I didn’t expect to find a restaurant of this caliber in this part of Greece. If you’re familiar with Hanioti, Pefkochori, or the greater Kassandra area, you’ll know it’s mostly traditional taverns serving fresh Mediterranean seafood—and rarely anything beyond. So Nefeli Garden was a surprising and delightful discovery.
🍽️ Highlights from the Menu: • Fresh Octopus – A rare find in Greece where most non-fish seafood is frozen. This was the softest, most tender octopus I’ve had—surpassing even my former favorite from Valencia. • Truffle Parmesan Potatoes – Not your average Greek-style lemon potatoes. These were roasted with garlic, caramelized onions, truffle, and parmesan. The aroma alone was heavenly. • Zucchini Croquettes – Light and elegant. Instead of heavy dough, the outer layer was ultra-thin and soft—almost baked, not deep-fried. Filled with zucchini, mint, and feta, and served on a beautiful bed of tzatziki. • Tuna Tartar on Wonton Crisps – Fresh, bright, and beautifully balanced. One of the most refined starters on the menu. • Greek Salad – We chose the traditional version instead of their modern take. Classic, fresh, and well-executed.
🐚 Room for Improvement: • Mussels in Lemon Sauce – While fresh, they arrived slightly cooled and the lemon dressing didn’t complement them as well as it did the octopus. I personally prefer mussels in a white wine or olive oil-based sauce. • House Dessert (Galaktoboureko Twist) – Their modern version came filled with ice cream, but was too hard and frozen to enjoy. • Baklava with Ice Cream & Pistachio Cream – A bit too sweet and rich, even for sharing. A smaller portion or lighter version could’ve balanced it better.
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📝 Final Thoughts:
Nefeli Garden masterfully balances traditional Greek cuisine with modern, elevated twists—and even blends in some international influences. The menu is diverse, the presentation thoughtful, and the quality of ingredients top-notch (especially for this region). While a couple of dishes weren’t to my personal taste, the overall experience was impressive and absolutely worth a visit.
📍Would definitely return for the octopus and tartar alone....
Read moreA good restaurant with bad service. My friend went 3 hours before dinner to make a reservation in person for a party of 5. We asked for a table closest to sea. They confirmed. When we went they took us to a table designed for 5 as we requested closest to the sea. While we wait to order a staff member came and told us to move to another table which was not in a location as we requsted. (Saying that they made a mistake) We objected and said we had a reservation too, so as we are already sitted, he could ask the other people to directly sit to other table. He was so rude, not apologetic and told us to move to other table like an order. It was not the table location change but it was his rude and careless behaviour that we felt so bad. His attitude was line: do what I say or leave.
EDIT: Reading your answer, just want to tell you that you take no responsibility. Yes you asked us to prepare a table by the seaside, and we did not want to move again to the 3rd table location. Our bad feeling is not primarily about the table location but about the non apologetic behavior. Please take it. After making many mistakes and bad customer experience, you want us to do what you want us to do. Your answer is u acceptable. You try to create an opinion with your answer as if I am intentionally trying to create negativity about your restaurant. It is as simple as this is: your staff misbehaved. You offered us to prepare a table by the seaside only after we said this behaviour will be reflected in reviews. This...
Read moreI've travelled in S-E Asia and had great food there as well as in many other countries in the EU like 🇮🇹 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 , Canary/ Balearic Islands, 🇨🇿 🇧🇬 🇹🇷 🇵🇱 🇷🇴 🇨🇭 and also been to a Michelin star place BUT this restaurant had the best food I've ever had in my life. Had the opportunity to taste over 15 different dishes ( we were a big group of friends, and everyone got different things multiple times ). Don't get me wrong, all greek restaurants do really good food in the area but this one has something extremely special. Each dish has a story to tell with a perfect sauce that combines everything together. You can feel the chef's hard work and craft no matter the type of meat. You don't get to experience so many different types of meat and dishes done by a kitchen at such a high level of fine dining, and that is why I was so impressed. It felt like I was part of a cooking show and happened to take part in the grand final 😂 Do hope the chef will read this and understand how good she is 🤩.
Not to mention that the service is impecable, the staff lovely and the garden area looks superb.
Thank you again for this amazing experience...
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