The string of bars and cafés facing the Portara peninsula from the waterfront becomes one of the more atmospheric drinking spots in the Cyclades every evening when the sun descends toward the marble gateway. The gathering is informal — some people are on café terraces with proper seats and menus, others are perched on the sea wall with a can from a nearby kiosk — and the atmosphere is relaxed in the way that somewhere beautiful and genuinely public can be, when it hasn't been fully commodified.
The ritual is simple: arrive an hour before sunset, secure a position with a sightline to the Portara, order something cold, and wait. The colours the marble turns as the sun drops — first bright white, then amber, then deep orange before the light goes — happen slowly enough that you experience the change rather than just photograph it. The causeway to the Portara itself fills with people sitting on the ancient stone; the bars behind fill with people who preferred a chair and a drink.
Several café-bars cluster near the base of the causeway, ranging from proper cocktail operations to straightforward beer-and-wine places. None of them is remarkable for their drinks list; the point is the location. Prices are consistent with Greek island tourism — higher than the supermarket, lower than Mykonos. Arrive a little before the main crowd peaks if you want a seat; the best positions go fast in July and August.
After the sunset the crowd disperses and the causeway empties. If you walk out to the Portara after dark, you'll often find it almost empty — lit, enormous, and quiet in a way the daytime and sunset crowds don't allow.