Napflio, Galaxidi, Kardamili?

Taverna Gardenia in Kastraki was wonderful … the staff there are incredibly friendly and the food was fab

Ps depending on what day you are in Nafplio there is a market on W and Sa … we picked up fruit olives cheese honey nuts and wine there and got some bread from a bakery and were all set for our tramps around all the ancient sites

IN Nafplio, the chief street that runs from the back of town (where the bus station is, and City Hall) is called Syngrou... runs straight from there to the port. A Park is on the right, then the Post Office, then just before the harbour, a good-sized Supermarket. Everything y ou need for breakfast, picnics, snacks, happy hour etc. FResh fruits & veggies, all kinds wine beer soft drinks, a counter with meats, local cheeses, 5 kinds of fresh feta in bulk ... I always urge stopping here en route to checking in at a hotel/pension in Old Town. There are a number of bakeries scattered in/around the narrow lanes ... nontouristy, whatever that means... aall the local breads and crunchy sesame snacks.. there is one that, a couple of times a week, does galactaboureko, but u have to get there early because the locals swoop in & they sell out. As I said, plenty of ordinary wine, but for some upscale choices, there are several wine shops on the wider Avenue thru town -- Vasillis Amilias, I think -- where you can choose well-known vintages.

We spent 13 nights in Nafplio in April. The Wednesday and Saturday farmer's market is an excellent source for picnic supplies and supplies for home cooking or assembling if you have an apartment.. And even if you don't, go anyway because it is great fun. Also the AB Market. One of our favorite restaurant meals was at Zournal, which is in new town on 25is Martiou near Nikatara street. We also liked Kastro Karima and Restaurant 3Sixty, both in old town. One day we picked up lunch at Mandaloun Lebaese Street Food (also in new town) and had a nice picnic at Arvenitia Beach. The wine tasting at Cellar Vellini was excellent.

Kardamyli: We dined three of four nights at Lela's tavern, highly recommended. I could not say it was necessarily "non touristy," as that is the game in town and this place is rightly well known--but it absolutely delicious. I think Psaras was the other place we ate, also good.
For our hikes, we grabbed provisions at Dimitreas Supermarket.

Nafplio: Alaloum for sure! We also liked Karima Kastro and Pidalio (in new town).

This article put Galaxidi on my radar, possibly some ideas in it: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/travel/delphi-ancient-greece-oracle.html

In Nafplio last week ,on the recommendations of my classics professor son-in law, we had phenomenal food at Alaloum and a wonderful fish dinner at Kipos, which overlooks the water.

Quick report back.

Kastraki - Bakalarakia was one of rhe highlights of our trip.

Nafplio - was not as impressed as I expected to be. We liked The Corner of Kavalaris and Wild Duck. Alaloum was so so- maybe since they moved to seafront?

Galaxidi - eh. Tried to have a good fish dinner so went to Skeletovrakos and it was not great, and not cheap. Cute location though.

Kardamyli - Lela's was seriously awesome and blew us away. Also a new little casual place opened this year called Babis Handmade Souvlaki just as you enter town and can eat in a little olive grove. The "local pita" version of anything is amazing- gyros, souvlaki, kebab, sausage. And really low prices (3-4 euro per person), with such a kind owner. Don't miss this spot.

General comment- in speaking with many Greeks along this trip we have come to the realization it's really just not responsible (or frankly desirable given prices and options) to eat seafood here. Several expressed great sadness and guilt for how they had taken so many fish out of the sea and how different it was even 10 years ago. The greek government only has one small marine sanctuary in the entire country and protections are routinely violated, so there's virtually no way stocks will come back. While snorkeling, the lack of life is startling. So they asked us to consider minimizing or eliminating seafood consumption.

As for octopus, we were told they have highly advanced pain receptors and old fishing families who had seen the documentary "my octopus teacher" had completely about-faced on catching them. People don't seem to feel the same way about squid for some reason.

Tbh the food in Greece is so good that there's always something else amazing to get instead of seafood. Except in Limeni, where its almost all seafood -- which is what led us to Wine Horse there - highly recommend this little Italian spot with non-fish options.