Terre Mouikis Restaurant — Restaurant in Argostoli Municipality

We visited today after searching for a more “up market” dining experience in Kefalonia.

Let me start by saying that what you’ll get / how you’ll rate it depends on what your expectations are. If you’re looking for a fine dining experience on par with Michelin or aspiring Michelin star restaurants, unfortunately it falls a bit short. If you’re looking for tasty food, well presented and with a bit of a twist, you won’t be disappointed.

So 3 stars for fine dining but 5 stars for a more upmarket experience.

More specifically, the food was great but there were the little attention to detail things that make the difference between Michelin star and not. For example the watermelon salad had pips in the watermelon. In a Michelin star restaurant I’d expect that these are removed.

Service was OK and they are all super friendly and trying their best but ideally they need a bit more training. For example the waiter did not refill our glasses with water, which again I’d expect to be done. They forgot to bring over a set of spoons as promised to serve our starters between us. Which is fine, no big deal but equally it can be made a bit better to hit fine dining expectations.

Similarly the mains were way late - we waited close to 45 minutes between starters arriving and mains being served. Again not ideal and indicates that the kitchen is not running like clockwork.

If, on the other hand you’re expecting great tasty food with excellent presentation you won’t be disappointed. But it needs a bit more work to go up there and meet fine dining expectations.

I really hope the above are taken onboard as this place has a lot of potential. The food was great, the waiters super friendly, the ambiance excellent. Just a bit more attention to detail and it can be...

Unfortunately we had a less good experience at this restaurant. The reservation-app on their website specifically asks for 'occassion' and 'diet preferences', we filled these out specifying it was my gf's birthday and that I have a lactose intolerance.

Once at our table I asked what my options were. At first no one came to help me. Once someone eventually did show up, after us asking a second time, the staff came to the conclusion that there was only 1 choise from the whole menu (both the fish and meat sections) for me, apart from the vegan section. And this one choise would be the dish without the sauce, as the sauce contained milk as well. Basically I could only choose 1, half dish.

Next bread came. I couldn't have the butter, so we asked for some oil. But they forgot. Another small faux pas. But anyway, it's your gf's bday so you decide not to make a fuzz and enjoy your evening together.

Next we noticed people at the tables next to us had birthday celebrations as well. Both were accomodated by songs from the staff as well as a special dessert. None of this happened for us though. Were not big on dessert, but service level shouldn't be dependent on the amount of dishes one orders in a €70+ per person establishment.

We thought: Well, maybe something went wrong with the reservation-app, these things happen. But as we excited the restaurant the girl at the entrance commented: have a great birthday. Well meant, i have no doubt, but adding insult to injury on a dinner experience that was already sub-par. Especially seeing that both the reviews and the menu card hinted at 'michelin star'-level experiences.

We really, really wanted to love it. But...

If you enjoy fine dining this will not be matched or bettered in Kefalonia. This is the real deal, my advice would be go now when it is an absolute bargain before they get their Michelin Star, which they undoubtedly will. From the staff who greeted us to the waiters, and the sommelier, they all came across as true professionals which they jolly well should under the tutelage of former executive chef of Pied a Terre in London, Asimakis Chaniotis-Vallianatos no less. This was in my Top 10 meals ever, strangely enough, the last 3 restaurants I have said would gain Michelin Stars, all have. Zarzos in Eindhoven, Muga in Poznan and Le Petit Leon in The Dordogne. This is fine dining, it is not a Taverna, so if you are looking for big plates of lamb cutlets, fried squid etc, it is not for you. Not that their is anything wrong with that whatsoever, I personally love nothing more than good local lamb cutlets like they serve at Alia's Yard in Magganos. For starters we chose Prawn Tartar ( undoubtedly the star of the show ) and Wild Mushroom Parfait followed by Black Pork and Ribeye steak. These were matched with wines by one of the friendliest and knowledgable sommeliers I've met. Interestingly, 2 of my 3 wines were wines from the Sarris Vineyard that I am having a tasting at later this week. Dessert, again matched with 2 excellent dessert wines by the sommelier were Strawberry millefeuille and the Jivara Namelaka. A truly wonderful experience, 2 hours later and I am...