The White House,
Kalami.

The White House sits right on the edge of Kalami Bay, on the north-east coast of Corfu. The tables closest to the sea are close enough to the water that the whole thing almost feels like it is floating — small boats bobbing a few metres away, clear water, and green hills rising up behind the village.

It is the kind of setting that could easily coast on the view alone. The reason I went back is that the food more than holds its own.

The two meals were not just a repeat of the same lobster order. Across both visits we had the lobster with linguine, lobster with orzo, shrimp pasta, Greek salad, an octopus dish, Tiramisu and the Yogurt–Chamomile dessert. The lobster was the dish I came back for, but there was much more on the table than that.

On my first visit I had the lobster with pasta — long strands of linguine turned through the shellfish and its buttery, garlicky sauce, with the lobster itself split open on top. On my second visit I swapped the pasta for orzo (kritharaki), cooked risotto-style so the little grains soak up all of that deep seafood flavour.

If you made me choose, the orzo just edged it — there is something about the way it holds the sauce — but honestly neither was a mistake. The pasta is the more familiar, comforting version; the orzo is the one I would order again first.

The lobster is €150 per kiloand charged by weight, so the final price depends on the lobster you choose. It is worth asking the weight when ordering so you know exactly what to expect.

Alongside the lobster on both visits I ordered the Greek salad (€16) and it is a cut above the usual version. Three-coloured cherry tomatoes, carob rusks for crunch, caper leaves, and a generous piece of soft Cretan goat's cheese instead of the standard slab of feta. It is fresh, a little different, and the ideal thing to cut through all that rich lobster.

In the daytime it is bright and easy — sunglasses, cold white wine, the water right there beside you and the village going about its day across the bay. Come back in the evening and the mood shifts completely: little lamps on each table, the lights of Kalami reflected across the dark water, and everything a touch more romantic.

I would happily go for either. If it is a special occasion though, the after-dark version is hard to beat.

The Tiramisu (€18)is The White House's take on the classic: anthotyro mousse, Greek coffee ganache, sour cherry, carob crumble and a sour cherry–tsipouro sorbet. I liked that it still had the flavours you expect from tiramisu, but with a distinctly Greek twist.

The Yogurt–Chamomile (€16)combines yogurt mousse, almond, lemongrass namelaka, chamomile gel, cucumber sauce and melon sorbet. It is lighter and fresher, with the melon, cucumber and chamomile making it a really interesting finish after the seafood.

The White House is one of those restaurants where the setting and the food genuinely match each other. The waterside location is beautiful, but it is not carrying the meal — the cooking is memorable enough that I chose to come back for a second visit.

For a special meal in Corfu, this is somewhere I would happily recommend. My pick would be a waterside table before sunset, the lobster with orzo, something lighter alongside it, and enough room left for one of the desserts.