Il Borgo — When Venetian History Comes to the Table

Zakynthos spent centuries under Venetian rule, and the island never quite let go of the influence. You hear it in certain surnames, see it in the architecture of what survived the 1953 earthquake, taste it in a cuisine that borrowed freely from both culinary traditions. Il Borgo, opened in 2018 by the Ferretti-Zervos family — one parent Venetian, one Zakynthian — is the most considered expression of this hybrid identity currently operating on the island.

The Concept

The restaurant occupies a restored stone building at the edge of Tsilivi village, set back from the resort strip on a quiet lane. The interior has exposed stone walls, wooden beams, and soft pendant lights that cast everything in amber. Outside, a walled garden terrace with lemon and fig trees seats another thirty people under strings of lights. Both spaces are worth fighting for.

The menu is genuinely bicultural rather than Italian-themed with a Greek flag in the corner. Italian technique — proper pasta-making, risotto patiently stirred, genuine Italian sourcing for certain ingredients — meets Ionian produce that’s remarkable enough to stand alongside it.

The Food

The linguine with local vongole uses clams that come from the lagoon near Kyllini, on the mainland coast visible from Tsilivi on clear days. They’re smaller and more intensely flavoured than the imported versions that appear everywhere else. The pasta is made in-house, slightly rough-surfaced to catch the sauce, cooked to the kind of precision that only comes from genuine pasta obsession.

The saffron risotto is the centrepiece. Zakynthos produces its own saffron — a fact that surprises most visitors and delights most food writers who discover it. Il Borgo uses this local crocus variety in a risotto with local spiny lobster that is simultaneously the most expensive and most justified item on the menu. It takes forty minutes and is worth every second.

The burrata arrives from a producer in Puglia that the owners visited and vetted personally. It’s served with Zakynthos tomatoes (grown near Laganas, where the soil produces something exceptional) and a basil oil made in-house. This sounds simple because it is. The quality does the work.

The tiramisu gets a mastiha twist — the Greek resin from Chios Island replaces some of the coffee flavour with an aromatic, pine-resin quality that sounds experimental and tastes right.

The Owners

Giulia Ferretti-Zervos manages the front of house with the efficiency of someone who grew up in a Venetian trattoria and the warmth of someone who grew up Zakynthian. Her brother Marco does most of the cooking, assisted by his partner Dimitra, who is responsible for the pastry section and the remarkable bread. The family dynamic is visible in the best possible way — this is somewhere people are genuinely invested in what they’re doing.

Practical Notes

Il Borgo is closed on Mondays. It’s busier than it looks from the outside — Tsilivi’s expat community has adopted it as their default nice-dinner venue, and there’s a loyal contingent of returning visitors who book before they even land. Reserve for weekends and during July and August.

The wine list leans Greek with Italian support — about sixty labels, with several natural wines from both countries that deserve exploration. Corkage is available for a fee if you’ve been wise enough to visit a local wine shop first.

Prices are moderate by European standards, slightly above average for Zakynthos — budget around €45–60 per person with wine. It’s the kind of place where you feel the bill is fair when it arrives.