I was late… and the guy was not going to let me forget it!
“I have a reservation at 8:45,” I declared.
“No…” said the host, as he flipped his wrist to check the time and pointed at his watch with a scolding frown. I felt the fire coming through his eyes, like a laser beaming into mine.
“Yes… I booked over email,” I reiterated — basically code for: You’re not on time and now you want to be seated? I felt like a child being told off. The naughty step was coming next.
Guys… come on. I’ve visited you before, and I made the same remark last time: your service is cold and not friendly at all. But could this be mistaken for stress? Perhaps the ice can melt and smiles might appear? How lucky we would be to see that!
Right now, yes, it is August — the restaurant’s prime time. In May, during our first visit, it was quiet and things seemed easier to manage. And of course, when you have small footfall, there is less stress, less demand, and the food is easier to nail. This is in no way an excuse — August is an important month for Greece. It is peak holiday season for tourists.
I sat down, pulling a face of awkwardness as I lifted out my chair.
“Well, that’s a good start,” I said, half laughing to my guests.
“What happened?” they asked.
“Oh, don’t worry about it… we were told off for being late! Let’s just move on and order.”
I fancied a nice orangeade thirst-quencher, so we asked what brands they had.
“We only have Fanta,” said the waiter.
A shame — it wasn’t a local Greek brand or an Italian one. I had Chinotto in mind.
“No thank you,” I replied, thinking, If I hear the word Fanta one more time here… elevate your bar, make it nicer!
We had a couple of guests with gluten allergies, but unfortunately the waiters were not very knowledgeable about it. The word ‘gluten’ went right over their heads, and they looked at us as though we were aliens who had just landed from Mars. So, we had to navigate this ourselves.
Time to get straight to the point about the food. The octopus croquette tasted bitter on the outside, the coating acrid on the palate. If it’s burnt or not quite right, don’t serve it — better to start over. The prawns in the saganaki were not helping the sauce because they lacked flavour; the chef needs to revisit the product, as they were not the best ones. The marinated mackerel, on the other hand, was a highlight — a simple plate, but it delivered. The swordfish souvlaki was tender and reminded me of tuna, another good dish on the table.
There were ups and downs this evening, with the service seemingly struggling with more people and the kitchen perhaps suffering as well. Not everything was in sync or running like it did in May. If I come back a third time, will you be nicer to us? Service is SO important. Third time lucky, as they say!
