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Taverna by the Sea: One Greek Island Summer
Taverna by the Sea is an enchanting, funny, poignant travel memoir about answering the call of adventure by taking on the challenge of running a Greek beach taverna. During a walking holiday on the island of Karpathos, a chance encounter with a Greek-American hotel owner results in a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Jennifer Barclay. The best-selling travel writer and long-term resident of Greece drops everything, returning with dog and tent to the remote bay that will form her home for one hectic, event-filled summer.
This book offers a rare account of life in north Karpathos in the South Aegean, famous for its traditional community and dramatic, rugged landscape. While primarily a light, engaging, amusing read full of anecdotes, one-liners, twists and turns – perfect for summer – Barclay’s fourth book about life in Greece also conveys the life-affirming importance of trusting one’s instincts, taking risks and grasping opportunities.
Wake with Jennifer to experience a summer of pink dawns over the olive grove and an empty bay, and swim with her in moonlight, hearing only the waves. Or help yourself to local cuisine – creamy yoghurt and local honey and warm figs, olive oil and rosemary, freshly baked bread, and wine on tap.
Alongside a cast of characters from farmers to fishermen, mad guests and a wicked witch, meet Minas the hotel owner, a creative, unconventional Greek-American with the ability to fix anything mechanical and create money out of thin air with food, plus a penchant for drinking, singing and falling asleep. Experience days full of music, days of no running water, and days with a goat tied to a tree – but also nights when the overworked taverna manager awoke convinced there was a large fish in the tent, and customers outside waiting to be served.
In Taverna by the Sea, Barclay reveals what happens behind the scenes of an apparently blissful, peaceful paradise, capturing both the magic and the difficulties of island life. Underpinning an entertaining read for lovers of Greece and its cuisine is an inspiring call to live life to the full – and even escape the rat race.
This book offers a rare account of life in north Karpathos in the South Aegean, famous for its traditional community and dramatic, rugged landscape. While primarily a light, engaging, amusing read full of anecdotes, one-liners, twists and turns – perfect for summer – Barclay’s fourth book about life in Greece also conveys the life-affirming importance of trusting one’s instincts, taking risks and grasping opportunities.
Wake with Jennifer to experience a summer of pink dawns over the olive grove and an empty bay, and swim with her in moonlight, hearing only the waves. Or help yourself to local cuisine – creamy yoghurt and local honey and warm figs, olive oil and rosemary, freshly baked bread, and wine on tap.
Alongside a cast of characters from farmers to fishermen, mad guests and a wicked witch, meet Minas the hotel owner, a creative, unconventional Greek-American with the ability to fix anything mechanical and create money out of thin air with food, plus a penchant for drinking, singing and falling asleep. Experience days full of music, days of no running water, and days with a goat tied to a tree – but also nights when the overworked taverna manager awoke convinced there was a large fish in the tent, and customers outside waiting to be served.
In Taverna by the Sea, Barclay reveals what happens behind the scenes of an apparently blissful, peaceful paradise, capturing both the magic and the difficulties of island life. Underpinning an entertaining read for lovers of Greece and its cuisine is an inspiring call to live life to the full – and even escape the rat race.
- GenresGreeceNonfiction
215 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2022
13 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Barclay
16 books61 followersAuthor of Meeting Mr Kim, Falling in Honey, An Octopus in my Ouzo, Wild Abandon and Taverna by the Sea. Live mostly on a tiny island in Greece. www.octopus-in-my-ouzo.blogspot.com
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 14, 2022
We went to Greece for the first time this year, not on the mainland, but rather on the beautiful island of Corfu. We loved it and want to explore another part of this country at some point in the future. Jennifer Barclay has lived there for a number of years and this is her fourth book about the place.
A chance meeting with a Greek-American hotel owner whilst walking on the island of Karpathos gives her an opportunity to work on the island for a summer. She offers to help him with running his beach taverna. She heads back to Tilos to collect her dog, Lisa and a tent and returns to the remote bay to begin working.
Getting down to the beach involves driving down, what sounds like a heart-stopping trackway. But the beach is beautiful and well worth the effort to get down there. She helps in the kitchen and waitresses for the customers that are coming for food and drinks. A rival taverna opens up next door and the people that run that establishment are not particularly pleasant, taking some of their customers and occasionally threatening them.
It is hard work, especially having to clean and sort the guests in the rooms that Minas has in the village. But she enjoys it, learning how to cook some of the dishes and fitting in her regular paying job as an editor whenever she can. Before it gets really busy in August she has time to go swimming each day and to absorb the atmosphere of the island and make friends with some of the locals.
I really liked this latest book from Jennifer Barclay. It is different from her earlier books as this is about her time spent over the summer working for Minas in his taverna alongside what sounds like a heavenly beach. These types of travel books are more about the people rather than the place and the host of characters that she comes across working in the kitchen do not let us down in this book. I like her writing style too, it is a nice blend of conversation coupled with moments of beauty as she describes what she sees on her time off. If you want to spend a few hours on a Greek beach, without leaving your armchair, then I can recommend this.
A chance meeting with a Greek-American hotel owner whilst walking on the island of Karpathos gives her an opportunity to work on the island for a summer. She offers to help him with running his beach taverna. She heads back to Tilos to collect her dog, Lisa and a tent and returns to the remote bay to begin working.
Getting down to the beach involves driving down, what sounds like a heart-stopping trackway. But the beach is beautiful and well worth the effort to get down there. She helps in the kitchen and waitresses for the customers that are coming for food and drinks. A rival taverna opens up next door and the people that run that establishment are not particularly pleasant, taking some of their customers and occasionally threatening them.
It is hard work, especially having to clean and sort the guests in the rooms that Minas has in the village. But she enjoys it, learning how to cook some of the dishes and fitting in her regular paying job as an editor whenever she can. Before it gets really busy in August she has time to go swimming each day and to absorb the atmosphere of the island and make friends with some of the locals.
I really liked this latest book from Jennifer Barclay. It is different from her earlier books as this is about her time spent over the summer working for Minas in his taverna alongside what sounds like a heavenly beach. These types of travel books are more about the people rather than the place and the host of characters that she comes across working in the kitchen do not let us down in this book. I like her writing style too, it is a nice blend of conversation coupled with moments of beauty as she describes what she sees on her time off. If you want to spend a few hours on a Greek beach, without leaving your armchair, then I can recommend this.
September 7, 2025
I love the Greek islands. The idea of spending a summer living at a taverna just off the beach sounds very tempting. But this book spells out the reality. Yes, you can swim in the Aegean sea, you can eat marvelous food, and see the Milky Way above you on a cloudless night. Idyllic, huh? But then there's the other side: someone has to cook the food, clean up, get up early to serve breakfast, stay up late to serve food and drinks. So I'm glad Jennifer did it, and wrote this enchanting book about it, so I don't have to do it. She originally went to the island for a few days walking, a break from her writing and editing life on another Greek island. But the best laid plans... An entertaining and well-written story, I enjoyed the tale of daily life, the local characters, and the descriptive prose. it's the first of Jennifer's books that I have read, but I will definitely be reading more.
October 27, 2025
OK so about four years ago I read a book called The Summer Of My Greek Taverna by Tom Stone. I wasn’t very laudatory about the book and stated that in my review, and I’ll need to re-visit and amend that, because it was immeasurably better than this outing, to which I’ve given 2 stars mostly because I actually finished it (thank gods for some ability to speed read!) If I gave the aforesaid book the same score, it’s a FAR better 2 than this book.
Ms. Barclay needed a much better editor than I’m sure she had, and I’m guessing that’s a function of the publisher (Bradt Guides) being an outfit that really produces travel guides, not books, and likely only does things like this to entice people to consider travel (using their guides, one assumes!) What, if any, editorship this received wasn’t enough. The author spends way too much time in her own head, too much on her personal relationship to the owner of the tavern, and virtually no time at all on the locale, the people and the culture, the physical milieu and its variety and beauty. It was readable, I grant you that, but if you’re looking for something in this line, there are surely way more efforts of like type that will prove far more rewarding.
Ms. Barclay needed a much better editor than I’m sure she had, and I’m guessing that’s a function of the publisher (Bradt Guides) being an outfit that really produces travel guides, not books, and likely only does things like this to entice people to consider travel (using their guides, one assumes!) What, if any, editorship this received wasn’t enough. The author spends way too much time in her own head, too much on her personal relationship to the owner of the tavern, and virtually no time at all on the locale, the people and the culture, the physical milieu and its variety and beauty. It was readable, I grant you that, but if you’re looking for something in this line, there are surely way more efforts of like type that will prove far more rewarding.
January 5, 2026
I've been following Jennifer Barclay's work ever since I read her book An Octopus in My Ouzo: Loving Life on a Greek Island, where she describes her life in a small, remote Greek island. That book followed Falling in Honey: How a Tiny Greek Island Stole My Heart, in which she shares the story of how she first ended up moving to Greece.
On her blog https://octopus-in-my-ouzo.blogspot.com (which I believe is now discontinued), she also posted lovely glimpses of her everyday life on the island.
This more recent book focuses on a summer she spent co‑hosting a beach taverna on a Greek island. Alongside the day‑to‑day work at the taverna and the people she met, she also shares her personal story. I was sad to learn that the taverna eventually closed: https://octopus-in-my-ouzo.blogspot.c...
I've borrowed this book from a local library.
On her blog https://octopus-in-my-ouzo.blogspot.com (which I believe is now discontinued), she also posted lovely glimpses of her everyday life on the island.
This more recent book focuses on a summer she spent co‑hosting a beach taverna on a Greek island. Alongside the day‑to‑day work at the taverna and the people she met, she also shares her personal story. I was sad to learn that the taverna eventually closed: https://octopus-in-my-ouzo.blogspot.c...
I've borrowed this book from a local library.
June 4, 2023
Memoir to transport the reader to GREECE (Karpathos)
The author is well settled on Tilos but decides to venture over to north Karpathos, which is an island in the Dodecanese between Rhodes and Crete.
She has booked into accommodation run by Minas, a Greek American, and she stays beyond her initial booking period, through the Summer to help out in the taverna and organise rooms for the guests who travel to this remote region. Getting there itself is a complex task but the scenery and simple living more than make up for that. She manages to bring her dog after the initial odyssey (when she has a house sitter taking care of it) and you can really appreciate her storytelling, as she slips into local life.
Dealing with injuries and new characters, she conjures up a real vision of life lived in Greece, away from tourist hot spots.
The food wafts off the pages as the days pass and the brilliant colour of sea and sky burns itself into the brain of the reader. This is just such a nice way to experience Greece through the eyes of this author.
I do think it is interesting that Bradt seem happy to publish the book in its current format. The cover looks pretty unprofessional and when you open up the pages, you are confronted - not with the cream quality of the majority of books - but a lurid white with purple tinges that just reeks cheap publishing. 🙅♀️
The author is well settled on Tilos but decides to venture over to north Karpathos, which is an island in the Dodecanese between Rhodes and Crete.
She has booked into accommodation run by Minas, a Greek American, and she stays beyond her initial booking period, through the Summer to help out in the taverna and organise rooms for the guests who travel to this remote region. Getting there itself is a complex task but the scenery and simple living more than make up for that. She manages to bring her dog after the initial odyssey (when she has a house sitter taking care of it) and you can really appreciate her storytelling, as she slips into local life.
Dealing with injuries and new characters, she conjures up a real vision of life lived in Greece, away from tourist hot spots.
The food wafts off the pages as the days pass and the brilliant colour of sea and sky burns itself into the brain of the reader. This is just such a nice way to experience Greece through the eyes of this author.
I do think it is interesting that Bradt seem happy to publish the book in its current format. The cover looks pretty unprofessional and when you open up the pages, you are confronted - not with the cream quality of the majority of books - but a lurid white with purple tinges that just reeks cheap publishing. 🙅♀️
December 15, 2023
A first person account of an English woman's decision to work at a taverna in an isolated spot on a small Greek Island. The author describes vividly the sea, the beach, the village and the taverna. Her previous travel experiences enabled her to adjust quickly to the travails and stresses of facilitating the concepts of beauty, peace and serenity for tourists. The big draw for her is the sea, and the peaceful isolation she craves. As time passes and she becomes embedded in the business she is often so busy cooking, cleaning, repairing, building, bickering with her "boss" over little things that she sometimes misses the peace and quiet she so desires. She realizes that it's a difficult life to carve out, this little bit of paradise. She gives us bright and fulsome portraits of the man who runs the hotel, the "helpers" who wander in and out, and the villagers and fisher people who enable their success. A rusty Lada plays a major part in the book, as does a loveable dog named Lisa.
September 27, 2022
It’s a cliché, I know, to say ‘I couldn’t put this book down’ – but seriously, I couldn’t. From page one the author launches a skilful assault on each of the sense organs. You are at her side as she lands on the wild and wonderful island of Karpathos and plunges into the risky business of helping to set up and oversee a run down taverna in the north of the island.
Evocative, sensuous descriptions of the landscape she inhabits and the food she prepares and consumes, and wry, amusing observations on the characters she encounters are a real page-turner. There is emotional jeopardy too: Will she stay or will she go? Above all, the author’s adventurous ‘carpe diem’ persona and humane, courageous outlook left me full of envy and admiration. An excellent read – but be warned, your mouth won’t stop watering.
Evocative, sensuous descriptions of the landscape she inhabits and the food she prepares and consumes, and wry, amusing observations on the characters she encounters are a real page-turner. There is emotional jeopardy too: Will she stay or will she go? Above all, the author’s adventurous ‘carpe diem’ persona and humane, courageous outlook left me full of envy and admiration. An excellent read – but be warned, your mouth won’t stop watering.
August 26, 2025
A lovely read.
That book cover is just bliss! And from the gorgeous cover, we go to beautiful descriptions of the Greek Islands where she lives, and the yummy-sounding foods. Such a lovely read.
I've read a couple of memoirs of males working a summer season in a holiday resort, usually 18/20ish. This is a bit different in that it's a young lady, but a bit older and wiser than those teens, and the setting is a quieter place, an idyllic Greek village. Add in Jennifer's doggie sidekick, Lisa, and those ingredients add up to a wonderful read.
An easy, relaxing, gentle read. Just what I needed, and I loved it. I bought Jennifer's first two books a few years ago, but haven't read them yet. So I was reading this later one first-but it didn't matter at all. I look forward to reading her other books, finding out how she ended up in Greece, and there's still another one to buy too!
A beautiful book, which made me want to read all of her memoirs.
That book cover is just bliss! And from the gorgeous cover, we go to beautiful descriptions of the Greek Islands where she lives, and the yummy-sounding foods. Such a lovely read.
I've read a couple of memoirs of males working a summer season in a holiday resort, usually 18/20ish. This is a bit different in that it's a young lady, but a bit older and wiser than those teens, and the setting is a quieter place, an idyllic Greek village. Add in Jennifer's doggie sidekick, Lisa, and those ingredients add up to a wonderful read.
An easy, relaxing, gentle read. Just what I needed, and I loved it. I bought Jennifer's first two books a few years ago, but haven't read them yet. So I was reading this later one first-but it didn't matter at all. I look forward to reading her other books, finding out how she ended up in Greece, and there's still another one to buy too!
A beautiful book, which made me want to read all of her memoirs.
September 25, 2025
Oh, this memoir made me long for sun-filled days on an idyllic Greek beach, swimming, eating and relaxing. With its delightfully descriptive prose, Jennifer Barclay has you right there.
But it’s not always idyllic when you are helping to run a Taverna by the Sea and a hotel on a remote Greek island, as the author discovered. With no wifi or telephone signal, a decidedly dodgy water supply, sudden storms, and the neighbours from hell, Jennifer seemed to spend her summer rushing up and down a mountain cleaning, cooking and trying to keep everything from falling apart. She had me exhausted just reading about her average day.
But will Jennifer stick it out or will she go back to her home on Tilos? You'll have to read to find out.
But it’s not always idyllic when you are helping to run a Taverna by the Sea and a hotel on a remote Greek island, as the author discovered. With no wifi or telephone signal, a decidedly dodgy water supply, sudden storms, and the neighbours from hell, Jennifer seemed to spend her summer rushing up and down a mountain cleaning, cooking and trying to keep everything from falling apart. She had me exhausted just reading about her average day.
But will Jennifer stick it out or will she go back to her home on Tilos? You'll have to read to find out.
October 19, 2025
I read this book because I love Greece and because an old friend of mine did precisely what Jennifer Barclay did, but at a taverna in Corfu many years ago. I'd heard all about the job from my friend, so it was interesting to hear almost the same experiences that Jennifer had in this book. Jennifer writes so picturesquely, it was a pure delight to read. I found the story quite sweet and could imagine each scene as if I were there from her beautiful, evocative, descriptions. I liked that fact that she never did tell what her relationship with the taverna owner exactly was, leaving that to my imagination. Her story made me yearn to return to the Greek islands. If you can't go either, then read this book and you'll be right there in your mind's eye! Four stars for Jennifer Barclay.
September 21, 2025
This is the first book I have read by Jennifer. Her writing style definitely makes the reader feel as if they are on the island with her.. I have to admit now is the time to be in your 20-40’s and able to work from anywhere with a laptop. While she loved the island her work for Minas was rough—when they were busy not only did she work in the tavern day and night but had to go clean the two rental rooms, wash the sheets and towels and stay while they dried. Take the trash away, go to the village to get supplies, etc etc etc. She stayed much longer than she originally had planned to stay. Would she stay forever? You have to read the book to find out.
May 26, 2023
I have loved all Jennifer's books about her life in Greece (especially Tilos) and this book is no different. I cannot wait for the next instalment of her life - perhaps her trip to Australia?
Jennifer started my love of travel writing after I read Falling in Honey and I have now read hundreds of similar books.
Jennifer started my love of travel writing after I read Falling in Honey and I have now read hundreds of similar books.
August 24, 2025
A story without a story. Nothing really happens throughout the entire book but still, I kept on reading and am still thinking about it weeks after. It’s an immersion im living on Karpathos, a wonderful and very little touristy island.
November 6, 2024
Excellent- well observed and honest.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews