# What to Eat in Corfu: 15 Local Dishes to Try > A guide to Corfu food: 15 local dishes to try, from pastitsada, sofrito and bourdeto to nouboulo, sykomaida and kumquat, with tips on where to eat well. URL: https://theauthenticgreece.com/corfu-food/ Last updated: 2026-10-20 --- Corfu food is not quite like the food of the rest of Greece. Four centuries of Venetian rule left the island with Italian names, slow braises in red and white sauces, pasta in place of rice, and a taste for warm spices like cinnamon and clove. The dishes to look for are pastitsada, sofrito and bourdeto, followed by local cured meats, wild greens and a handful of sweets you will not find on the mainland. ## Quick facts - **Signature dishes:** pastitsada, sofrito, bourdeto, bianco - **Main influence:** Venetian rule from 1386 to 1797, then the British in the 19th century - **Local spice mix:** spetseriko, a blend that typically includes cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice - **Local olive:** Lianolia, grown on millions of trees across the island - **Where to try it:** family tavernas in Corfu Town and in the inland villages rather than beachfront restaurants ## Why Corfiot cooking is different Corfu was never part of the Ottoman Empire. It spent more than four hundred years under Venice, and the Venetians brought ingredients that changed everyday cooking: tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn and coffee. They also brought their recipes and their names for them, which is why so many Corfiot dishes sound Italian. Under Venetian rule the elaborate dishes belonged to the town’s nobility while country people lived largely on bread, olive oil, wild greens and salt cod. The two kitchens only really merged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when roads connected the villages to town. The result is a cuisine of long, slow cooking, garlic, vinegar, red pepper and spice. Many of the best dishes are winter food that tavernas keep on the menu year round, so do not be surprised to find a rich braise served on a hot August night. ## The main dishes ### 1. Pastitsada The island’s best known dish and the one Corfiots cook for Sundays and celebrations. Rooster or beef is browned with onion and garlic, then braised slowly in red wine and tomato with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and bay until the sauce is thick and dark. It is served over thick spaghetti with grated hard cheese, often kefalotyri. Rooster is the traditional version and the one to order if you see it. ### 2. Sofrito Thin slices of beef or veal, dusted in flour and fried, then finished in a white sauce of garlic, parsley, white wine and vinegar. It is sharp, garlicky and rich, usually served with mashed or fried potatoes or rice. It is the second great Corfiot meat dish and a good test of any taverna. ### 3. Bourdeto A fish stew of Venetian origin, traditionally made with scorpionfish. The fish is cooked in a red sauce heavy with hot red pepper, sometimes with tomato, and finished with lemon. It is spicy by Greek standards. Order it with bread to soak up the sauce. ### 4. Bianco The white counterpart of bourdeto, and as the name suggests, made without tomato. White fish such as cod, hake or scorpionfish is cooked with potatoes, garlic, onion, black pepper and plenty of lemon. It is simple and very good when the fish is fresh. ### 5. Savoro An old way of preserving fish. Small fried fish such as red mullet or picarel are covered in a warm sauce of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, rosemary and sometimes raisins, then left to absorb it. It is served at room temperature as a meze and keeps for days, which is why sailors liked it. ### 6. Corfiot pastitsio Forget the Greek pastitsio with béchamel. The Corfiot version, sometimes called pasticcio, is a pie: pastry wrapped around layers of pasta, meats, cheese and sauce. The grand version was a dish of the old nobility, filled with several kinds of meat and game. The more everyday family version is a Sunday first course. You will rarely see either on a tourist menu, so if you do, order it. ### 7. Stakofysi Dried salted cod cooked slowly with onion, red pepper and tomato. It reflects the country kitchen, where salt cod was the everyday protein for centuries. It has a strong flavour and is more often cooked at home than in restaurants, but some traditional tavernas serve it in winter and at Lent. ## Greens, cheese and cured meats ### 8. Tsigareli Wild greens, gathered from the hills and fields, boiled and then cooked with olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato and plenty of hot red pepper. It is a classic Lenten dish and a good meze with wine. The mix of greens changes with the season. ### 9. Nouboulo Corfu’s cured pork fillet, marinated with herbs such as sage, bay and oregano, often with local wine, then smoked. It is usually sliced thin and served as a meze. Locals sometimes describe it as the island’s prosciutto. ### 10. Salado Corfu’s own salami, one of the island’s traditional cold meats, often made in village kitchens alongside sausages and smoked pancetta. Order a plate of nouboulo and salado together with bread and olives and you have one of the best simple lunches on Corfu. ### 11. Corfu olive oil and olives Corfu is covered in olive trees, many of them planted during the Venetian period, and the trees still shape the landscape of the whole island. The local variety is Lianolia, which gives a soft, fruity oil. Most tavernas use local oil, and a plate of bread, oil and olives is the start of almost every meal. ## Sweets and drinks ### 12. Sykomaida A dense, dark cake of dried figs, pressed with grape must, ouzo or other spirit, pepper and spices, then wrapped in leaves and left to dry. It is an old autumn sweet that keeps for months. Try a thin slice with a salty cheese. ### 13. Mandoles and mandolato Mandoles are almonds coated in a crunchy, glossy shell of caramelised sugar, usually in deep red or caramel colour. Mandolato is a nougat of honey, egg white and almonds pressed between thin wafers. Both came from Italy and both are sold in pastry shops across Corfu Town. ### 14. Fogatsa A sweet, rich Easter bread similar to tsoureki, often flavoured with cognac and bergamot. At Easter you will also see it shaped into the colombina, a dove shaped bread. [Corfu Easter traditions](https://theauthenticgreece.com/easter-in-corfu/) are covered in their own guide; in spring, look for fogatsa in every bakery window. ### 15. Kumquat and ginger beer Two flavours that make Corfu unique in Greece. The kumquat, a small citrus fruit grown mainly around the village of Nymfes in the north, is turned into liqueur, spoon sweets and candied fruit. Tsitsibira, the island’s ginger beer, is a cloudy, lightly fizzy soft drink of ginger, lemon, sugar and water that dates from the British period. Both are covered in more detail in our [guide to Corfu food souvenirs](https://theauthenticgreece.com/corfu-kumquat/). ## Building a Corfiot meal If you want to taste the island in one sitting, order the way a Corfiot family might. Start with bread, local olive oil and a plate of nouboulo and salado, plus tsigareli and a portion of savoro to share. For mains, take one meat dish and one fish dish for the table: pastitsada or sofrito on one side, bourdeto or bianco on the other. Finish with a glass of kumquat liqueur or a small plate of mandoles, and drink a carafe of local wine with the meal. For two or three people that is plenty, and it covers most of what makes Corfu’s cooking distinctive. ## Where and how to eat well The best places to try these dishes are family run tavernas in [Corfu Town’s back streets](https://theauthenticgreece.com/corfu-old-town/) and in inland villages, where the cooks make a few dishes properly rather than a long list for every taste. Signs that a taverna is worth trying: a short handwritten list of the day’s cooked dishes (mageirefta), local customers at lunchtime, and dishes like sofrito or pastitsada offered as the main event rather than tucked between pizza and burgers. On the coast, seafood tavernas in small harbours such as [Petriti, Boukari, Agni and Kouloura](https://theauthenticgreece.com/north-or-south-corfu/) are the places for bourdeto and bianco. Ask what fish came in that morning and how they will cook it, and note that fresh fish is often priced by the kilo. ## Practical tips - **Eat cooked dishes at lunchtime.** Many traditional tavernas prepare their oven and pot dishes in the morning, and the choice is best between 13:00 and 15:00. - **Ask for local wine.** Corfu’s own grape varieties include the white Kakotrygis and the reds Skopelitiko and Petrokorytho. House wine in a carafe is normal and usually fine. - **Share mezedes.** Order several small plates for the table, including tsigareli, nouboulo and savoro, rather than one large main each. - **Expect spice.** Bourdeto and tsigareli can be genuinely hot. Ask for a milder version if needed. - **Check fish prices.** When fish is priced by the kilo, ask to see it weighed before it is cooked to avoid surprises. - **Look for seasonal menus.** Lent, Easter and Christmas bring dishes you will not see the rest of the year. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Corfu’s most famous dish? Pastitsada is the best known Corfiot dish: rooster or beef slowly braised in a spiced red wine and tomato sauce, served over thick pasta with grated cheese. Sofrito, veal in a garlic, wine and vinegar sauce, comes a close second. ### Why is Corfu food different from the rest of Greece? Corfu spent more than four centuries under Venetian rule and was never part of the Ottoman Empire. That left it with Italian style dishes and names, pasta, slow braises and warm spices. The British period in the 19th century added ginger beer and other influences. ### What is bourdeto? Bourdeto is a spicy Corfiot fish stew of Venetian origin, traditionally made with scorpionfish cooked in a red sauce with hot red pepper and finished with lemon. Its white, tomato free counterpart is called bianco. ### Is Corfu food spicy? Some dishes are, by Greek standards. Bourdeto and tsigareli use generous amounts of hot red pepper, and pastitsada is richly spiced with cinnamon and clove rather than hot. Most tavernas will adjust the heat if you ask. ### What sweets should I try in Corfu? Try mandoles (caramelised almonds), mandolato (almond and honey nougat), sykomaida (fig cake), fogatsa at Easter, and anything made with kumquat, from spoon sweets to candied fruit. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Corfu's most famous dish? Pastitsada is the best known Corfiot dish: rooster or beef slowly braised in a spiced red wine and tomato sauce, served over thick pasta with grated cheese. Sofrito, veal in a garlic, wine and vinegar sauce, comes a close second. ### Why is Corfu food different from the rest of Greece? Corfu spent more than four centuries under Venetian rule and was never part of the Ottoman Empire. That left it with Italian style dishes and names, pasta, slow braises and warm spices. The British period in the 19th century added ginger beer and other influences. ### What is bourdeto? Bourdeto is a spicy Corfiot fish stew of Venetian origin, traditionally made with scorpionfish cooked in a red sauce with hot red pepper and finished with lemon. Its white, tomato free counterpart is called bianco. ### Is Corfu food spicy? Some dishes are, by Greek standards. Bourdeto and tsigareli use generous amounts of hot red pepper, and pastitsada is richly spiced with cinnamon and clove rather than hot. Most tavernas will adjust the heat if you ask. ### What sweets should I try in Corfu? Try mandoles (caramelised almonds), mandolato (almond and honey nougat), sykomaida (fig cake), fogatsa at Easter, and anything made with kumquat, from spoon sweets to candied fruit.