Postcard from Folegandros

INSPIRATION | CABANA TRAVEL | WORLD OF CABANA

Athens-based travel writer Kate Lough slips into the slower, wilder side of the Greek island of Folegandros while staying at Spina, an off-grid osteria-with-rooms on the island's remote south-western coast.

BY KATE LOUGH | CABANA TRAVEL | 31 JULY 2026

Every evening, we try to make it back to Spina for the last few hours of sunlight. Ambeli, the small and secluded cove in front, is perfect at this time. It glows with a luminous lilac. And we float like starfish on our backs, unable to see the osteria and its five rooms, arranged like a boat, from the water.

It was this sunset light that Matteo Serri, Spina’s co-founder, first fell in love with more than 20 years ago as a backpacking student from Modena. After being brought to Ambeli by boat by fishermen, he “walked barefoot up the path with its tamarisk trees, eating grapes and figs. And I thought to myself, this is the best light I saw in my life.”

Matteo opened Spina in 2024 alongside his best friend and chef, Alessandro Pagnoni. The pair had bought the land more than a decade before with the idea of preserving Ambeli, where they returned year after year, coming for ouzo and olives every day at sundown. In the Greek siga siga (slowly slowly) way, the plan evolved. “The idea was to have a garden in front of the sea,” Matteo explains, “with friends around, preparing food, with some rooms to rent.”

The result is as beautiful in its simplicity, with guests experiencing Folegandros in much the same way as Matteo and Alessandro have done for years. Swimming off the rocks at Ambeli, it never feels crowded. After baking like lizards on July-warmed rocks, everyone follows the path up to the Osteria for an aperitivo. Silky black olives and rough slices of goats’ cheese made just above the hotel, accompanied by a glass of something — most likely recommended by Matteo, a trained sommelier. At 8pm, not necessarily sharp, the nightly tasting menu begins.

A former animal refuge provides a small kitchen, while most of the ingredients are prepared over fire. “Cookin in this way is a survival here, since we don’t have energy — not a fashion,” as Matteo points out. A mezze of vegetable-focused dishes take their cue from the garden, while the main plates depend on what the fisherman or butcher brings to the table that day. For us, it is a delectable calamari ragu and an octopus pasta.

Spina’s five rooms are built into the hillside, using only rocks and stones that were found right there. Energy comes from solar panels, rainwater is collected in winter and there is no AC. Its interiors are stylish but pared back. From our bed we can see the sea, just as you would from the front cabin of a boat. Small, thoughtful touches are everywhere. A metallic water bottle to take with you to the beach. Short stories about the sea to read before bed.

“Luxury for me is to wake up and swim, before having breakfast,” Matteo tells me. And each morning, dutifully, I do just that. Following the Spina suggestion to leave my shoes behind and walk barefoot down to Ambeli for a dive. Often I am alone. Next, over coffee, omelettes and banana bread, while a pair of donkeys get ready on the hill opposite, the day’s programme is decided. Shaped by the direction of the wind and discussed with Julia, Matteo’s partner in all senses — while their long-haired dachshund Pinot snoozes under a stool nearby.

Encouraged by hosts that feel like friends, we experience a softer side of Folegandros, hiking to wild beaches and eating in village tavernas. One morning, we dropped our car on top of the island’s arid spine and followed ‘LV’ markings for an hour down an uneven path to Livadaki, a wild beauty with emerald waters and a lighthouse beyond. Reading under the shade of tamarisks and fuelled by courgette pies and orange cake from the bakery just beyond.

Another day, we stopped in Ano Meria, a traditional village with views of the sea on both sides. I was much more taken by this than the photogenic Chora, despite the latter’s magnificent monastery. Here, on the suggestion of Julia, we ate at Irini’s: a grocer’s-come-kafenio with spearmint green woven ceilings and some of the best food I've tasted in Greece. 

An island matriarch, Irini cooks from noon each day, preparing in particular matsata, a handmade fresh pasta that is typical of the island. Served with a tomato sauce and the meat of your choice (go for keftedes) it was so delicious that we returned the following day. Back home at Spina, where stone walls nurture growing gardens and the quiet is not disturbed, we take our final dive of the day, just in time for aperitivo and sunset.

--------------------

Tip: If you are travelling to Folegandros via Santorini, stay for a night in one of Cycladica’s traditional cave houses in Oia. The Old Bakery, in particular, is a delight.