5th April 2007 - The Lagoudera has re-opened under new management. "FACK Entertainment", as christened last year by HydraDirect, welcomed the public to dance and drink all night long! Opening their doors briefly for the Easter/Paska festivities, Kostas and the team will close again for a short spell so further developments can be made during the next month or so.

 However, prospects for the future are positive.

Pigadi Hydra opened just 3 days ago. You will find it in the market square opposite the post office. It’s typical for it’s mezes, ouzo, coffee and light refreshments. Very welcoming. Vagelis Sideris is the owner and can be contacted on +(30) 6946 687 991.

After a lot of hard work and effort, Koulis and Eleni Maragos opened their new coffee shop/bar named Bandera, yesterday 17th May ’07. A very pleasant and friendly atmosphere with extremely plush and comfortable chairs inside. They are situated exactly in the middle of the harbour and I wish them all the best in their new adventure. Contact number is +(30) 22980 54100.

Errr.. I hear you mutter, but yes you did read correctly! The dynamic trio Kostas, Aleko and Fannis of Enalion and Amalour fame, have been joined by a new partner Chrisostomos - I'll leave you to rearrange the initials. Also, I take no responsibility for christening their partnership as it was Kostas who slipped it into a conversation with me the other evening and he never lets anything slip out unless he wants it broadcasted!

AlekoHalf the fun of the gossip on Hydra is the speculation and FACK Entertainment certainly give everyone something to get their teeth into. Not only do the boys run the highly successful Amalour Bar in Hydra town and for some years have also run the Enalion Restaurant in Vlichos but posters went up during the summer announcing the opening of their Amalour Restaurant in Athens as well, hence Chrisostomos joining the partnership.

09-Jul-07 - Jannis and Iffigenia opened the doors of their new "... Kai Kremmethi" souvlaki cafe yesterday and I for one give it an appreciative thumbs up. This is hardly a greasy spoon type of cafe - more a creme de la creme establishment for fast food Greek style!

And (drum roll), apart from the usual traditional souvlaki fare you will find sausages on the menu - yep - thin skins, charcoal striped, lightly herbed, succulent meat with no horrid gristly bits, real honest to goodness bangers - a delicious treat. Now I'm sorry to harp on here but I have been presented before with what the Greeks fondly imagine to be sausages but being English and somewhat of a connoisseur, I have to say I have been sadly let down in the past, but the Kremmethi sausages are definitely up there with the best. You need to ask (I think) for "loukaniko" with stress on the "a".

The tavernas and restaurants on Hydra each have a unique atmosphere and character but are all fairly similar in what they offer on the menu with one or two notable exceptions that I'll mention later. The range of menus have generally become broader over the last decade but they're still quite limited to variations of traditional Greek dishes. You won't find Chinese or Indian restaurants here. So if you like your food spicy, you should probably bring your own Tabasco sauce!

There are six places on Hydra Island Greece where you can have a dance in a place that could be called a Night Club. Hydra doesn't have the huge clubs that you'll find on other islands such as Santorini or Mykonos. But we still have a choice of venues and most people end up bouncing between them during the early hours as they're all so close together. All have dancing inside and a few bar stools with lots of tables and chairs outside. Note: in the evenings you’ll get your drinks quicker if you order from the waiters and waitresses rather than standing at the bar hoping to be noticed.

Starting in the east corner of the harbour and working round to the west, you have the Amalour, Pirate, Nautilos, Saronicos, the most recently opened Omilos and just below the Sunset Restaurant you have the Ydronetta. Each has a completely different atmosphere and appeal.