Alati

Alati — the Greek word for salt, a reference to the sea and the seasoning that underpins all cooking — is a farm-to-table restaurant in the old stone quarter of Kardamyli, the coastal village in the outer Mani of the southern Peloponnese where the British writer Patrick Leigh Fermor lived for much of his life. The restaurant occupies a beautifully restored stone building in the upper village, surrounded by olive groves and with views of the Messenian Gulf below. The kitchen's philosophy is rooted in local and seasonal sourcing: produce is drawn from the restaurant's own garden and surrounding Mani farms, meat comes from locally raised goats and free-range pork, and olive oil is pressed from the ancient trees that surround the building. Cured pork (lachanika), a traditional Mani preparation of pork dried with salt, pepper, and orange peel, is the best introduction to the local culinary tradition. Olive paste served with warm sourdough bread is as simple as it sounds and as good as anything that comes from this part of Greece. Grilled goat with wild thyme — the defining meat of the Mani landscape — is the main course that most fully expresses the kitchen's relationship with the local terrain. Orange and almond cake, made with citrus from the restaurant's own trees, is the dessert that regulars return for. The restaurant operates from April through October and is closed in winter. Reservations are recommended.