Drakos Tavern — Restaurant in Municipality of Ios

Oof, I’m not sure how this place has such high ratings, it’s possible we were very unlucky with our meal. We heard from our hotel that this restaurant has the best seafood on the island so we were curious to try it. We didn’t make a reservation and walked in. They told us they didn’t know how long the wait would be but we were eventually seated after waiting about 30 mins. Although during the wait she never told us how long it would be, it seemed somewhat disorganized and like she was doing us a favor but after being seated we noticed a huge line of people waiting without a reservation, so it’s clearly not just us.

We ordered several dishes because we came hungry: beetroot salad with garlic sauce, fried small fish, sun-dried octopus, linguine with seafood, and grilled squid. The beetroot “salad” was just cut beets. The sauce was good but it’s overall a super simple dish. The small fish was actually good, and a big portion too. The octopus was terrible… it was so tough and rubbery which was hard to get past. Small slices came served on a plate and each bite required a lot of chewing. The linguine was underwhelming, the seafood in it was okay but the noodles with sauce tasted dry, I could probably make it better at home. The grilled squid was the ultimate disappointment, it was severely overcooked. Rubbery dry mess. It was hard to cut with a knife and was frankly awful. Probably the worst octopus I’ve had in my life. Absolutely disappointing meal and I left spending 100 euros… save your money and go elsewhere. I hope this isn’t the best seafood...

Beautiful setting and great location om the water fish taverna, with its own cast of tavern-cats. At the end of the beach of Mylopotas, easy to find and park.

The food is freah and the foah goes by daily catch - the octopus is sun-dried and delicious, if slightly chewy. Interesting range of side dishes and drinks menu. The service is impecable, with young, driven and polite members of staff.

The range of fish dishes is surprisingly narrow - the fish of the day, which can be several, make up for it, in particular ask for one of Greece's finest and unique choices - barbouni, or red mullet/snapper. It is much smaller than the Atlantic one and super delicious when fried rather than grilled (I usually prefer my fish grilled).

The only downside is portion size compared to other Ios restaurants, which is still plenty reasonable. The prices though are - quite - inflated. Conaider about 20 to 30 euro more per kg than the mainland. For overseas visitors this may look reasonable, but probably the most expensive lunch we have had on the island yet. And as previous reviewers have noted, the dishes are simple - this is not an haute cuisine offering. Having said that, the linguine sauce was quite tasty, with seafood - although the quantity of seafood was lacking on the last rally, which was promptly corrected with a gentle reminder. On the other hand, watch the sea from your table at half a meter distance? You could be doing...

This was honestly one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve ever had. From the moment I walked in, it was clear that the place was completely unorganized. Service was chaotic, and the food that eventually came out was a huge disappointment. The dishes were rubbery, bland, and completely tasteless — it felt like no effort was put into preparing or seasoning them. What made things even worse was the state of the kitchen and overall hygiene. Cats were freely wandering in and out, which is absolutely unacceptable in any food establishment. On top of that, I witnessed chefs actually smoking over the food while preparing it. That level of disregard for basic hygiene and safety is shocking. Equally disturbing was how the staff treated the animals — instead of maintaining professionalism, they were openly kicking the cats around, which was uncomfortable and upsetting to watch. Altogether, the combination of terrible food, shocking hygiene practices, disorganization, and unprofessional behavior makes this restaurant somewhere I would strongly advise avoiding. There are plenty of better options — this place is not worth your time, money, or health risk. PLEASE DO...