Love and more love. It’s both a wish and a recipe. This is how Mrs. Matina, known throughout Naxos by her first name, a skilled cook and the driving force behind the “Matina-Stavros” tavern (also known as “The Plateia”), in Koronos of Naxos, will bid you farewell after serving you a sumptuous meal. It’s also the secret ingredient she adds to her huge pots. It sounds like a cliché from an advertisement, but it’s completely true. But let’s start from the beginning.
Koronos, a Traditional Village at 600 Meters
Naxos isn’t just Portara, the labyrinth of the Venetian Castle, or the stunning beaches with their exotic waters. It’s also the mountainous area of Zas, the scattered inland villages, and the island’s exceptional cuisine—an integral chapter of Cycladic gastronomy that celebrates flavors every time a table is set. Koronos, one of the most beautiful mountainous villages of Naxos at an elevation of 600 meters, perfectly embodies these elements. The village, designated as a traditional settlement, offers an idyllic scene worth a 30km drive from the capital of Naxos, Chora. With white cobbled streets, quaint neighborhoods, whitewashed houses, arches, small passages, and surprising turns, Koronos is a charming village where tranquility reigns. The sound of fresh spring water from stone fountains, found in every neighborhood, pleasantly surprises you as you explore the town. One such spring welcomes you as you follow the winding path to the double-named tavern.
A Real Garden of Eden, A Worthy Family with Passion
The cool spring water is the first thing to arrive at the tables scattered across various levels of a whitewashed courtyard, almost hidden among the lush plants and vibrant flowers that make each corner more beautiful than the last. This is the setting of the “Matina-Stavros” tavern in the central neighborhood of Plateia. It’s like an explosion of color against the bright Cycladic white. The name of the neighborhood also belonged to the original café-tavern, opened in 1956 by Stavros Koumertas’ father in the courtyard just above the current location.
When Stavros and Matina Mandilaras started their family twenty years later and took over the tavern, they moved it one level lower, added more tables over time, and created a garden paradise. Though they gave the tavern their name, they kept the old name as a tribute, hence the double signs today.
Both have spent their entire lives in the kitchen. Stavros, a grill master and livestock breeder since childhood, and Matina, who honed her skills from what she learned at home, have reached the point where their efforts are recognized with rave reviews for their cooking and dishes. Matina is what you’d call a “one-woman show”: charismatic, outgoing, always smiling, but also a fighter, one of those people who fight to keep their place alive and authentic. She cooks with the same joy for everyone, but her goal is not to attract hordes of tourists to Koronos. “It’s enough for the village to stay alive, so our children don’t have to leave,” she says, donning her apron as always and stealing a moment away from the kitchen.
She returns to the table with the family’s famous cheeses: a plate of anthro, arseniko, and xinotyro, all homemade and delicious. The Koumertas family raises goats, pigs, and cattle, and they also keep chickens and rabbits. Nikiforos, one of their three children, takes care of the livestock, while also tending to the gardens. The family is self-sufficient and their seasonal produce graces every meal.
The True Meaning of Farm-to-Table, Dishes You’ll Never Forget
While other chefs plan their menus, Matina doesn’t even think about what to cook each day. “Whatever my children bring from the fields and the farm in the morning becomes the menu of the day,” she says calmly. Whether it’s goat, beef, pork, or lamb, she transforms it into rich lemonato or kokkinisto – tomato stew dishes with potatoes, rice, pasta, or beans—so tender they melt in your mouth, so flavorful you want to wipe your plate clean. Her mastery extends to the rooster in tomato sauce, wine-braised rabbit, stifado, vegetable dishes, and an exceptional moussaka. It’s the purest form of farm-to-table, a celebration of seasonality and local abundance without fanfare, though it’s worthy of admiration.
Her hearty casseroles are complemented by Stavros’s masterful grilled meats. For 50 years, he has perfected the art of grilling, serving tender lamb chops, juicy steaks, and dreamy, fragrant sheftalies. Alongside are homemade tzatziki and hand-cut fries, golden and crisp, the best proof that Naxos produces the finest potatoes in Greece. Matina’s meals are so delightful they nourish the soul of anyone lucky enough to sit at her flowered doorstep.
