Moon Spinners — Restaurant in Municipality of Agios Nikolaos

We were recommended Moon Spinners by our hotel. The day before we walked by and met a very friendly waiter and we had a joke about my name and Jamie Oliver (people in Crete are confused by the name Jamie unless I invoke turkey-twizzler boy…).

Our booking was 8pm so we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset in the very lovely setting.

The meal got off to a great start - House white wine is good and cheap (€15 a bottle) and the bread was very good.

My starter was even better - I had the tuna which was outstanding. My partner had mushrooms in cheese which she liked.

That was (almost) all the good parts - unfortunately things took a bit of a downward turn after that - which after such a good start was a real shame.

We arrived at 8 and everything initially came promptly after ordering - At half 9 we were just starting to feel fed up when our mains finally arrived. Some communication from waiting staff during that time would have eased the wait…

I was really happy with my main though. I went for the lemon risotto which again was excellent. Creamy with a zing of lemon, rice perfect.

My son, 11, went for the orzo. It tasted really good but was probably a bit of a sophisticated taste for a child. Not sure what else he could have had (although he does love steak)

My partner’s seafood spaghetti unfortunately arrived cold. Of course we should have mentioned this at the time and the restaurant were not given a chance to rectify it so I haven’t marked down massively for that. However we had been waiting for an age by that point and saying something would only have delayed things further.

Things got a bit weird when we came to pay.

The bill itself was €144 which came as a bit of a shock. It was presented as one sheet handwritten in English with no prices then another all in Greek with the prices.

There was a €33.50 charge for something called ‘TANATYKTIKO-NEPO’ on the bill.

The nice waiter from the day before appeared so we asked him about this. He peered at the bill very quizzically and was equally bamboozled. He came back and said that they knew what had happened and removed it from the bill (final total €114). They also gave us another bottle of wine as recompense for the error.

That was great and they were very apologetic so benefit of the doubt given. I mention it here as a scan of the reviews indicate this isn’t the first time there has been some bill discrepancies.

After some thought I’ve gone for 4 stars as the food was, bar the spaghetti, all really delicious. A few tweaks in the service, closer management of the bill, and some hotter pasta and we’d have given a 5 without question... in reality this visit was probably...

We recently dined at this restaurant, and while the waitstaff certainly displayed dedication, the overall experience didn't quite meet our expectations. Our anticipation upon arrival quickly waned as we found ourselves waiting for an extended period that felt almost timeless. In fact, our youngest family member even nodded off while we patiently awaited our meals, making the ordeal stretch on for a rather taxing 2.5 hours.

While we genuinely empathized with the hardworking waiters, our true disappointment surfaced when the food finally graced our table. To put it diplomatically, the cuisine didn't live up to the standard we'd anticipated, particularly for a Greek restaurant. This wasn't what we had in mind after such a lengthy wait.

To compound matters, our astonishment peaked when the bill arrived, and the waiter inquired about our preferred tip percentage, suggesting either 10 or 15 percent. Given the less-than-stellar dining experience, it was disheartening to be presented with such a question, especially after enduring a protracted meal.

Adding to our chagrin, the food was noticeably overpriced. We don't mind paying for quality, but when we saw the final bill, we couldn't quite rationalize the substantial sum for a meal that had regrettably veered into culinary disappointment territory.

In conclusion, although the restaurant's waitstaff demonstrated admirable dedication, the extensive wait, underwhelming food, and unexpected tip inquiry left us with a lingering sense of disappointment. Coupled with the steep prices, this dining experience didn't meet our expectations. Regrettably, we won't be returning anytime soon, and we sincerely hope the restaurant can enhance both its dining experience and pricing for...

What an amazing Experience! Moon Spinners was a place that my wife wanted to go so bad, just because of the movie she loved so much so, we went there.

What we did not know is, there, there would be someone called Periklis and Olga. Both made this experience very unique for my wife.

Place was closed when we got there but, we asked if we could have just a coffee and enjoy the view. Periklis did not hesitate and got a table for us. We 3 had great conversations while he was preparing all the tables for lunch. I could tell right away he loves what he does and more importantly he is happy there. Then comes Olga, the owner. What a down to earth person. So kind.

The experience was so good we decided to have lunch there (the place was only to go and visit the place 😂)

Unfortunately I was so stunned that I forgot to take pictures of the food but we did get the Lobster 🦞 and a Risotto. Both were sublime.

The desser, in the picture, was just the cherry on top of the cake. I was full but man I couldn’t stop eating that 🥳🥰.

The price: it can be a bit pricey, yes but, considering the uniqueness of the place, of how the waiter treat you, of the food, it feels like a customized lunch/dinner so, for me it feels right.

Thank you so much for creating this memorable to my wife. We will for sure be back next time we...