IONIO RESTAURANT GRILL-HOUSE — Restaurant in Lefkada Municipality

Ah, where to begin? Our visit to this taverna was... memorable, but not in the way one hopes for when dining in Greece.

We arrived as a group of six, and apparently, that qualifies you for one menu to share. Great if you're into communal reading, not so great if you're hungry and would like to know what you're ordering before sunset.

Speaking of time, the service redefined "island time". When the appetizers finally arrived, we had to double-check if we were given samples by mistake. Let's just say, if you're expecting the usual generous Greek meze, you’ll be very disappointed.

Now, the main event: three of us ordered the 1kg sea bass. It arrived looking like it had barely left the ocean, and was raw on the inside — not in a fancy sushi way, but in a “this-will-make-you-sick” way. Oh, and it was uncleaned — yes, insides were still there, staring back at us. We politely sent it back. 20–30 minutes later, the same fish returned, now overcooked but still uncleaned.

When we mentioned — again, politely — that serving raw, uncleaned fish was not ideal, the waiter laughed and informed us that "this is how we eat fish in Greece." Interesting, considering every other taverna we visited in Greece managed to serve cleaned, properly cooked fish without the side of attitude.

To make up for it, they gave us the wine on the house. A kind gesture, though by that point, we needed something much stronger.

The one bright spot? Our waiter was genuinely friendly and tried his best. Unfortunately, even the nicest service can't make up for a gut-full of fish guts.

Would I return? Only if I develop a sudden craving...

We had a very disappointing experience at this restaurant.

Even though we had made a reservation, when we arrived it was clear our table hadn’t been kept. We were placed at a waiting table that was only later set up with cutlery and a tablecloth. It took about 25 minutes before anyone came to take our order. Drinks arrived another 10 minutes later, first water and then the wine separately after 5 more minutes.

We ordered an appetizer to share (tzatziki with bread) and two main dishes, but one of the main courses arrived before the appetizer. This completely ruined the flow of the meal. To make things worse, one of the main dishes — a whole grilled fish — was served without being cleaned, so we had to deal with the sight of the fish’s insides at the table.

After finishing our food, we waited another 15 minutes but no one came to clear the table or ask if we wanted dessert or coffee. The final straw was when one of the waitresses sat down near us with other guests to smoke a cigarette, while we were still waiting. At that point, we decided to leave and pay.

The food itself was nothing special — just average compared to other tavernas in the area. But the poor service and lack of organization made the whole experience truly...

Absolutely amazing experience 🤩 It felt like I went to my grandparents yard with all the vines hanging and creating a wonderful shade for us to sit and enjoy our lunch, actually no, it was a feast! The food was beyond our expectations! Traditional, exceptionally flavoured but with simple ingredients! The cook is a wizard of taste! The music was completing the Traditional Greek experience as you had the filling a movie star of an old black and white movie will show up and start dancing a "zeibekiko" to drown his sorrows 🥰 The service was super friendly, fast and polite. A wonderful clean place, we couldn't have asked for anything better. The prices for a family of 3 was reasonable and absolutely worth it! Thanks a lot guys! You made our visit to Lefkada...