Alali is the restaurant of Astarte Suites, a house of 15 suites on the caldera cliffs of Akrotiri, on Santorini’s quiet southwestern side. Sea, caldera and volcano stay in the frame from the terrace. It is the horizon the island is known for, seen from ground that is neither Oia nor Fira. The menu is built on Greek cooking and seafood. The Cliffside tables are held by reservation only, and in a house of 15 suites there are not many tables to hold.
The hotel is designed mainly for couples, and its dining turns on two things: breakfast on a guest’s own terrace, and Mediterranean cooking at Alali with the caldera in full view. The kitchen serves lunch from 13:00 to 17:00 and dinner from 18:30 to 22:00. It asks for a reservation in advance, and for a sunset table most of all.
The quiet side of the island
The southwestern side of the island is the calmer one, and the view from it loses nothing: sea, caldera, volcano and sky, with more room around the person looking at them than the busiest villages leave. Santorini Airport and Athinios Port are both a comfortable drive away. Fira is close enough for an evening out, and Oia is far enough that most guests make it a day visit.
Akrotiri has more than quiet to recommend it. The prehistoric settlement, buried and preserved under volcanic ash and often called the Pompeii of the Aegean, sits a short way from the hotel, roofed over so the weather does not decide the day. Red Beach and White Beach are within easy reach. The Akrotiri lighthouse takes the sunset without the crowd that gathers for it elsewhere on the island.
The hotel behind the restaurant follows the same lines. Its architecture is Cycladic simplicity in lava stone and earth materials, and its interiors draw on ancient Mediterranean culture, so the building keeps to the natural lines of the island.
The table and the bar
The menu is Greek cooking and seafood, with the caldera in front of the tables. The wine list and the cocktail menu are published online, so a guest can settle on a pairing before sitting down, or ask the team at the table instead. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free requests and allergies are handled when the house hears about them in advance, at breakfast and at Alali both.
A guest who would rather not take a table at all can have the same lunch and dinner service in the suite or on its terrace as room service, with the sea, the caldera and the volcano still in front of it. All 15 suites hold the volcano, the caldera and the sea in view, from inside the rooms as well as from the terraces.
A poolside bar works from 13:00 to 22:00 beside the infinity pool, which covers the long middle of the day between a late lunch and dinner: a drink by the water in the afternoon, then a cocktail as the light starts to change. Lunch itself runs for 4 hours, long enough for the meal to take the afternoon with it.
Six months of the year
The house’s season runs from May to the end of October, and Alali opens daily within it, which gives the table 6 months of the year. Reservations are taken by telephone, by WhatsApp and by email.
Who is this for
Alali suits couples and honeymooners who want the caldera horizon with space around them, and the house welcomes guests aged 13 and older. Mornings start with à la carte breakfast on a guest’s own balcony between 08:00 and 10:30, and evenings run on candlelight and the slower pace of Akrotiri. Fira is 20 to 25 minutes away by car for anyone who wants a night out. The ground itself is cliff: many steps, uneven stone, best taken without hurry.
