Last updated on August 5th, 2025 at 01:39 pm
Corfu Cuisine blends Greek, Italian, and Mediterranean flavors into unique dishes. Try specialties like Pastitsada, a spiced meat stew served with pasta; Sofrito, veal slow-cooked in white wine; and fresh seafood classics. Don’t miss the island’s famous kumquat liqueur and nougat sweets.
Embark on a culinary journey through Corfu, where local ingredients and centuries-old traditions come together to create dishes rich in flavor and history.
One notable dish is “Sofrito,” tender beef simmered in a savory sauce made from garlic, white wine, vinegar, and herbs—a true reflection of Corfiot tradition.
Equally beloved is “Pastitsada,” pasta coated in a rich tomato sauce spiced with “Spetseriko,” combined with tender veal pieces, representing Corfu’s culinary heritage.
Seafood fans will appreciate “Bourdeto,” a spicy fish stew seasoned with herbs and red hot pepper, capturing Corfu’s coastal flavors.
Don’t forget to savor Corfu’s signature kumquat liqueur—a sweet, aromatic drink made from the island’s unique kumquat fruit.
Corfu’s cuisine offers an authentic taste of local culture, blending tradition with bold flavors for an unforgettable experience.
Discover how to prepare Corfu dishes yourself
The Corfu Cuisine
Corfu cuisine is a distinctive branch of Greek gastronomy shaped by the island’s history and geography. Influenced heavily by Venetian culture during 411 years of occupation, it features complex recipes and unique local dishes.
The Venetian period introduced a variety of ingredients and culinary methods that transformed the island’s food culture, much like its impact on architecture, literature, and language.
Many traditional Corfiot recipes have Venetian roots but were adapted to local products and climate, creating a flavorful fusion unique to Corfu.
Venetian cuisine favored meats, fish, and game, incorporating spices, pasta, and diverse flavors. This enriched the simpler Mediterranean diet of fish, olive oil, wine, and greens native to the area.
New products brought by the Venetians included tomatoes, beans, peppers, corn, coffee, chocolate, sugar, and exotic spices—some reintroduced after centuries.
The olive tree was also introduced, leading to a shift from vineyards to olive groves, boosting local olive oil production used both in local cooking and exported to Venice.
This combination of local and Venetian elements gave rise to the rich, flavorful Corfiot cuisine known today.
The ingredients of Corfu food
Corfu’s food includes many ingredients introduced during the 20th century. Sadly, three local pasta factories—those of I. Dalietos & Baklis, Kallivokas, and Zafiropoulos—closed decades ago.
While Mediterranean in character, Corfu’s cuisine has distinct Italian influences. It tends to be spicier and more calorie-rich than typical Greek dishes.
A hallmark of Corfiot cooking is marinating foods for hours and slow-cooking over low heat to develop deeper flavors. Herbs such as oregano, garlic, onion, parsley, basil, dill, peppermint, and spearmint are commonly used.
Traditionally, meal preparation was a lengthy process, especially on Sundays when Pastitsada was the main dish—originally made with rooster instead of beef.
Overall, Corfu cuisine is flavorful and hearty, catering to those who enjoy bold tastes.
What is Corfu food? – Recipes of Corfu cuisine
Corfiot cuisine includes a wide variety of delicious dishes. At the top is Pastitsada, the island’s signature recipe, famous for its rich flavors and cultural significance.
Other notable dishes include Bourdeto, a spicy fish stew that highlights the island’s maritime traditions, made with locally caught fish and vibrant spices.
Bianco is another classic, a fish soup with a light broth flavored with fresh seafood ingredients.
Sofrito is also well known—thin slices of veal or beef cooked slowly in white wine with garlic, parsley, and pepper, showcasing slow cooking techniques.
Beyond these, Corfu offers many other specialties influenced by its history, including hearty stews and herb-infused recipes that invite culinary exploration.
Together, these dishes form a unique and diverse food culture.
Corfu cuisine: Pastitsada
Pastitsada has long been a staple on Corfu’s Sunday tables and at special events.
Traditionally made with rooster, or sometimes veal, the meat is slow-cooked with olive oil, a special spice blend called Spetseriko, onions, and optionally garlic. Wine, cinnamon, laurel, nutmeg, fresh tomato pulp, and a touch of sugar add depth to the sauce.
It’s served with thick pasta, generously topped with grated kefalotyri cheese, creating a rich and satisfying dish.
Pastitsada remains a symbol of Corfu’s culinary identity, rooted in tradition.
Pastitsada recipe
Pastitsio Dolce – A dish from ancient Rome!
Pastitsio Dolce is a rare and complex recipe dating back to ancient Rome, rarely found in modern restaurants.
It consists of layers of cooked beef, roe, lamb, pork, game birds (such as woodcocks), sausages, boiled eggs, salad, and corn arranged over dough. This is topped with pasta, grated cheese, dill, tomato sauce, pepper, sugar, and more cheese, with another dough layer on top.
Additional layers of sauce, pepper, and cheese finish the dish, resulting in a rich and textured meal.
Because of its heavy ingredients, one portion can exceed 1000 calories. Corfiot cuisine is not focused on dieting but on celebrating rich flavors.
Wild greens
Once the humble meal of poorer families, wild greens are now enjoyed as fresh salads or cooked with olive oil and lemon.
Corfu cuisine: Bianco fish
Bianco is a fish dish that’s lighter than traditional soup, prepared with garlic, oil, black pepper, and lemon juice. Onions are not used.
Bianco recipe
Corfu cuisine: Bourdeto fish
Bourdeto is made with onions, generous amounts of sweet and hot red pepper, and finished with lemon. It avoids tomatoes or tomato sauce.
Preferred fish include deep-sea species like scorpions and bass. If unavailable, local “Vopes” fish are used, with variations including chestnut or dogfish.
Bourdeto recipe
Bourdeto with octopus
This variation uses octopus, sautéed slowly until the juices release.
It’s cooked with oil, pepper, quartered onion, and water or dry white wine until submerged, then simmered until the liquid reduces. Potato pieces are added with more water or wine, cooking until the dish becomes dry and flavorful.
No salt is used during preparation.
Octopus Bourdeto recipe
Poulenta or else Koronia
A creamy dish made by boiling cornflour with water, similar to porridge.
Savoro
A tangy sauce for briefly preserving fried fish, made from oil, vinegar, garlic, and herbs.
Corfu cuisine: Sofrito with beef
Thin veal slices are lightly fried, then simmered with grated garlic, parsley, pepper, white wine (or water), and salt.
This dish pairs well with French fries, rice, mashed potatoes, or spaghetti.
Sofrito recipe
Stacophysy (stock-fish)
Dry hake sautéed with onions and red pepper, then cooked with tomato and sugar.
Tsigareli
Wild greens boiled with chopped onion, garlic, hot red pepper, and salt.
Tsilichourda
Corfu’s Easter Magiritsa is made with lamb intestines cooked with onions, parsley, and dill. Thicker than soup, it’s seasoned with lemon juice.
Figaddelia
Beef liver slices rolled with garlic, pepper, oregano, and cinnamon.
Corfu cuisine: Sweets and drinks
Sykomaida
Sykomaida is a sweet made from dried figs soaked in a mix of ouzo, mastic, sweet wine, and pepper, wrapped in walnut leaves.
Ginzollas or otherwise Tzitzifa
A small red fruit resembling large olives, usually eaten dried, with a unique flavor.
Corfu Bolshevikos
A syrupy sweet similar to a large melomakarono.
Fogatsa
The traditional Easter brioche of Corfu.
Mandolato
Mandolato, a Venetian confection made from honey, sugar, and egg whites, is a crunchy meringue with almonds.
Common across the Ionian Islands, its name comes from the Italian “Mantorlato,” meaning almond.
Tzaletia (from Italian Giallo = yellow)
Fried shredded dough coated with sugar and cinnamon, similar to donuts but less oily due to shallow frying.
Special local products
Kumquat
Kumquat, a small citrus fruit introduced during British rule, thrives in Corfu. From it, locals make a popular liqueur and spoon sweet preserve.
Cheese Corfu
A spicy cow’s milk cheese resembling Italian Pecorino, widely enjoyed locally.
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