Corfu Food & Wine Tours
Corfu tastes different from the rest of Greece: four centuries of Venetian rule left a cuisine of pastitsada, sofrito and bourdeto, the Ionian olive oil is superb, and the island turns its kumquats into a liqueur found nowhere else. Compare the top-rated Corfu food and wine experiences below, then read our notes.
Top-rated Corfu food and wine experiences
Olive oil, kumquat and cooking experiences
Why Corfu for food? Because its Venetian past gives it dishes and a spice-led cooking you won’t find elsewhere in Greece, along with excellent olive oil, island wines and the unique kumquat.
Formats: food tours of Corfu Old Town with tastings; olive-oil and kumquat visits; village and winery experiences; cooking classes of the Corfiot classics; food-and-wine evenings.
What to eat: pastitsada, sofrito, bourdeto, tsigareli, Ionian olive oil, graviera and local cheese, kumquat liqueur and sweets, and Corfiot wine.
A Venetian kitchen
Corfu was never Ottoman; it was Venetian for four hundred years, and its food shows it. The classics are pastitsada, rooster or beef slow-cooked with spices and tomato over thick pasta; sofrito, veal in a garlic, wine and parsley sauce; bourdeto, fish stewed with hot paprika; and tsigareli, spiced greens. It is a spice-led, saucy cooking unlike the grilled-and-oiled food of the Aegean, and a food tour of the Venetian Old Town is the way in.
Olive oil, kumquats and wine
The Ionian islands make some of Greece’s best olive oil, from ancient groves the Venetians planted, and estate visits with tastings are a highlight. Corfu’s oddity is the kumquat, the little citrus brought by the British, turned into a bright liqueur, a spoon sweet and candied peel you’ll see everywhere. The island’s wines, from local grapes, round out a food-and-wine day.
How to do it
Food tours and cooking classes run in and around Corfu Town; olive-oil and kumquat visits and winery trips are a short drive out, usually with transport. Late spring and early autumn are the best time, before and after the summer rush. See the Greece hub for the wider country.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Corfu food different from the rest of Greece?
Four centuries of Venetian rule, not Ottoman, gave it spice-led, saucy dishes like pastitsada, sofrito and bourdeto that you won’t find in the Aegean.
What is the kumquat liqueur?
A bright orange liqueur made from the small citrus the British introduced to Corfu; the island also makes kumquat spoon sweets and candied peel.
Is Corfu olive oil worth tasting?
Yes; the Ionian groves, many planted under Venice, make some of Greece’s finest oil, and estate visits with tastings are a highlight.
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.