Side in Summer vs Winter: Two Restaurants in One

Side runs two entirely different restaurants under one name, depending on when you arrive. Both are excellent. They are just not the same place — and knowing which one you are walking into makes the whole trip better.

The summer restaurant (May–October)

The maximal version: terraces full, frozen daiquiris beating the heat, the 19:00 Happy Hour rolling into dinner rolling into karaoke that tests the 02:00 close. Kitchens sprint, streets hum, and the pickup vans loop the coast all evening. Summer rules: book dinner, embrace the frozen drinks, never schedule anything for the morning after a karaoke night.

The winter restaurant (November–April)

The intimate version: the long-stay crowd and wise winter-sun visitors, tables that hold no clock, the slow clay-pot classics and warm spiked coffees coming into their own. The old town is yours; the festive season glows in the middle of it. Winter rules: come hungry for the slow dishes, walk everywhere, tell nobody at home how good this is.

What never changes

• Open daily, 10:00–02:00, year-round — the fire does not hibernate.
• The charcoal and wood fire — the method is the identity, whatever the month.
• The full menu — steak to curry to pizza, all seasons.
• The welcome — since 2000, summer sprint or winter calm.

The honest recommendation

First visit? Summer — the full theatre. Return visit? Try the quiet season once, and understand why the winter regulars smile like people who know something. Either way, the table is lit — book it.