Keri Lighthouse Taverna — The Edge of the Island

The road from Keri village to the lighthouse narrows as it descends through limestone scrub, and for the last stretch it becomes a track that serious cars manage and nervous drivers pull over at. Make it to the end and you arrive at the Keri lighthouse, perched at 70 metres above the Ionian on the island’s southern cliffs.

There is a small taverna here. It doesn’t need to be a great restaurant, because the view is doing all the work.

What to Expect

A few outdoor tables, a simple kitchen producing souvlaki from a charcoal grill, cold drinks from a fridge, local bread, and cheese. The food is honest and minimal — this is not a destination for complex cooking. It’s a destination for sitting at a table on a clifftop at the edge of the Ionian while watching the sun go down.

Souvlaki — pork skewers, grilled over charcoal, with pitta, tzatziki, and tomato. The right food for where you are.

Village bread and feta — warm bread, a good block of feta, olives, and olive oil. Order it when you arrive and eat it while looking at the sea.

Cold beer — a Mythos or a Fix, taken cold out of the fridge, as the temperature drops and the light changes on the water. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

The Sunset

The lighthouse faces west. On a clear evening — and in summer on Zakynthos, clear evenings are the norm rather than the exception — the sun drops directly into the Ionian from here, turning the sea copper and then deep orange. The Strofades islands (45km south, a protected wildlife reserve) are sometimes visible on the horizon.

Plan to arrive an hour before sunset. Sit down. Order something simple. Stay until after the light has gone.

Getting There

Keri village is 30 minutes from Laganas. From Keri village, follow the signs to the lighthouse — the road becomes gravel for the final kilometre. Park at the small area before the track steepens.