Kariatis Restaurant — Restaurant in Municipality of Chania

We dined here with our family of 6. First the good: the hostess was lovely and welcoming the salmon tartare was delicious the salads were massive - we ordered 2 salads and all 6 of us had plenty to eat the complimentary chocolate truffles and dessert wine was a nice touch I was glad to finally find a wine list with Valpolicella offered, but I ended up not ordering it because of the attitudes of the serving staff - I was not at all feeling inclined to spend time here. We left without having dessert for the same reason. Now the bad: the service was very poor - lacking basic consideration and kindness and almost bordering on rudeness at times. Instead of feeling welcomed and embraced like we've been at virtually every other restaurant all across Greece for the past 2 1/2 weeks, we felt like we were imposing. For example: our main courses were served without any of the first course dishes being removed. When the waiter was about to walk away after serving all of the mains, we had to ask for new plates, only then did he remove the first course dishes and cutlery. We had to ask to have empty bottles removed from our table. At no time did anyone offer to refill our drinks and we were not asked if we wanted additional bottles of water when the first ones were removed. At any fine dining restaurant we've ever visited, when we ask to take the leftover food, the food is taken from the table and packaged for us. Here, the waitress, after being asked, went away to get a container (with no bag) and said "here you go" as she put it on the table without stopping while she was walking by. When we asked for a bag, no bag was provided and we had to ask the hostess on our way out. After the main course was served, no one stopped by to check in on us and, after waiting a long time after our meal was done, we finally signalled for a server to bring us the check. The server looked directly at us and walked by without providing any indication that he would attend to us. We asked for one of the salads to have the cheese served on the side, since my husband doesn't eat cheese. The server indicated that they don't make any changes to the menu. On one hand, we can appreciate their desire to present their food in the way they envision it. On the other hand, the restaurant is there to serve guests and accommodating guests needs should be a priority. However, we were not so troubled by their policy as much as the way it was communicated. We eat at five-star restaurants all across the world and we have never experienced such a condescending approach.

I've eaten at a lot of amazing Italian restaurants, so I'm a little hard to impress Italian food-wise. This restaurant had some good highlights for their food, but the pizza was just OK. If it was based on food alone, I could recommend it, but we left with a very bad taste in our mouths for the reasons...

Ah, Kariatis Restaurant, where culinary adventures and comedic mishaps collide! Let me regale you with the tale of my hilarious evening at this charming establishment in Chania.

My friend and I, in our quest for a memorable dining experience, decided to give Kariatis a whirl. The menu was a cornucopia of delights, but we both settled on pasta, which seemed to be a popular choice among the other diners. Little did we know that our pasta adventure would take an unexpected twist.

The pasta arrived, and to our surprise, it was as thick as a snake on steroids. It turned out to be tagletelli, or at least that's what we convinced ourselves it was called. In my plate, a delightful salmon danced among the pasta ribbons, while my brave friend went for the choritz pasta variation. Cue the comedy.

My dear friend, bless their heart, was not well-versed in the art of pasta consumption. They boldly attacked their plate armed with a fork and spoon, creating a symphony of clinking utensils and flailing noodles. It was a spectacle worth the price of admission alone. I couldn't help but giggle between bites of my salmon-infused tagletelli.

As we embarked on this gastronomic journey, we were initially thrilled by the warm bread and olives that graced our table. Alas, it turned out to be a case of bread deception. It wasn't complementary, despite its initial appearance. However, it wasn't exorbitantly priced either, so I decided not to be too upset. After all, the entertainment value was worth every penny.

But fear not, dear reader, for the true treasures of Kariatis awaited us at the end of our meal. The desserts, oh, the desserts! They were scrumptious and decadent, like winning the dessert lottery. And to my delight, they were complimentary! Yes, my friends, a freebie! I'm a sucker for a sweet treat, and Kariatis knew exactly how to win my heart.

Overall, my experience at Kariatis Restaurant was a delightful romp of culinary enjoyment and side-splitting laughter. The ambience was lovely, the food was enjoyable (once we figured out the proper utensil deployment), and those complimentary desserts and wine were the icing on the cake, or rather, the cream on the tiramisu.

Would I go again? Absolutely! Not just to savor the delectable dishes but also to witness my friend's valiant attempts at eating spaghetti with a spoon. It's a show that's worth seeing over and over. So, my fellow adventurers, do yourself a favor and don't miss out on Kariatis. It's a place where pasta and comedy collide in the most...

Not a traditional Greek restaurant but they do serve exceptional food! Nicely decorated and located just behind the harbour. It is a great place to enjoy a romantic evening. Fine dinning experience for those who wish to experience something familiar thousand of miles away from home.

I had the shrimp and mango which was really well balanced without the mango overpowering the shrimp. Fixture of fruits and vegetables to enhance the shrimp. Highly recommend.

I then had another starter baked Crepe with shrimp which was equally good, nothing (including the mozzarella) overpowered the shrimp and the bacon only served to bring out more of the favour from the shrimp.

My main course is fresh tuna with wakame which came highly recommended by the Senior Panagiotis which at first I was highly sceptical, as I wasn’t here to have Japanese. There are far better places to have Japanese and not in Crete, but was I surprised.

The tuna is so fresh and the wakame was well complimented with the tuna and together with my bottle of wine, well…. Everything was so well balanced and they work magic to my palate.

The two restaurant waiters both Panagiotis. They both are competent waiters and the senior one is very funny and has a great sense of humour.

I really had a good time here and would highly recommend. Excellent restaurant for a romantic...