The Summer of My Greek Taverna

The Summer of My Greek Taverna by Tom Stone is a memoir of his time on the Greek island of Patmos in the Dodecanese, running a restaurant.

Detail from front cover of The Summer of my Greek TavernaThe Summer of My Greek Taverna

The Sumer of My Greek Taverna is a little gem of Greek travel writing.  The American author shows that he is a true Grecophile by giving up his career on New York’s Broadway to go for his dream of living on a Greek island for a while. Of course, as in so many cases, the ‘while’ turns into something much longer: 22 years!

Moving to Patmos

Front cover of The Summer of my Greek Taverna

The story that’s at the heart of the book only takes place several years after the author first moves to Patmos in the Dodecanese, where his dream is to write his novel. While there, though, he meets and falls in love with Danielle, a French artist. The two marry and go to live in Rethymnon on Crete.

Here he still wants to write, she wants to paint, but as by now they have two children, they have to bring in some money somehow. When The Summer of My Greek Taverna begins, the author is teaching English while his wife is painting Greek icons to sell in the tourist shops.

Fateful Phone Call

This is the situation when Stone receives a phone call from someone he knew back on Patmos, who runs a taverna in the little village where the couple lived. The taverna and the village are given fictitious names, and it’s obvious why when you get into the book.

The caller is Theologos, and he has a proposition for Tom Stone. Would he like to run Theologos’s taverna for the summer, as he says he’s getting a bit old for it and thought Tom, a keen amateur chef who has also worked as a waiter in Rethymnon, might be interested.

The first instinct is that it’s a crazy idea, a big upheaval to take their two children to Patmos to do something Tom has never done before, not knowing what the outcome might be. Tom does some maths and works out that they could make enough during the summer to enable them to work at writing and painting for the rest of the year, and beyond. Danielle takes some convincing, but eventually supports her husband in what he wants to do.

Patmos, the setting for The Summer of my Greek TavernaPatmos

Back to Patmos

So, the couple return to Patmos and move into the apartment they first rented on the island, before they bought a house there, which they eventually sold. Part of the proceeds of the house go towards paying Theologos for the right to run the restaurant for one season, and share the profits.

Theologos has agreed to be the buyer of supplies, but leaves the author to run the restaurant and the kitchen. Right at the start there’s a misunderstanding, when the author offers to work an extra two days before his contract stipulates, only to find that Theologos won’t split the tidy profits as the author volunteered to do the work and the contract hadn’t yet come into play.

Book Reviews for The Summer of my Greek TavernaPraise for The Summer of my Greek Taverna

The Harsh Truth

Over the course of the summer in his Greek taverna, the author discovers the harsh realities of his new life. For one, running the taverna takes up more hours than he ever imagined. He finds himself flopping onto the bed next to his wife at 4am some nights, without even the energy to get undressed. Another discovery is that his relationship with the islanders who had become friends in the years he and his wife lived on Patmos, is now different. To some he has become a rival, and everyone now regards him as a temporary Greek, and a businessman, to be treated with caution and even cheated if they get the opportunity.

It’s the many different aspects of life on the island, and the fact that it’s very well-written, that make the book such a joy to read, It’s in turns funny, sad, touching, and a very human story. You’re rooting for him to succeed, you worry about his relationship with his wife when he hardly sees her for day after day, and you’re fascinated by the insights into what it’s like to run a taverna in the Greek islands at the height of the tourist season in August.

The Summer of my Greek Taverna Recipes

It would be unfair to reveal how the book ends. At the back, however, is the menu of the taverna (called in the book The Beautiful Helen), and almost 40 pages of recipes. These include Greek staples, like tzatziki, stifado, and meatballs, and others that the author added to the menu to give it more of an international feel, such as chili con carne and curried chicken.

You’ll also find a recipe for his moussaka, which he says is the best he’s ever found, from a chef he worked for in Rethymnon, and some recipes of his own devising, including tzatziki omelette and chicken retsina.

Patmos, the setting for The Summer of My Greek TavernaPatmos

The Verdict

All in all this is a delightful read, which you won’t want to put down, and a real addition to the classic books about Greece, alongside Lawrence Durrell and Patrick Leigh Fermor. Perhaps not quite in their league in terms of literary quality, but certainly every bit as readable. It’s enough to say that it was first published in 2002, and it’s still in print some twenty years later.

Where to Stay on Patmos

Other Greece books pages

  • Taverna by the Sea is an account by Jennifer Barclay of her summer spent working in a taverna on Karpathos and a welcome new book of Greek travel writing.

    Taverna by the Sea

    Taverna by the Sea is an account by Jennifer Barclay of her summer spent working in a taverna on Karpathos and a welcome new book of Greek travel writing.

  • The very thorough A-Z Guide to Santorini by Tony Oswin is now in its 15th edition, a sure sign that the guidebook is both popular and kept up-to-date.

    A-Z Guide to Santorini

    The very thorough A-Z Guide to Santorini by Tony Oswin is now in its 15th edition, a sure sign that the guidebook is both popular and kept up-to-date.

  • Ikaria by Meni Valle, brings together the best and healthiest Greek recipes with an evocative travelogue about Ikaria, one of the world’s Blue Zone places.

    Ikaria Book Review

    Ikaria by Meni Valle, brings together the best and healthiest Greek recipes with an evocative travelogue about Ikaria, one of the world’s Blue Zone places.

  • Eurydice Street, A Place in Athens by Sofka Zinovieff is an honest account of what it’s like to move to Athens and live as a foreigner, learning Greek customs.

    Eurydice Street

    Eurydice Street, A Place in Athens by Sofka Zinovieff is an honest account of what it’s like to move to Athens and live as a foreigner, learning Greek customs.

  • The Bradt Guide to the Peloponnese is the best book on the Greek region which includes attractions like Mycenae, Epidavros, Olympia, Monemvasia and Nafplion.

    Bradt Guide to the Peloponnese

    The Bradt Guide to the Peloponnese is the best book on the Greek region which includes attractions like Mycenae, Epidavros, Olympia, Monemvasia and Nafplion.

  • A Thing of Beauty by Peter Fiennes describes ‘Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece’ and places the Greek Gods in the context of modern-day Greece.

    A Thing of Beauty

    A Thing of Beauty by Peter Fiennes describes ‘Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece’ and places the Greek Gods in the context of modern-day Greece.

  • There are many great Greek poets, with two authors winning the Nobel Prize for Literature and names include Sappho, Cavafy, George Seferis and Odysseus Elytis.

    Great Greek Poets: Cavafy, Sappho, George Seferis, Odysseus Elytis

    There are many great Greek poets, with two authors winning the Nobel Prize for Literature and names include Sappho, Cavafy, George Seferis and Odysseus Elytis.

  • Greece Travel Secrets reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Artistic Athens and 51 other perfect weekends for culture lovers.

    Culture Trails

    Greece Travel Secrets reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Artistic Athens and 51 other perfect weekends for culture lovers.

  • Wild Abandon by Jennifer Barclay and published by Bradt Guides is A Journey to Deserted Places of the Dodecanese islands in Greece, including Rhodes and Kos.

    Wild Abandon

    Wild Abandon by Jennifer Barclay and published by Bradt Guides is A Journey to Deserted Places of the Dodecanese islands in Greece, including Rhodes and Kos.

  • Margarita’s Olive Press is a modern gem of a book of Greek travel writing, in which the author falls in love with and renovates a property on Zakynthos.

    Margarita’s Olive Press

    Margarita’s Olive Press is a modern gem of a book of Greek travel writing, in which the author falls in love with and renovates a property on Zakynthos.

  • Greece Travel Secrets reviews the photography book Monemvasia with extracts from works by Yiannis Ritsos and Nikos Kazantzakis.

    Monemvasia Book Review

    Greece Travel Secrets reviews the photography book Monemvasia with extracts from works by Yiannis Ritsos and Nikos Kazantzakis.

  • The Bradt Guide to Northern Greece is a detailed guide to Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, Macedonia, Thrace, The Pelion, The Sporades and the rest of Northern Greece.

    Northern Greece Guide

    The Bradt Guide to Northern Greece is a detailed guide to Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, Macedonia, Thrace, The Pelion, The Sporades and the rest of Northern Greece.

  • The 2022 edition of the A-Z Travel Guide to Kos is the 15th edition of the best and most comprehensive guidebook to Kos in the Dodecanese islands of Greece.

    A-Z Travel Guide to Kos

    The 2022 edition of the A-Z Travel Guide to Kos is the 15th edition of the best and most comprehensive guidebook to Kos in the Dodecanese islands of Greece.

  • A Rope of Vines by Brenda Chamberlain is an evocative memoir of the author’s time living on the Greek island of Hydra in the early 1960s.

    A Rope of Vines

    A Rope of Vines by Brenda Chamberlain is an evocative memoir of the author’s time living on the Greek island of Hydra in the early 1960s.

  • Mermaid Singing by Charmian Clift is a fine example of 1950s travel writing about the Greek island of Kalymnos in the Dodecanese.

    Mermaid Singing: Kalymnos Travel Writing

    Mermaid Singing by Charmian Clift is a fine example of 1950s travel writing about the Greek island of Kalymnos in the Dodecanese.

  • Greece Book Reviews on the Greece Travel Secrets website with reviews of the best guidebooks to Greece, the Greek Islands, Athens, Crete and elsewhere.

    Greece Book Reviews

    Greece Book Reviews on the Greece Travel Secrets website with reviews of the best guidebooks to Greece, the Greek Islands, Athens, Crete and elsewhere.

  • Peel Me a Lotus by Charmian Clift is a Hydra travel writing classic, describing her family’s life on this tiny Greek island near Athens in the 1950s.

    Hydra Travel Writing Classic

    Peel Me a Lotus by Charmian Clift is a Hydra travel writing classic, describing her family’s life on this tiny Greek island near Athens in the 1950s.

  • The Lonely Planet guide to the Greek Islands is a thorough and helpful guide to all the Greek island groups, with Athens included.

    Lonely Planet Greek Islands

    The Lonely Planet guide to the Greek Islands is a thorough and helpful guide to all the Greek island groups, with Athens included.

  • If planning a trip to Greece, what are the best books about Greece to read before you go, or to take with you, to give you a sense of place?

    Books About Greece

    If planning a trip to Greece, what are the best books about Greece to read before you go, or to take with you, to give you a sense of place?

  • The latest edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide to Greece is a comprehensive 750-page guidebook to the whole country.

    Lonely Planet Greece

    The latest edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide to Greece is a comprehensive 750-page guidebook to the whole country.

  • Fire on the Island is a romantic thriller novel by Timothy Jay Smith set on a fictionalised version of the town of Molyvos on the island of Lesbos.

    Fire on the Island

    Fire on the Island is a romantic thriller novel by Timothy Jay Smith set on a fictionalised version of the town of Molyvos on the island of Lesbos.

  • Lonely Planet Crete is an excellent and thorough guide of almost 300 pages to the largest of the Greek islands.

    Lonely Planet Crete

    Lonely Planet Crete is an excellent and thorough guide of almost 300 pages to the largest of the Greek islands.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Latest Posts

RSS

  1. A Walk around Kolonáki

    This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.

    Read More

  2. Changing of the Guard in Athens

    The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.

    Read More

  3. Athens National Historical Museum

    The Athens National Historical Museum is in the former Greek Parliament building and houses an archive of historical artefacts and documents.

    Read More

  4. This “Secret Paradise” Island Boasts Great Food, According to Financial Times and The Sun

    Foreign press are raving about this Greek island, known mostly for its wild nature and hiking paths, but not (yet) for its incredible food.

    Read More

  5. Unspoilt Beauty: Epirus Lights the Path to a Sustainable Future

    In this wild and mountainous region of northwest Greece, pioneering individuals and communities combine traditional lifeways with sustainability.

    Read More

  6. The History of the Aegina Pistachio + 2 Recipes to Love

    The Protected Designation of Origin pistachios from the Saronic island of Aegina are arguably the best in the world.

    Read More

  7. Lakes Doxa and Stymphalia: A Peaceful Alternative to the Beach

    These two natural hideouts in the Corinthia mountains offer a quick escape from Athens and a great alternative to the crowded beaches of the islands.

    Read More

  8. Introducing Hania as a Cultural Destination

    The opening of the new Archaeological Museum as well as a plethora of artistic events throughout the city put Hania in the lead in terms of cultural summer destinations.

    Read More

  9. Athens War Museum

    The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.

    Read More

  10. Syntagma Square

    Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.

    Read More